The Tennessee Titans opened Sunday’s game against Jacksonville with a promising 11-play, 70-yard drive - the kind of methodical march that coaches love to script and fans love to see. But after that opening possession? It was all downhill in a 25-3 loss that served as another reminder of how far this offense still has to go.
Let’s be clear: long, sustained drives are great. But in today’s NFL, where explosive plays are the currency of high-powered offenses, relying on grinding out every yard just isn’t sustainable.
You need chunk plays - the kind that flip the field, break open tight games, and put points on the board in a hurry. And right now, the Titans just aren’t producing them.
Through 12 games this season, Tennessee has managed only six plays of 30 yards or more - total. That’s not a typo.
Six. For context, last year’s Titans team, which finished 3-14, had 21 such plays.
That’s a steep drop-off, and it’s a big reason why the offense feels stuck in neutral.
The longest play of the year? A 47-yard strike from rookie quarterback Cam Ward to Calvin Ridley in that lone win at Arizona.
A beautiful moment, no doubt - but also a lonely outlier. Just a few weeks later, Tyjae Spears broke off a 41-yard run against Indianapolis, another rare flash of explosiveness.
Those two plays - Ridley’s catch and Spears’ run - stand as the only gains of 40-plus yards all season. And the Titans haven’t had a play go for 50 or more yards since last November, when Chig Okonkwo took a pass from Will Levis 70 yards for a game-winning score in Houston.
That’s over a full calendar year without a 50-yard play. In today’s NFL, that’s almost unheard of.
What’s frustrating is that when the Titans do manage to hit on a big play, it usually leads to points. Five of the six 30-plus yard gains this season have directly contributed to scoring drives. That includes Ridley’s 38-yard catch - also in the Arizona win - and Spears’ long run that set up a short touchdown pass to Gunnar Helm in Indianapolis.
There was the 38-yard touchdown to Chimere Dike against New England, and a clutch 39-yard connection from Ward to Okonkwo during a fourth-quarter drive against Houston that tied the game late. The only one that didn’t result in points? A 33-yard pass to Elic Ayomanor in a shutout loss to the Texans back in September.
So the formula is there: when the Titans find chunk plays, they move the ball and they score. The problem is, those moments are few and far between.
Against Jacksonville, the offense didn’t have a single play longer than 16 yards. That’s a tough way to live in the NFL. Interim head coach Mike McCoy pointed to missed opportunities and breakdowns - particularly in pass protection - as a key reason why the big plays just aren’t happening.
“There’s a couple of opportunities we missed,” McCoy said. “We had a chance to hit a big one to Van (Jefferson), and we had a protection breakdown.”
It’s not just about missed blocks, though. Offensive coordinator Nick Holz knows the Titans need more creativity and execution to generate explosive plays - both through the air and on the ground.
“When you’re getting as much man (coverage) as we’re getting, you’ve got to create some rubs and some runaways,” Holz explained. “You’ve got to help guys get off press coverage, create separation. There are different ways to do that to get runners downfield.”
In the run game, Holz pointed out that those home-run plays often come down to the small details - a receiver finishing his block, a back making one guy miss in space, a lineman getting to the second level.
“We had one or two last week that were close to popping,” Holz said. “But you’ve got to finish that extra hat in the box. That’s usually a safety, and if you make him miss, that’s when the big ones happen.”
The Titans have long leaned on Derrick Henry for those kinds of runs, but even his explosive output has slowed in recent years. And in today’s game, the real chunk plays - the ones that change games - typically come through the air. That’s where the Titans need to evolve.
“In the pass game, we’ve got to help some guys get open,” Holz said. “And they’ve got to win one-on-ones. If you beat man coverage, there’s no help - that’s where the explosives come from.”
Right now, the Titans are stuck in a cycle of short gains and long drives that stall out. They’ve shown glimpses of what’s possible when the offense opens up, but until they can consistently create explosive plays, they’ll continue to struggle to put points on the board.
The blueprint is there. The execution? Still a work in progress.