Commanders legend explains how Jayden Daniels and the offense exposed overrated narrative about Titans
The Washington Commanders (8-5) humiliated the Tennessee Titans (3-9) in Week 13 and while it was an all-around dominating effort, the offensive eruption was the catalyst behind the victory.Honestly, it was a bit of a surprise. We all knew about the offense's recent struggles coming into the game and when those were mixed in with […]
The Washington Commanders (8-5) humiliated the Tennessee Titans (3-9) in Week 13 and while it was an all-around dominating effort, the offensive eruption was the catalyst behind the victory.
Honestly, it was a bit of a surprise. We all knew about the offense's recent struggles coming into the game and when those were mixed in with the Titans' apparent defensive prowess, it was easy to see why a lot of folks thought this could be more of a defensive game, than anything.
The Titans came into the game allowing the second-fewest yards per game at 276.4 – a mere 2.3 yards per game away from claiming the top spot. That's obviously impressive and something that should translate into success, but at the same time, numbers don't tell the whole story.
And Commanders legend Brian Mitchell hit it on the head during the postgame show.
"You know why they were number one in yards allowed? Because their [offense] and special teams gave people the ball inside their zone, and people were still scoring – they were damn near dead last when it came to scoring," said Mitchell. "Well [the Commanders] got the ball on the other side the 50 and [they] still scored. That defense is nowhere close to what they think… That is not a good defense and the Commanders made sure they looked like it today."
Numbers don't always tell the whole story, but they back up Mitchell's point more than they back the Titans defense
Before the Commanders hung 42 points on the Titans defense, the unit had allowed 26.4 points per game, which was sixth-most out of 32 teams. Opposing teams also started, on average, at the 32.6 yard line, which tied the Dallas Cowboys for the fourth-best starting field position. Granted, the Titans allowed a league-low 24.6 yards per drive, but their 2.08 points allowed per drive ranked in the bottom-half of the NFL.
So Mitchell's point makes sense: A shorter field obviously means a lower amount of yards to yield, which in turn makes the defense look better in terms of yards allowed. But the defense was still giving up points, whether it's because of turnovers from Will Levis and co. or a bad special teams unit. The Titans were allowing teams to score on 39% of drives, which was 16th, and they were allowing teams to score touchdowns at a 64.7% clip in the red zone, which was eighth-highest coming into Sunday.
And, the Titans had held just three opponents to 20 or fewer points -the New England Patriots, the Tua Tagovailoa-less Miami Dolphins, and the Indianapolis Colts- coming into the game. Everyone else scored at least 23 points and only the Houston Texans lost their respective matchup.
To further Mitchell's point, four of the Commanders' six touchdown drives started at their own 41-, 20-, 28-, and 29-yard line. Daniels and co. averaged a combined 8.8 yards per play on those drives and did not record a single negative play. Only one play, a handoff to Brian Robinson Jr. was stopped at the line of scrimmage. And that was over the course of 32 plays.
And it wasn't like the Commanders had to grind their way through the game or anything like that. They took what they wanted, whenever they wanted it and the Titans had almost no answers for anything. The 42 points allowed were the second-highest of Tennessee's season, only below the Detroit Lions' absurd 52-point game a few weeks ago. The 436 total net yards were easily a season-high, as were the 267 net rushing yards. They were out-schemed and outplayed, plain and simple.
Perhaps the Titans defense is what the Commanders offense needed to get back on track after a tough three week stretch. It certainly looked that way and now Kliff Kingsbury and his crew get to enjoy a much-needed bye week that will give them extra time to prepare for an inconsistent New Orleans Saints defense.
