Snap Judgments: Drawing Conclusions About the Titans Based on Playing Time at Denver

Ryan Tannehill's first appearance was notable; Wesley Woodyard showed he can do it all even at an advanced age

Without biggest question, the biggest news of Sunday’s 16-0 loss at Denver – the biggest news of the season, in fact – when it came to playing time was the fact that quarterback Ryan Tannehill got on the field with the offense.

There was 4:56 to play in the third quarter when coach Mike Vrabel elected to pull Marcus Mariota and give the backup a shot. From there, Tannehill logged 30 snaps with the offense, 10 fewer than Mariota had.

The decision sparked significant debate and speculation about which quarterback will be on the field this Sunday when Tennessee (2-4) hosts the Los Angeles Chargers (2-4) at Nissan Stadium. Vrabel said the decision would be made before Wednesday, when the team begins preparations in earnest for the Chargers.

“It’s such a critical position at any level,” the head coach said Monday. “They’re the leader of the football team. I mean, they have the ball in their hand 100 percent of the time – the decision making, the execution, the orchestration of what would be the offense. So, those are critical factors that go into making decisions.”

Before he was pulled, Mariota had taken every snap with the offense in 2019, which was news in its own right. In three of his first four seasons, the second overall pick in the 2015 draft sustained an injury and missed time within the first six weeks.

Now it is reasonable to wonder if he ever gets another snap with Tennessee’s offense.

Other observations based on playing time in Sunday’s game with the Broncos:

• No rest for the aged: No Titans player spent more time on the field than linebacker Wesley Woodyard, who logged 59 out of 62 possible snaps on defense after Jayon Brown was injured early in the contest, and another 21 snaps on special teams. Only safeties Amani Hooker (27), Dane Cruikshank (24) and linebacker Darren Bates (27) got more snaps in the kicking game.

Add them up and that was 80 snaps total for Woodyard. He was not simply taking up space when he was out there either. Following coaches’ review of the game film, he was credited with a season-high eight tackles (he had 11 total in the first five weeks) and his first sack since Dec. 22, 2018.

It was an unexpected opportunity for the player who spent his first six NFL seasons with Denver (2008-13), and it showed that in his 12 year – at 33 years old – he is still a valuable part of the roster.

It also likely was a one-of-a-kind effort that he won’t be asked to repeat. If Brown misses an extended period, there is no doubt Woodyard will fill his spot on the defense – and somebody else will assume the bulk of Woodyard’s special teams responsibilities.

• One job: Of the 10 players who logged the most snaps on defense, only one – inside linebacker Rashaan Evans – did not see any action on special teams as well. Safety Kevin Byard, for example, was one of three who played every defensive snap, yet he got nine more on special teams (he is part of the punt team).

Evans, the 2018 first-round pick, probably deserved a little bit of a rest. In 61 snaps on defense (out of 62), he set a career-high with 11 tackles, including seven solo stops. It was his third straight game with double digits in that regard and gave him the outright team lead in tackles for the season.

Vrabel is big on using the best possible players on special teams. Evans, though, might be too good at his primary role to risk in that capacity.

• Small role: The Titans clearly have plans for Dalyn Dawkins, even if they are not big plans. In his second career NFL game (his first of the season), the running back got on the field for four plays with the offense. Twice, he got the ball on handoffs (both gained exactly one yard). That gave him more carries than veteran Dion Lewis, who got 29 snaps on offense (he ran it once).

Dawkins was the team’s leading rusher during the preseason with 152 yards and a 6.6 yards-per-carry average. However, to most he was a surprise inclusion on the initial 53-man roster. He was inactive for the opener and then spent four weeks on the practice squad while general manager Jon Robinson and staff addressed other issues with the roster. Obviously, though, coaches like what they saw from Dawkins in the preseason and they believe he will show more of it in the regular season.

• Maybe next time: Kicker Cody Parkey probably didn’t even break a sweat in his first game for the Titans, except maybe in warmups. The only time he saw the field during the game was the second-half kickoff, on which he delivered a touchback.

Given the circumstances that prompted his signing last week, coaches would have loved to see him kick a field goal or PAT or two so that they could reassure themselves that they got the right guy to hold down that job until Ryan Succop’s return. Instead, it is another week of waiting and wondering.