Titans HC Applauds Tenacious Defense

The Tennessee Titans defense is celebrating after a massive win in Week 5 against the Arizona Cardinals that put an end to the team's four-game losing streak.

The defense pitched a second-half shutout as they overcame an 18-point deficit to pull out a 22-21 win. Titans head coach Brian Callahan was proud of the defense's effort after the game.

"I think that's the thing I love about the team," Callahan said about their tenacity. "These guys play really hard for each other and they knew it wasn't going to be perfect. They knew they had to play really good football for us to win the game. They felt that we were struggling and they didn't blink. They played the next play and kept going. They picked each other up, kept moving down the sideline… that stuff is good to see.

"That's the mark of a team that has the right makeup. I've said that all along, we just haven't had much to show for it but knowing the kind of game we were in, the struggles we had offensively, particularly in the first half and even defensively, we struggled in the first quarter for sure… But they kept fighting. They kept playing the next play and finding a way to get it done and we just sort of kept chipping away at it at every turn we had and the guys made plays when we needed them to. I don't think we allowed a score in the second half… a great effort in the second half defensively to calm it down."

Tennessee Titans coach Brian Callahan takes questions after their loss against the Indianapolis Colts. | Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Titans defense has struggled all season long, but a lucky bounce going their way when Cardinals running back Emari Demercado fumbled right before breaking the plane for a long touchdown sparked a comeback that salvaged Tennessee's season.

While the Titans wouldn't have won without Demercado's fumble, it's the chasing from cornerback L'Jarius Sneed that was needed in order to cause the turnover and the ability to hold the Cardinals to punts at the end of the game was crucial for the team's victory.

The Titans defense needs to bottle up the energy used in the second half of their win and apply it to future games.

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