Titans 'Find a Way' to Score Enough

For the first time since Ryan Tannehill became the starting quarterback, the offense failed to score a touchdown, but a 19-7 victory over the Indianapolis Colts extended the current win streak to four games.

Andrew Nelles/USA Today Sports

NASHVILLE – That was different.

Sunday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts at Nissan Stadium was Ryan Tannehill’s 54th as the Tennessee Titans starting quarterback – playoffs included. It was the first of those in which the offense failed to score a touchdown.

The Titans settled for four Randy Bullock field goals and a touchdown from the defense – Andrew Adams’ 76-yard interception return in the second quarter – to win 19-10, extend their win streak to four games (the longest in the AFC at present) and strengthen their hold on the AFC South. At 4-2, they are two up on the Colts in the loss column and hold a major tiebreaker advantage by virtue of sweeping the season series.

“Yeah, I mean, obviously we didn't light up the scoreboard, but we did what we needed to do to go get the win,” Tannehill said. “We were able to score points there on our next-to-last drive and to make it a two-score game when we needed to and then move the ball enough to get a couple of first downs and finish the game.”

True. The Titans only had one three-and-out in nine full possessions plus one drive that ended with a fumble after three plays. Five of those series included multiple first downs, and six ended on Indianapolis’ side of midfield.

Still, the closest Tennessee got to the end zone was late in the second quarter. A Cody Hollister reception for five yards made it fourth-and-2 from the Indianapolis 5. Following the two-minute warning, the offense returned to the field, but a false start by right guard Dillon Radunz pushed the ball back to the 10. From there, Bullock’s second field goal made it 13-0.

In the first quarter, on the strength of a 27-yard Hollister reception (the longest play for either team), the offense as far as the Indianapolis 10. That time, an incomplete pass to running back Dontrell Hilliard on third down led to Bullock’s first field goal and snapped a streak of 11 straight red-zone possessions for the Titans offense that ended with a touchdown.

The Titans led the NFL with 12 touchdowns on 13 red-zone possessions – a 92.3 percent success rate – coming into the game. They came out of it 12 for 15 (80 percent).

“We knew that they were 12-for-13, whatever in the red zone,” Colts linebacker Bobby Okereke said. “… So yeah, that was a prideful moment for us, but obviously didn't get the win and that’s what we wanted.”

Tannehill replaced Marcus Mariota as Tennessee’s quarterback following a 16-0 loss at Denver on Oct. 13, 2019, which was the last time the offense failed to cross the goal line at least once. Since then, the Titans have scored more than 30 points 19 times and even exceeded 40 on seven occasions.

Tennessee has won twice as many games (36) as they have lost (18) during that time, including the postseason.

There were three games in 2018, Mike Vrabel’s first season as head coach, that the offense failed to score touchdowns. The Titans defeated Jacksonville 9-6 on Sept. 23, 2018 but came up short in all of the others – until now.

Vrabel indicated that they might have to do it again before this season is complete.

“We have to find ways to win football games,” he said. “That is going to be the formula. … That is going to have to be how we play. It is a battle.

“I'm proud of our guys for finding ways to win. … It certainly feels good to be able to say that we have won four games in a row by, for the most part, doing things the way that we think that they need to be done right now.”