Pass Rush Problems Persist

With four games remaining, Tennessee has the fewest sacks in the NFL.

There is much to be desired for the Tennessee Titans’ defense.

Through 12 games, that unit is the NFL’s worst on third down and is near the bottom against the pass. There are other areas of concern too.

The Titans also have struggled to put pressure on the quarterback, which was evident again in Sunday’s 41-35 loss to the Cleveland Browns. Quarterback Baker Mayfield, who threw for 290 yards and four touchdowns in the first half, had plenty of time to go through his progressions and find an open man. He averaged more than 10 yards per attempt.

Not once did the Titans Mayfield him to the ground, and defensive back Desmond King was the only defender who came close to doing so.

“There are times where we didn't play well enough or we didn't coach well enough and that's allowed the quarterback to stay on his first read,” coach Mike Vrabel said. “But there were other times where he didn’t, and he came off and scrambled or missed the guy. But too many times, I think, (Sunday), the message (was) that he was able to go to his first read and not find ways to affect him, whether it be through disguise, coverage, or rush or matching the hand.”

The Titans have the second fewest sacks in the league this season (14), the fewest quarterback hurries (33) and are tied for the second fewest quarterback hits (56). Their 87 quarterback pressures this season also rank toward the bottom of the league.

It is a far cry from last season, when the Titans finished the regular season with a respectable 43 sacks, 84 quarterback hits, 142 pressures and 72 hurries. Four Titans had at least four and a half sacks last season, including Harold Landry, who led the team with nine and 14 quarterback hits. Five others had at least two sacks. This season, Landry leads the team in both categories with four and a half sacks and 13 hits.

“It’s how you can affect the quarterback to cause bad throws, just get them to lob it over and you maybe get an interception,” Simmons said on Sunday. “It’s not all about sacks. True enough, we want sacks, but we’re going to keep trusting this game plan.”

The defense looked better on paper at the start of the season. Tennessee signed Vic Beasley, who led the league in sacks in 2016 with 15.5 en route to the Pro Bowl. Just before the regular season, it added three-time Pro Bowl pass rusher Jadeveon Clowney on a lucrative one-year deal.

The Titans cut Beasley after five unproductive games in which he did not record a sack or a quarterback hit. Clowney, who will miss the remainder of the season with a torn meniscus, did not record a sack and had just six quarterback hits in eight games.

The Titans have looked -- and will continue to -- toward a handful of younger veterans to fill the voids, including a pair of second-year linebackers in Tuzar Skipper and Derick Roberson.

Skipper, undrafted in 2019, has been on and off of the practice squad this season. He has appeared in each previous three games for the Titans and played a career-high 24 defensive snaps against Cleveland. He had four tackles in the loss.

“I would say that I thought (Skipper) in probably what is his most extensive time on a defense, probably for us this year, did have some nice physical plays that he affected the run in and was making tackles close to the line of scrimmage,” Vrabel said.

Roberson, an undrafted rookie in 2019, has played in 12 career games (three starts) with the Titans over two seasons, including appearances in all three of the Titans’ postseason games last season. While he does not have a sack in six games and one start this season, he registered three last season in the final two regular season games.

“I think everybody's got to contribute to some of that stuff that affects the quarterback, that pressures, that forces them off the spot or does things to tip a football, whether that's (Skipper) or (Roberson). Jack [Crawford has] played out there a little bit for us, Crawford, and (Landry),” Vrabel said. “I think that's going to be a fluid situation week to week.”

It’s never too late to improve. With four games left and postseason in sight, the Titans hope their pass rush comes around sooner rather than later.

“I don’t have a sense of hopelessness with them,” outside linebackers coach/defensive play-caller Shane Bowen said on Thursday. “I think they’re battling, trying to compete. We just have to keep finding ways to help them and they’ll keep going. They’re going to keep lining it up and keep rushing and hopefully they get home a little bit more than what we have at this point.”