Much of the conversation around Tennessee’s Week 1 loss is going to start with the obvious problems, but there were also a few individual performances that told a bigger story for the Titans. Some players made a case for bigger roles. Others left more questions than answers.
Tyjae Spears was firmly in the second group.
Entering the season healthy and positioned to gradually work his way into the starting backfield spot while Tony Pollard plays out the final year of his contract, Spears had a real opening to make noise. Instead, he came out of his fourth-year debut in Tennessee looking unreliable and out of rhythm.
The production was thin: three carries for 12 yards, compared with Pollard’s seven rushes for 35 yards. Spears’ impact in the passing game was muted too, with just two catches on four targets. One dropped first down in the third quarter stood out as the kind of play that can define an uneven afternoon, and it did exactly that here.
On the other side of the ledger, rookie linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. was the clear bright spot.
With starter Cedric Gray sidelined by a concussion, Hill was pushed into a bigger role in his first NFL start and responded like the Titans’ most reliable defender. He led the team with 16 tackles and also appeared to force a fumble in the first quarter, though it was ruled incomplete in a call that could have changed the feel of the game.
Even without that turnover, Hill’s day was hard to ignore. He looked like a player who’s already earned more trust, and he’s given Tennessee a reason to believe he’ll have a serious role sooner rather than later, even once Gray returns.
The secondary had a rougher time, and Alontae Taylor’s day was especially difficult. According to PFF, Taylor posted the lowest coverage grade among five Titans defensive backs at 37.4, while Marcus Harris checked in at 66.1. That gap was huge.
Taylor’s afternoon started poorly with a pass interference penalty in the first quarter, and things never really recovered. Garrett Wilson kept finding room against him, whether on short and intermediate routes or on a critical fourth-down stop. Taylor will need to be much better, and the rest of the unit does too, if Tennessee’s defense is going to hold up in the AFC South.
There was at least one encouraging sign on offense: Carnell Tate.
After the noise around his preseason zero-catch stat line, the rookie pass-catcher answered with a solid debut. He tied Wan’Dale Robinson for the most receiving yards on the day, caught four passes for 38 yards, and even had a deep opening over the middle in the second quarter that Cam Ward missed.
Tate looked comfortable in Brian Daboll’s offense, contributed as a blocker in the run game, and ran routes cleanly enough to suggest more production is coming. For Tennessee, that’s the kind of showing you take and build on.
Tommy Townsend also had a mixed afternoon. He can’t be pinned for the Titans’ offense punting on seven of its 10 drives, because the issues on that side of the ball went far beyond the final snap of each possession. Still, with three touchbacks, the new punter didn’t help Tennessee’s defense by flipping the field when it needed a break.
The clearest example came on a punt from the Jets’ 45 in the second half that ended up in the end zone. It may seem minor, but on a day when the defense needed any help it could get, it mattered.
And that was the theme for Tennessee: the little things piled up, and they did real damage.
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Titans Still Have One Big Problem Despite Staying Within Reach
At halftime against the Jets, the Titans were still hanging around, trailing 10-3 in a game that had already offered a little bit of everything. Rookie Carnell Tate finally got his first catch of the season, turning a 12-yard reception into a small but welcome milestone, while linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. was busy all over the field with a team-high nine tackles.
The broader picture, though, looked familiar for Tennessee. Alontae Taylor had a rough stretch in coverage and was flagged for pass interference, and Chimere Dikes day included a fumble on a kick return even as he managed one reception. For a team still within striking distance, the issue was less about staying close than finding cleaner play in the moments that keep swinging games the wrong way. [Read more 🡒]