How Former Titans Fared in NFL Divisional Playoff Round
For the second time in four years, the Tennessee Titans were spectators during the NFL’s divisional round of the playoffs.
Those who watched the four games, however, saw some of their former teammates who have moved on and found spots with teams that played on beyond the 2022 regular season.
Here is a look at how former Titans fared on Saturday and Sunday:
• A.J. Brown, WR, Philadelphia: It was an underwhelming day for the man who set the Eagles’ single-season record for receiving yards. Brown caught three passes (six targets) for 22 yards as Philadelphia leaned heavily on the run game after halftime. By comparison, Brown’s last game for Tennessee was last year’s divisional round loss to Cincinnati, during which he had five receptions for 142 yards and a touchdown. At the very least, two of his three catches went for first downs.
• Marcus Johnson, WR, N.Y. Giants: He played just seven snaps on offense and the only pass that came his way was with 4:18 to play in the contest. To his credit, he caught the pass for a 17-yard gain on fourth-and-16, which extended a drive that ultimately ended four plays later. It was Johnson’s first career playoff reception, and it was the fourth longest gain of the day for New York’s offense.
• Adoreé Jackson, CB, N.Y. Giants: He played all but six snaps on defense and made seven tackles with one tackle for loss. The seven tackles matched the number he made in the wild card victory over the Minnesota Vikings and were one short of his career-high eight, which he made in the Titans’ wild round loss to Baltimore following the 2020 season. According to Pro Football Focus, he missed one tackle and allowed three receptions on five targets.
• Rodger Saffold, LG, Buffalo Bills: The former Titans left guard played every snap on offense at that position for the Bills, who allowed just one sack but averaged a mere 3.3 yards per carry in the run game. The 34-year-old, however, earned a 42.1 overall grade from Pro Football Focus, which was worst among Buffalo’s offensive lineman. He particularly struggled against the pass (an 18.1 grade) when he allowed four hurries and one quarterback hit.
• Brett Kern, P, Philadelphia Eagles: Kern punted three times for an average of 43.0 yards, and all three ended up inside the 20. In a rare twist, his net punting average (44.0 yards) actually was better than his gross punting average thanks to the fact that the Giants' lone punt return of the contest lost three yards. It is the first time in eight career playoff games that all of his punts ended up inside the 20.
• Matt Overton, Long snapper, Dallas Cowboys: One of three long snappers the Titans used in 2020 (he played the final nine games), he snapped for four punts, two field goal attempts and one PAT. The PAT was blocked, which gave Dallas kicker Brett Maher an NFL record for failed PATs in a single postseason (five). The block was no fault of Overton’s who delivered the ball smoothly to the holder.
