PFF Grades: Tough Day for Tannehill
A career-high four interceptions thrown by quarterback Ryan Tannehill in Sunday’s loss to Houston resulted in the worst overall Pro Football Focus grade of his time with the Tennessee Titans.
Tannehill’s overall offensive grade of 44.4, according to analysis by Pro Football Focus, was his lowest since the final game of his Dolphins career in 2018, which was a 31.8. His PFF passing grade against the Texans was 44.7, which was Tannehill’s lowest since a 41.2 grade at Green Bay last season.
Here’s a look at some of the other PFF highlights/lowlights from the Titans’ 22-13 loss to the lowly Texans:
Top Five offensive grades (at least 20 snaps) – Wide receiver A.J. Brown was limited to 42 of the team’s 81 snaps, but still posted the best offensive grade at 83.7, followed by wide receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine (81.7), left tackle Taylor Lewan (72.6), left guard Rodger Saffold (71.1) and wide receiver Dez Fitzpatrick (65.4).
Top Five defensive grades (at least 20 snaps) – The fact that the Titans allowed Houston just 190 total yards – and just 3.1 yards per play – was reflected in a number of strong grades. Defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons, who wound up with five tackles (one for loss) and a pass batted down, topped the charts at 92.6. He was followed by cornerback Elijah Molden (90.6), defensive lineman Larrell Murchison (85.0), defensive lineman Teair Tart (79.0) and defensive lineman Denico Autry (77.3).
Struggling on offense – Right guard Aaron Brewer, filling in for Nate Davis, had an overall grade of just 51.6 – primarily because of poor run-blocking. Running back Dontrell Hilliard had a decent rushing grade of 62.6, but because of poor pass blocking and a dropped pass, his overall grade was just 49.4. Saffold overall was in the Titans’ top five, as noted above, but it wasn’t because of his pass blocking. He surrendered seven of the Titans’ 16 quarterback pressures and got a 39.9 grade in pass blocking.
Tannehill in clean pocket/pressured –Tannehill’s numbers in a clean pocket were much better than when he was pressured. When kept clean, Tannehill was 28-for-38 for 272 yards, with one touchdown and two interceptions, for an 80.2 grade. But when pressured, Tannehill was just seven-for-14 for 51 yards, with zero touchdowns and two interceptions, for a 19.3 grade.
Lack of play-action – Tannehill has fared well in play-action this season. But the Titans, perhaps because they were trailing for much of the contest, used play-action just five times against the Texans. Tannehill went two-for-five for 15 yards in those situations, with zero touchdowns and zero interceptions. When the Titans didn’t use play-action, Tannehill went 33-for-47 for 308 yards, with one touchdown and four interceptions.
Plenty of contact – Running backs Hilliard, Adrian Peterson and D’Onta Foreman combined to gain 84 of their 103 rushing yards after contact. Hilliard led the way with an average of four yards after contact per carry, followed by Foreman (3.71) and Hilliard (3.11). PFF credited Hilliard with forcing three missed tackles, credited Peterson with two and didn’t record any for Foreman.
Sacks scarce – After recording a combined nine sacks in Weeks 9 and 10, the Titans went without one for the first time this season against Houston. The Texans moved quarterback Tyrod Taylor outside the pocket at times and also had him throw quickly, limiting the impact of the Titans’ rush. The defense did record 11 quarterback pressures per PFF, with Simmons totaling three, Autry two and Molden two.
• Molden tight – The Titans’ secondary was effective overall against Houston, surrendering just 107 yards through the air. Molden had a particularly good showing. He was targeted five times and allowed three completions, for just 24 yards and zero first downs. Included in his totals was a pass break-up.
