The Tennessee Titans were hearing the outside noise all week long from the national media about how they were finished without Derrick Henry. It appears they took that message to heart very seriously. Tennessee’s defense played with a passion in a 28-16 win over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday night football on the road.
This is the fifth consecutive win for the Titans after losing to the lowly New York Jets and that also seems like a distant memory ago. Tennessee has now beaten the Buffalo Bills, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Indianapolis Colts, and the Los Angeles Rams in a row. The Tennessee Titans were underdogs for all of those games and they seem to embrace the challenge.
The Tennessee Titans recorded five sacks and Matthew Stafford looked uncomfortable all night long. This was by far the worst Los Angeles’s offensive line has looked in a game. Jeffrey Simmons recorded three sacks, Denico Autry recorded 1.5 sacks, and Harlod Landry recorded 0.5 sacks for Tennessee.
They also picked off Matthew Stafford twice. In the second quarter, Stafford should have taken a safety in the end zone when they were up 3-0, but he decided to throw it instead and David Long Jr. picked it off.
The Tennessee Titans called play action on the next play and Ryan Tannehill threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Geoff Swaim. Ryan Tannehill didn’t have his best performance by any means, but he did well enough to get the job done. He completed 19-of-27 passes for 143 yards one touchdown and one interception. Tannehill also scored on a 1-yard rushing touchdown for Tennessee.
On the next drive for the Los Angeles Rams, Matthew Stafford threw a pick-six to Kevin Byard and he returned it for a 24-yard touchdown for the Tennessee Titans. Byard read the play perfectly and he is one of the best safeties in the NFL.
Matthew Stafford completed 31-of-48 passes for 294 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. This was probably his worst game played of the season.
Adrian Peterson scored on a 1-yard rushing touchdown for Tennessee in the fourth quarter. It was 28-9 at that point. This was his 125th career NFL touchdown. He only rushed for 21 yards on 10 carries, but it kept the Los Angeles Rams defense honest.
A.J. Brown was the Tennessee Titans leading receiver with five receptions for 42 yards. Julio Jones caught four passes for 35 yards receiving in his first game back from a hamstring injury.
What excuses do the national media have left why the Tennessee Titans are done? Because the Los Angeles Rams didn’t play Von Miller? Because Ryan Tannehill didn’t play great? Please stop this narrative. They are the best team in the AFC by a mile and they are tougher and physical than everyone else. The Tennessee Titans are the number one seed currently in the AFC.
If they are going to continue playing like this, Mike Vrabel deserves to be the NFL head coach of the year. A lot of credit also has to go to offensive coordinator Todd Downing and defensive coordinator Shane Bowen.
The Tennessee Titans (7-2) next game will be at home next Sunday against the New Orleans Saints (5-3).
The Los Angeles Rams (7-2) next game will be on the road against the San Francisco 49ers (3-5) next Monday night.
-Glenn Kaplan, 12oz Sports Contributor, Live Monday’s at 3 p.m. ET & Thursday at 11 a.m. ET on 12oz Sports
Photo Credit: Twitter @Titans
