Five Takeaways From Week 1 Defeat

The typically stout run defense did not hold up, seeing red over missed opportunities and more from Sunday's 21-20 loss to the New York Giants.

NASHVILLE – When Randy Bullock’s 47-yard field-goal attempt sailed wide left as the clock expired and left the Tennessee Titans on the wrong end of a 21-20 opening-day defeat, the outcome still seemed a little hard to believe.

Had the Titans really lost this one after blanking the New York Giants for the first half, leading for more than 21 minutes and not trailing until there was 1:09 left in the game?

The ugly answer was yes, they managed to squander leads of 13-0 and 20-13, losing to a Giants team that had totaled all of four victories last season, lost its last six games and went 1-8 on the road.

How’s that for a gut punch to start the year?

Here are five takeaways from the Titans’ season-opening loss:

Getting Run Over

The Titans finished second in the league against the run last season, allowing an average of just 84.6 yards per game. Only one runner all season – Jacksonville’s James Robinson – topped 100 yards against the Titans, when he totaled 149 yards in a one-sided loss to the Titans. The next time the Titans saw Robinson, they held him to four yards on six carries.

That’s why it was so surprising to see the Giants run 32 times for 238 yards against the Titans, averaging 7.4 yards per play.

Saquon Barkley piled up 164 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries, averaging 9.1 yards per attempt. Granted, Barkley was the second overall pick of the 2018 draft. But he didn’t show much last season, averaging just 3.7 yards per carry.

So what happened to the rock-solid run defense of 2021?

“Defensively, we couldn’t stop the run,” Titans coach Mike Vrabel said. “Number one key to the game. That’s why you lose.

“That’s something we’ve done a good job of, and this is an unforgiving league. When you don’t play the gaps or you don’t tackle … it’s a very unforgiving league, especially with a good back – an excellent back.”

Missed Opportunities

The Titans led 13-0 at half, but there was a sense that their advantage should have been greater.

One promising drive that began late in the first quarter went 65 yards before it fizzled at the Giants’ 28-yard line following a pair of Ryan Tannehill incompletions. That led to a field goal, which put the Titans up 10-0.

One possession later, the Titans’ defense delivered a gift to the offense, when Bud Dupree recovered a fumble caused by Jeffery Simmons. The Titans marched to the Giants’ five-yard line, but this drive fizzled as well. On third-and-four, Tannehill appeared to wait too long before throwing short to Derrick Henry, who couldn’t handle the pass near the sideline. Again, it was a field goal instead of a touchdown, meaning it remained a two-score game at halftime.

“We end up in the red zone … and you end up with three, not six,” tackle Taylor Lewan said. “Every time you’re in the red zone, you should try to run it in or make contested catches. We’ve got to be more efficient at that.”

In the second half, the Titans had two possessions with 20-13 leads, but went three-and-out on one and mustered just one first down on the second. The Giants launched their game-winning drive after the second stop.

“Coming into the half, we felt like we left some meat on the bone and didn't score once we were in the red zone, and expected to come out and be able to score more points than we did in the second half,” Tannehill said. “Regardless of the opponent, that's just our mentality – that we should be able to score more points than we did in the second half. So, we've got to get a lot of things cleaned up and looking forward to another opportunity next week.”

Defensive Disparity

Even without injured linebacker Harold Landry, the Titans put together a dominant first half – totaling four sacks, seven quarterback hits, three tackles for loss, one forced fumble and one pass batted down.

The Giants totaled just 133 yards and seven first downs in the first two quarters. They didn’t score a point.

But big plays killed the Titans’ defense in the second half.

On the Giants’ first possession of the third quarter, Barkley broke left, eluded safety Amani Hooker at the sideline and roared 68 yards down the field, setting up New York’s first touchdown.

On the Giants’ next possession, Sterling Shepard broke open well behind cornerback Kristian Fulton, hauling in a 65-yard touchdown pass that tied the game 13-13.

“I mean, it’s just me, I got to keep my eyes on my guy,” Fulton said. “It was kind of the backside of the play, so I just kind of got (watching the quarterback) and he just kind of ran past me in my blindspot. I’ve got to better to make that.”

The Giants’ third play of more than 30 yards led to their third touchdown. Late in the fourth quarter, Barkley roared 33 yards to the Titans’ 26-yard line, setting the Giants up for a touchdown and game-winning two-point conversion.

“It was a tale of two halves,” Byard said. “In the first half, we played really well on defense. They had a couple plays but at the end of the day, we made them earn everything.

“There wasn’t no big plays like that. The first two drives in the second half, it’s tied up. So those big plays, we can’t have. That’s not going to cut it.”

Rookie Makes his Mark

Byard raised some eyebrows near the end of the preseason when he mentioned that rookie Kyle Philips had already become Tannehill’s go-to receiver.

But that certainly appeared to be the case against the Giants.

Philips led the Titans in targets (nine), catches (six) and receiving yards (66).

He was a huge part of the final drive, one that looked like it would lead to victory. Philips began the drive with back-to-back catches of eight and three yards, the latter stopping the clock. A couple of plays later, Philips drew a defensive holding penalty on third-and-four, giving the Titans a first down.

Tannehill and Philips then combined on a perfectly executed 21-yard pass at the sideline, setting Randy Bullock up for the unsuccessful 47-yard attempt.

“Kyle made a bunch of plays for me this training camp,” Tannehill said. “We built up that relationship and he’s shown that he can win consistently in practice, so that translates over to the game. He gets put into that situation, man-to-man coverage, he wins in practice, so I expect him to win in a game situation.”

Philips also gave the Titans a great spark in the first quarter, when his 46-yard punt return set Tennessee up at the Giants’ 45-yard line, leading to Tennessee’s first touchdown.

But Philips’ day wasn’t perfect. He muffed a fair catch early in the fourth quarter, giving the Giants possession at the Titans’ 11-yard line. Fortunately for Philips, Hooker bailed him out with an interception of Daniel Jones in the end zone.

“I definitely was a little disappointed in how I played,” Philips said. “There was a couple plays I should have had that, looking back, I’m real disappointed about. But I’m just going to have my head down, go into next week and work.”

The Hometown Stumble

The loss to the Giants marked the fifth straight time the Titans had fallen in a Week One opener at home.

Those other home losses to begin the season were to New England (2012), Minnesota (2016), the Raiders (2017) and Arizona (2021).

“I think these fans came out to see us and they were loud and they did a great job,” Lewan said. “We’ve just got to be better. We’ve got to be better. Coming out like that in the second half and allowing it to get to where it did … that’s unfortunate.”

If you’re looking for a silver lining, the Titans would rebound to finish three of those previous seasons – 2016, 2017 and 2021 – with winning records, making the playoffs in 2017 and 2021.

“Losing sucks no matter when it happens,” Tannehill said. “I never want to start off the season on the wrong foot, especially at home in front of your own fans. You’ve got to turn the page quickly though.

“It’s a long season. It’s just one game and we’ve got to keep that mentality to be able to take a real look at what happened, get it fixed quickly and turn the page and get ready to go for next week.