Titans' dominant win over Bengals shows how they can contend in AFC
NASHVILLE — Just seven days after getting boat raced by the Cleveland Browns in Week 3, the Tennessee Titans flipped both the script and the score in a decisive 27-3 victory of the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. What a difference one week can make. Tennessee’s winning effort at Nissan Stadium had it all. Defensive dominance, […]
NASHVILLE — Just seven days after getting boat raced by the Cleveland Browns in Week 3, the Tennessee Titans flipped both the script and the score in a decisive 27-3 victory of the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. What a difference one week can make.
Tennessee’s winning effort at Nissan Stadium had it all. Defensive dominance, efficient offense, trick plays, you name it. The Titans outplayed the Bengals (a team that has recently been their kryptonite) in every facet of the game.
But Sunday was more than just a good team win to get things back in the right track. It was a display of just how good the 2023 Titans can be when firing on all cylinders.
Tennessee got back to the offensive identity they know best of running the football with Derrick Henry on Sunday. Henry had 22 carries for 122 yards, one rushing touchdown, and one passing touchdown. It was Henry's first 100-yard game of the season and his highest yards per carry total (5.5) recorded on the year.
As a result, the Titans were staying ahead of the chains and able to set up a lot of play-action passes that produced some big plays. Tannehill's one passing touchdown on the day, an 18-yard strike to Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, came on a play-action pass.
"Allow things to flow, allow the play passes to work, some of the stuff that we had schemed or game plan for them really allows that to mature and gives it a chance. We were able to run the football. We were not able to run the football against them last year and we won one-on-one," said Titans head coach Mike Vrabel after the game when asked what went right for his team offensively. "When we went out on routes, we won one-on-one. For the most part, we were able to take care of the ball and we did some great things in the red zone."
Perhaps most importantly, the Titans' offensive line got the job done. Tannehill was sacked three times on the day, but had much better protection than he had in Cleveland last week. That allowed time for those aforementioned play-action passes to develop and gave Derrick Henry a lot of room to run.
Henry, who surpassed legendary running back Earl Campbell for second on the Titans/Oilers all-time franchise rushing leaderboard, gave all the credit to the guys in the trenches after the game.
"I don’t even want to any of the credit, credit goes to those guys," Henry said of his offensive line. "The resiliency they showed coming off of last week and how we performed as a team. Those guys really took it to heart and went out there and played a hell of a game. Made my job easier, give those guys all the credit. They deserve it."
When Tennessee's offensive line is competent and the secondary doesn't allow many explosive plays through the air, the Titans look like legitimate contenders that can hang around with anybody.
Is that recipe for success sustainable? Only time will tell. But we've seen enough flashes at this point in the season for Titans fans to be confident that the 2023 Titans can both win the AFC South and at least compete in the playoffs. This win over Cincinnati was just a blueprint for what's possible.
Titans beat down the Bengals in Week 4 route
NASHVILLE — The Tennessee Titans (2-2) stuck it to the Cincinnati Bengals (1-3) on Sunday. It was the first time the organization has beaten quarterback Joe Burrow and coach Zach Taylor in four meetings against them. Better to be on the right side of a 27-3 final, one would imagine. "Felt like this was a […]
