A view from the other side
The Tennessee Titans dropped their first divisional game of the 2023 season with a 23-16 loss at the hands of the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.
While the rushing attack didn’t do much, the Titans were able to move the ball through the air. Unfortunately, finishing drives was a problem, with Tennessee ending the day 1-for-4 in the red zone.
Their biggest failed red zone trip came in the fourth quarter when trailing 20-16. The Titans drew up a run to Derrick Henry on fourth-and-1 at the Colts’ five-yard line but the play was stuffed for a turnover on downs.
On top of their red zone woes, another major issue was the Titans’ inability to stop the run, which was extremely uncharacteristic for this defense. Zack Moss ran wild all game and the Colts nearly broke 200 yards on the ground.
Bear in mind, this happened without Anthony Richardson, who exited early due to a shoulder injury.
Making matters worse, the defensive front was getting no pressure and the secondary provided zero resistance against Indy’s passing attack while also committing multiple back-breaking penalties to set the Colts up for points.
The Titans had a chance to tie the game with a minute left in the fourth but needed to drive the length of the field with no timeouts. The series ended with a Ryan Tannehill interception but a score was unlikely, anyway.
Now, let’s dive a bit deeper and see what went wrong for the Titans in Week 5.
Final score: Colts 23, Titans 16
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| TEN | 3 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 16 |
| IND | 7 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 23 |
Titans’ top performers
WR DeAndre Hopkins: 8 REC, 140 YDS
K Nick Folk: 3-3 FG (long 53), 1-1 XP
RB Tyjae Spears: 7 CAR, 34 YDS, TD; 4 REC, 35 YDS
Instant analysis: Offense
Tennessee’s pass protection was good in this game, as Tannehill was only sacked once and had time to make throws on longer developing plays. Tannehill was mostly sharp, fitting balls in tight windows and moving the ball down the field with relative ease. However, the offense just couldn’t complete red zone trips, scoring a touchdown on just one of four. Tannehill threw one pick, but the Titans were already cooked with so little time left and zero timeouts.
While the pass protection was good, the run-blocking was not. Derrick Henry averaged just 3.3 yards per carry and outside of Tyjae Spears’ 19-yard touchdown run, the first of his career, he averaged 2.5 yards per tote. Spears added 35 receiving yards, the second-most on the team.
DeAndre Hopkins had his best game as a Titan and was unstoppable in the second half. He’s the first Tennessee receiver to break the century mark since Week 11 of last season (Treylon Burks). I would’ve liked to see the fourth-and-1 play go to him instead of Henry.
Chig Okonkwo had multiple drops and multiple offensive pass interferences. The drops in particular have been a big issue for him this season.
The Titans were 5-12 on third downs, 1-2 on fourth downs and just 1-4 in the red zone.
Instant analysis: Defense
The Titans’ run defense was atrocious for once and it was clear the group upfront missed Teair Tart. Azeez Al-Shaair and Jack Gibbens didn’t provide much resistance up the middle and the outside linebackers had issues setting the edge. Tennessee came into this game allowing just 70 rushing yards per game but the Colts broke the century mark in the first half, and that was without Anthony Richardson, who exited early. Making it more bizarre, it was Zack Moss who had the monster game, not Jonathan Taylor. Moss is the first back to break 100 yards against Tennessee since Week 1 of last year (Saquon Barkley). He finished with 165 and two scores and had 195 scrimmage yards in total.
It was an all-around bad day for Tennessee’s front, as the pass-rush couldn’t get pressure without blitzing. Tennessee had just one sack. Sacks figured to be easier to come by when Richardson exited, but that was not the case.
The secondary didn’t do much, either, whether it was Richardson or Minshew under center. While the Colts didn’t have a ton of passing yards, they didn’t face much resistance when they wanted to throw.
Kristian Fulton struggled in particular, both in coverage and with the pair brutal pass interferences he committed, both of which aided in Colts scoring drives. His stock couldn’t be lower right now.
The tackling left a lot to be desired in this game. Al-Shaair missed two on one drive and Moss broke a big play in the fourth quarter due to a missed tackle.
The Colts were 8-13 on third downs, 0-1 on fourth downs and 1-5 in the red zone.
Instant analysis: Special teams
Nick Folk was money again. He made all three of his field goals, including a long of 53.
Kyle Philips indeed returned to punt return duties. He had just one attempt for 12 yards and didn’t get hurt. Spears handled kickoffs again, tallying one return for 12 yards.
Ryan Stonehouse had just one punt, which went for 43 yards.
What’s next
With the loss, the Titans now move to 2-3 on the season and fall behind the Colts and Jaguars, both of whom won and moved to 3-2. The Titans are even with the Texans, who lost in Week 5.
Up next for Tennessee is a trip to London, where they’ll serve as the home team in a matchup against the 3-2 Baltimore Ravens.
Originally posted on titanswire.usatoday.com