NASHVILLE — If we learned anything from the Tennessee Titans’ surprising loss to the Indianapolis Colts last weekend, it’s the value defensive lineman Teair Tart has to Tennessee’s defense.

Tart has made a name for himself in the NFL as a dominant run stopper on the league’s best run defense. But with Tart out with a toe injury last weekend in Indy, the Titans certainly didn’t look like it. Zack Moss recorded a career high 165 rushing yards.

After not practicing all week in Nashville, Tart is listed as questionable for Sunday’s game in London. Unlike wide receiver Treylon Burks and defensive back Elijah Molden, Tart did travel with the team overseas.

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"I hope so," Titans head coach Mike Vrabel said earlier this week when he was asked if Tart had a chance to play against Baltimore. "He'll be questionable. We'll see here where (Teair) Tart ends up. He'll be questionable."

Titans defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons said himself earlier this week that failing to stop the run is where Tennessee lost the game in Indianapolis. But Simmons added that just getting Tart back on the field wouldn't solve all of the defensive problems.

"You can go back and look at the tape, it wasn't guys knocking us off the ball, it was guys not doing their job," said Simmons in the locker room. "That's what hurt us the most, not who wasn't there."

To some extent, I hear what Simmons is saying. The Titans' defensive line got off their assignments too frequently against the Colts. As head coach Mike Vrabel put it later in the week, Tennessee was "playing peak-a-boo" and it cost them. There's no question that everybody on the defensive line needs to be better when it comes to staying in their rush lanes, but part of what makes Tart such an impactful run defender is his consistency. 

"Playing peak-a-boo" is not an issue when Tart is on the field. He's a guy who shows up and does his job on game days. 

I get it. Simmons doesn't want to make excuses. I respect that. But it's also important not to undersell how valuable Tart has been for this defense. After looking at the run defense without him, the impending free agent might have made a lot more money by sitting on the bench last week.

It's not going to be easy to contain Lamar Jackson and the Ravens as is. Without Teair Tart, it would be even more difficult. 

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