Has the Defense's Achilles Heel Been Exposed?
NASHVILLE – Not many NFL teams defend the run better than the Tennessee Titans.
Except, as it turns out, when the other team intends to pass.
Joe Burrow became the third opposing quarterback to rush for 25 yards or more against the Titans (7-4) this season. They lost all three of those contests.
The Cincinnati Bengals signal-caller went for 32 yards on nine attempts and helped carry his team to a 20-16 victory at Nissan Stadium on Sunday. All but one of his runs were scrambles on pass plays when he either was forced out of the pocket or had no receivers open downfield.
He joined Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes and Daniel Jones of the New York Giants as the only ones to cover that much ground against Tennessee’s defense with the ball in their hands this season. Only Mahomes, whose ability to make plays with his feet was critical late in that Week 9 contest, ran for more.
“I knew (Burrow) was going to be going out there, making plays and scrambling and things like that,” safety Kevin Byard said. “He made some good plays. He’s a really good quarterback, I’ve said that before.
“… We were not really affecting the quarterback as much [as other games] or really not at all.”
The most rushing yards by an opposing quarterback against the Tennessee Titans this season:
| Player, team | Att.-Yards TDs | Result |
|---|---|---|
Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City | 6-63 1 | L 20-17 (OT) |
Joe Burrow, Cincinnati | 9-32 0 | L 20-16 |
Daniel Jones, N.Y. Giants | 6-25 0 | L 21-20 |
Tennessee's only other loss was to the Buffalo Bills, who have one of the league's top running quarterbacks. Josh Allen, however, needed to run just once for 10 yards in that one, a 41-7 Titans defeat.
The nine carries were a career-high for Burrow (he ran it eight times in the first game of his rookie season), and this was just the fourth time he rushed for more than 30 yards.
"Some games end up being like that where maybe they are doing a great job in coverage and the offensive line protected great, and I was able to find some lanes and get out and steal a couple of first downs," Burrow said. "I think that is a part of my game I can continue to utilize throughout my career."
It was a performance that was in stark contrast to the last meeting between these teams, a playoff game last January. In that one, Burrow seemingly had nowhere to run as he was sacked nine times for a combined loss of 68 yards. He finished with just five rushing yards on two carries.
This time, Burrow was sacked just once for a loss of four yards.
“We have to affect the quarterback better than what we did (Sunday),” coach Mike Vrabel said. “I hope we didn’t think we were going to show up and sack him nine times. We just didn’t do enough to affect the quarterback.”
The Bengals (7-4) made it clear from the outside that they had a healthy respect for the Titans’ run defense, which entered the game second in the league with an average of 82.2 yards per game allowed and third with an average of 3.86 yards per rush allowed.
Burrow dropped back to pass on nine of Cincinnati’s first 10 offensive plays. The exception was a first-down run from its own 3 following a punt. He did throw on eight of the other nine and added a 13-yard scramble for a first down that set the stage for what was to come.
Two of the Bengals’ four scoring drives included a run by their quarterback. Three resulted in first downs, one with the help of an unnecessary roughing call against safety Amani Hooker, who hit Burrow as he slid after a 6-yard gain in the third quarter.
“I feel like we’ve faced scrambling quarterbacks this year,” inside linebacker David Long Jr. said. “I mean, Joe Burrow is no different. He made some plays with his feet, and we got to him a couple times as well.”
Up next for the Titans is a trip to Philadelphia where they must deal with Jalen Hurts, who came into the week fifth among all quarterbacks in rushing yards with 440 and first in rushing touchdowns with eight.
Burrow came into this game 13th among all quarterbacks in rushing yards with 146. Jones and Mahomes, on the other hand, were among the top 10.
“Burrow, he’s a great quarterback,” defensive end Mario Edwards Jr. said. “He does a great job at extending the plays and being able to run and throw it deep down the field.
“(Sunday), we got outplayed. We just have to go to the drawing board on Monday and get ready for next Sunday.”
