Downing Looks for Better First Quarters in Second Season as OC

NASHVILLE – In trying to pump life back into their offense this season, one of the Tennesse Titans’ first tasks will be to make better first impressions.

The statistical decline of quarterback Ryan Tannehill and that unit in 2021 has been well documented, but nowhere were the struggles – nor the drop-off from 2020 -- more significant than in the first 15 minutes of play.

Tennessee was held to three or fewer points in 11 of 17 games last season. Eight times the Titans started the second quarter with no points. They averaged 3.6 first-quarter point points per game, which ranked 21st in the NFL and their 61 first-quarter points were the fewest in four seasons under coach Mike Vrabel, despite the longest NFL regular season to date.

Oddly enough, the Titans had the ball 54.4 percent of the time in the first quarter last season, the third-best figure in the league.

Contrast those numbers to 2020, when the Titans scored 96 points in the first quarter, an average of 6.0 per game that ranked fifth in the NFL. They produced those lofty totals despite having the ball just 44.3 percent of the time in the first quarter, which ranked 29th.

“We didn’t do a good enough job early in games last year,” offensive coordinator Todd Downing said. “I’m not hiding from that. I completely understand that as a piece of being able to start faster and put our defense in a better position. So, there’s a lot that goes into that. We’ll be practicing that, looking at that, as we go through the rest of spring and into fall.”

A look at the difference in first-quarter production for the Tennessee Titans' offense followed by quarterback Ryan Tannehill's first-quarter statistics for 2020 and 2021:

Season	Total Points	Avg. Points	Three Points or less	Scoreless	TOP Pct.
2020	96	6.0	7	5	44.3
2021	61	3.6	11	8	54.5

Season	Att.	Comp.	Pct.	TD	INT	Yds/Att	Sacks	Rating
2020	106	69	65.1	10	1	9.4	1	123.0
2021	124	81	65.3	3	5	6.5	10	74.8

How much Tannehill was to blame for the poor starts as opposed to other factors such as injuries to Derrick Henry, A.J. Brown and Julio Jones; poor pass protection, and the transition to Downing from former offensive coordinator Arthur Smith is debatable.

But the difference in Tannehill’s first-quarter numbers from 2020 to 2021 is undeniable.

In 2020, Tannehill led the NFL with 10 first-quarter touchdowns and posted the second-best quarterback rating in the league at 123.0. He threw just one interception and was sacked just once.

In 2021, Tannehill threw just three first-quarter touchdown passes, and his quarterback rating was 74.8, ahead of only Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger among the 19 quarterbacks who had at least 100 attempts. Tannehill’s five first-quarter interceptions tied him with Roethlisberger for most in the NFL, and he was sacked 10 times (tied for third-most in the league).

The Titans must hope that better health at the skill positions, Downing’s second year in his role and the addition of passing analyst Tim Kelly will all help Tannehill and the team to more productive starts in 2022.

“Every aspect of our offense is something I take a critical look at, for myself first, where I can improve and areas that I can do a better job in preparation or understand what we’re trying to accomplish,” Downing said. “Certainly, the beginning of games is part of that. We looked at that this offseason as a staff and (Kelly) was able to give a fresh set of eyes to it. You go through and -- some of it -- you realize you were this close to really good outcomes, and then there were some where obviously we stubbed our toe.”

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