Titans Star DT Led Team to Victory vs. Cardinals

No one stepped up more in the Tennessee Titans first win of the season than defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons. Simmons, who signed a $94 million contract with the team, has continued to prove he's worth every penny. Tennessee's defense would not have looked the same without Simmons on the field, a man who finished with a season high eight total tackles.

In fact, eight tackles is the most Simmons has had in a game since December 22, 2024 against the Indianapolis Colts. He had nine against Indy, and also had nine a few weeks earlier against the Washington Commanders.

If eight total tackles wasn't good enough, Simmons brought down QB Kyler Murray one and a half times in Arizona. As part of the Titans 22-21 win, Simmons had 1.5 sacks, the most he's had since he had two against the Atlanta Falcons on October 29, 2023.

Jeffery Simmons generated a season-high 6 pressures and 1.5 sacks on 35 pass rushes (17.1% pressure rate) against the Cardinals in Week 5.

Simmons was doubled on only 37.1% of pass rushes, his lowest double-team rate of the season and capitalized recording 5 quick pressures in… pic.twitter.com/UdkBROGqxj
— Easton Freeze (@eastonfreeze) October 6, 2025

According to Next Gen Stats, Simmons generated a season-high six pressures against the Cardinals. He finished with a 17.1% pressure rate on 35 pass rushes. To further show how impressive he was, he had five quick pressures which was tied for a career high. Last week, Simmons went viral for his sack on QB CJ Stroud, the quickest sack of the 2025 season.

Arizona's game plan left a lot to be desired. By the end of the game, they only doubled Simmons on 37.1% of pass rushes. Through five games, that's his lowest double-team rate of the season. Had they adjusted accordingly, they may have left with a win. Instead, Simmons put up career numbers as he helped the Titans snap the NFL's longest active losing streak.

While he had a slow start to the season, Simmons has ramped up his production in the past two weeks. Through five games, he has 22 total tackles and 3.5 sacks. 13 of those tackles and 2.5 of the 3.5 sacks have come in his past two games. In fact, Simmons had one fewer tackle in Week 5 than he had in his first three games combined.

Simmons may have finished third on the team with eight tackles, but he added two of the team's six QB hits. He left Arizona with one of the team's four tackles for losses, and had exactly half of their sacks. With the Las Vegas Raiders and QB Geno Smith awaiting, Simmons will look to repeat this performance when the Titans return to the West Coast in Week 6.

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