Titans 34, Buccaneers 3: Moments That Mattered

If it seems like the Tennessee Titans’ performance Saturday was unusual for this time of year, that’s because it was.

The 34-3 rout of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium matched the franchise’s highest preseason point total of the last 15 years. You have to go back to a 35-21 victory at Green Bay on Sept. 1, 2006 to find the last time Tennessee scored more, and the only other times it put up as many were Aug. 9, 2008 against St. Louis (a 34-13 victory) and Aug. 19, 2017 against Carolina (a 34-27 triumph).

The Titans are now 2-0 in the preseason for the first time since 2012, and their 57 points scored in those contests are more than they had in all four preseason games in 2018, Mike Vrabel’s first season as head coach (40).

The lopsided decision against the reigning Super Bowl champions precluded any late-game drama, but there were plenty of moments that mattered along the way. Here is a look.

Playing it safe: Jamal Carter’s interception with 5:14 to play capped a big night for newcomers at safety. Carter was signed on Tuesday, a day after the Titans added Clayton Geathers and Bradley McDougald. Carter’s interception came roughly seven minutes after Geathers had one. McDougald forced a third-quarter fumble that Briean Boddy-Calhoun returned 42 yards for a touchdown and had a key pass breakup on third down in the first half. All three are veterans to some degree.

Injuries have given management reason to fortify the depth at that position. In so doing, it might have created some unexpected competition and the possibility to be much more experienced overall at the back of the defense than originally anticipated. At the very least, the personnel staff can feel good about the possibility to bring back someone during the regular season if need be.

Ficken’s foot: The competition at kicker was put on hold because Tucker McCann was unavailable due to an injury sustained in the preseason opener at Atlanta. With the stage all to himself, Sam Ficken made a strong case that the job should be his. He made all of his kicks, four PATs and field goals of 48 and 58 yards. Of his seven kickoffs, six reached the end zone and five resulted in touchbacks.

The 58-yard field goal, which made it 13-3 with second to go in the first half, was the longest by any Tennessee kicker in a preseason game during the Titans era (1999-present). The last one of 50 yards or more was by Ryan Succop in 2017 (50 yards). In the regular season, you have to go back to Rob Bironas’ franchise-record 60-yard field goal to beat Indianapolis in 2006 to find the last time a Titans kicker made one of at least 58 yards. In other words, even when he gets healthy it will be difficult for McCann to match that one.

Push ‘em back: Tampa Bay’s biggest play of the night was a 35-yard completion to start a drive early in the fourth quarter. It gave the Buccaneers a first down at the Tennessee 40, just the second time in the contest they crossed midfield. On the next two plays rookie cornerback Elijah Molden registered a sack for a loss of six yards and stopped a screen pass for a loss of four. Two plays later, Tampa Bay gave up the ball on a failed fourth down, and its last real chance to score a touchdown was gone.

In two preseason games, opposing offenses have had 26 possessions against the Titans defense. None have ended with a touchdown. The closest Tampa Bay got to the end zone was the 31-yard line, and Molden made sure it didn’t get there again. The preseason can be a mirage, but that kind of consistency has to build confidence for the regular season.

Clutch Kinsey: Third down offense was an area that was not particularly good. Tennessee converted just twice in 13 tries, and one of those was due to a penalty on the Buccaneers. The other was a 9-yard reception by Mason Kinsey on third-and-6 with 38 seconds to play in the second quarter. It got the Titans across midfield and eventually led to Ficken’s long field goal.

Kinsey finished as Tennessee’s leading receiver for the second straight game – this time by a wide margin. He had six receptions for 56 yards and a touchdown on right target while no one else had more than two receptions or targets. His catches included some meaningful ones. In addition to the third-down catch, his 20-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter capped the scoring and turned Geathers’ interception into points.

Starting fast: For the second straight game, many of the Titans’ biggest names did not play. That group included Derrick Henry, Ryan Tannehill, A.J. Brown, Taylor Lewan and Jackrabbit Jenkins, among others. One who did step on the field was safety Kevin Byard. He made the tackle on the first two plays of the game and ended the opening possession after six plays with a pass breakup – and he did so against mostly Tampa Bay’s second-teamers. After that, he got to watch the rest of the affair from the sideline.

It is fair to wonder how much of the preseason thus far has been reality and whether or not all of the veterans who have not gotten any game action yet actually will be ready when the regular season arrives. If Byard is an accurate indicator of the rest of the core players on the roster, they will be prepared and they will perform at the level expected of them when the time comes.