“Any loss, you have to move on. It’s a long season, there is a lot of football left. We are still in it. There is nothing to say that we can’t be in it. We just have to move on.” – Daniel Brunskill 

The Tennessee Titans struggled their way to a 27-3 loss in Cleveland Sunday against the Browns in which nothing seemed to go right. After the loss, the Titans now fall to 1-2 on the season. Now, the Titans will try to find a way to bounce back at home, again, against a struggling Cincinnati Bengals team that comes to Nissan Stadium after securing their first win of the season on Monday Night. 

Last Time Out

Tennessee

The Titans were held in check in every aspect of the game against the Browns in Cleveland Sunday. The only points put on the board came at the beginning of the second quarter by a 44-yard field by Nick Folk. Folk has been one of the only bright spots on this 2023 Titans team. 

The biggest factor in the loss was the play of the offensive line. The team learned midweek last week that rookie offensive lineman Peter Skoronksi would not play, and boy did they miss him. The left side of the line, especially left tackle Andre Dillard, struggled to keep track of one of the games most elite edge defenders in Myles Garrett, who would finish with a game high 3.5 sacks. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill was chased all game long and had little time to throw in the pocket. In total, Tannehill was sacked five times and received eight quarterback hits. The Browns defense was also to able to secure nine tackles for loss. Due to the offensive lines blocking, or lack thereof, both the run game and pass game were limited. The Titans finished with 94 total yards on the day, which would be the lowest total since 1974 when the Houston Oilers were held to 81 against the Dallas Cowboys. The rushing attack was held to just 26 yards with Derrick Henry accounting for 20 on just 11 carries. Ryan Tannehill threw for 104 yards, but due to the five sacks losing 36 yards, the offense is totaled to 94 yards instead of 130. 

The offensive line is not the only one to look at after Sunday’s loss. You would be mistaken if you did not look at the quarterback as having some fault. Ryan Tannehill, after having one of his most efficient outings as a Titan in week 2, flipped the script going 13/25 for 104 yards. Tannehill, when he had time to throw, was seen on a couple of instances making errant throws to his receivers resulting in incompletions. Treylon Burks and DeAndre Hopkins are the two biggest ones to note as they struggled to find the rhythm with Tannehill. Hopkins led the Titans in receiving yards with 48 but also had four incompletions. Burks, on the other hand, was limited to just five yards on one reception with five incompletions. Even if the offensive line is holding the pocket, Ryan Tannehill has not proved he can make the plays on a consistent basis. 

Now, to the defense where the struggles did not shy away from them either. The Titans defense accounted for three sacks, five quarterback hits, and seven tackles for loss. They could have had at least two more sacks as both Jeffery Simmons and Arden Key missed open tackles on Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson. The Titans secondary did not fare well against Watson and the Browns receivers as he went a very efficient 27/33 for 289 yards and 2 touchdowns. After struggling the first two weeks of the season, Watson found his groove Sunday and the Titans had no answer. Browns receiver Amari Cooper led the way with seven receptions for 116 yards and a touchdown. The coverage of Kristian Fulton, who is in a contract year, has not been good. In the three games thus far that Fulton has been targeted, he has allowed a 158.3 passer rating. That is perfect. Fulton has allowed quarterbacks to be 7-8 for 165 yards and a touchdown per Pro Football Focus. The defense and Fulton did not play up to its typical standards other than their rush defense which allowed just 78 yards on the ground to a team that bases their offense on rushing the football. If this team is going to make a turnaround, it will start with stronger play on the defense. 

Cincinnati

The Cincinnati Bengals won at home on Monday Night Football 19-16 against the surprising Los Angeles Rams who have been a difficult out so far this season. Joe Burrow and the Bengals have not been the elite AFC North team that we have grown accustomed to the last couple of seasons. Burrow suffered a calf strain in preseason that he has been fighting through each game. Monday night was Burrow’s first game where he looked close to his normal self since a season ago going 26/49 for 259 yards and an interception. The stat line is not great, but considering the performances he put on the previous two weeks, this is certainly a progression. Bengals running back Joe Mixon had 65 yards and touchdown leading the rushing attack that accumulated just 67 yards. 3rd year receiver Ja’Marr Chase had an impressive 12 receptions for 141 yards. 

What might be equally as impressive is linebacker Logan Wilson had two interceptions on the night and the defense brought the pressure on Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford who brought him down six times. The Bengals have an excellent pass rush led by Sam Hubbard and Trey Hendrickson. Hubbard had one sack and Hendrickson had two sacks on Monday night. 

The Matchup

When Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals is the matchup, all Titans fans know the damage they can do. Since Burrow entered the NFL in 2020, the Titans have yet to beat him, including the 2022 AFC Divisional Round matchup at Nissan Stadium that saw the Bengals win 19-16 on a last second field goal by Evan McPherson. All-time, the Bengals and the Titans are tied 8-8, but the Bengals have won four of the last five, and seven of the last ten meetings. The Titans have lost the last two meetings at home and haven’t won at home since November 12th, 2017.

The Bengals bring a high-powered offense that can throw at will and a high motor defensive front that gets to the quarterback an average of three times a game this season. The Bengals passing attack is very deep and can beat you at any point when the defense puts up a double team. The receivers Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Tyler Boyd are arguably the best wide receiver trio in the league. The Bengals still trot out a mediocre offensive line, so if the Titans defensive front can fluster the pocket then that will give Tennessee their best chance at limiting Joe Burrow. Burrow does have the calf-strain and is limited through practice. His mobility is not 100% and he will be forced to be more of a true pocket-passer and play the short throw.  The Titans need to be prepared for the slants and in-routes in this game. The Titans secondary are struggling when playing man coverage so I expect zone defense and bend but don’t break to be on display Sunday.

For the Titans offense, the game could come down to the offensive line play yet again. Peter Skoronski will be a crucial addition the line needs but could possibly be a game-time decision. The line needs to show some obvious growth from weeks 3 to 4 if there is much positive outlook for this offense moving forward. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill needs to try and replicate his week 2 bounce back performance against the Chargers this week against the Bengals. When Tannehill has time to throw in the pocket, he needs to hit his receivers to help gain confidence in this offense. 

Most of the Titans and Bengals games have been low scoring, so this game could come down to a field goal. Nick Folk has been a perfect 8-8 this season with a long of 50 yards. Folk has gained the trust from his peers and if any game comes down to it late, you can trust him yet again.

Game Information

Cincinnati Bengals vs. Tennessee Titans

Game Time: October 1st @ 12:00 PM CT

Location: Nashville, TN (Nissan Stadium)

TV Broadcast: FOX (WZTV Fox 17)

TV Broadcast Crew: Adam Amin, Mark Schlereth, Kristina Pink

Radio: Titans Radio (104-5 The Zone)

Radio Crew: Mike Keith, Dave McGinnis, Ramon Foster, Rhett Bryan

Referee: Shawn Smith

Line: CIN -2.5

Over/Under: 41

Things To Watch

Can the Titans O-line hold up?

Last week, the Titans offensive line struggled all day stopping Myles Garrett and company from getting to the backfield. This week, the same thing could happen with the likes of Bengals defensive tackle DJ Reader and defensive ends Trey Hendrickson and Sam Hubbard. With another week of practice under their belt and the Bengals coming off a Monday Night game, the Titans have the rest and practice time over the Bengals. All eyes will be on the Titans offensive line to see if they can hold up. Rookie lineman Peter Skoronski missed his second straight game due to an appendectomy surgery, and it remains to be seen if he will suit up on Sunday. 

Feed. The. King

Titans running back Derrick Henry has not seen the field anywhere near as much as Titans fans are accustomed to seeing him. In fact, Henry has played less than half of the total offensive plays in all three games this season. With rookie running back Tyjae Spears making some dynamic plays, it is normal to see a decrease in Henry’s touches. However, that isn’t working, so it is time to feed Henry and see if he can get you to the promise land. The offensive line has struggled in run blocking as well this season, so that plays a part in it. This week I am looking for the Titans to focus more on running the football and establishing that part of their game. The Bengals rush defense ranks 31st in the league with an average of 5.1 yards per carry. The Titans need to utilize that on Sunday.

Titans Secondary vs. Bengals WR’s

It seems as if talking about the Titans secondary is a weekly thing, but it will continue until further notice. Last week, Kristian Fulton and Sean Murphy-Bunting struggled in coverage and allowed Amari Cooper to his season-high yardage total with 116 yards. They face a tougher challenge this week with the trio of Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Tyler Boyd. If the Titans pass rush isn’t flustering Joe Burrow, it could be a long day for the Titans secondary. 

Tannehill At Home

Ryan Tannehill had a solid bounce back performance in week 2 at home versus the Los Angeles Chargers as he went 20/24 for 246 yards and a touchdown as well as a rushing touchdown. This week, the Titans will need another bounce back performance at home and to make the smart plays as well as being accurate. The Titans and Tannehill need to learn short crossing routes and to get the ball out early on passing plays since the offensive line is not allowing a lot of time to be in the pocket. The Titans can win this game with rushing the football and playing quick. 

Did You Know?

• The Tennessee Titans defense enters the week with a streak of nine consecutive games without allowing the opposing offense to reach 100 rushing yards. The Titans defense also has gone 19 games without allowing an individual 100-yard rushing performance. The Bengals have yet to have a 100-yard rusher this season.

• Derrick Henry needs one rushing touchdown to reach 80 for his career. He would become the seventh NFL player in the Super Bowl era (1966–present) to reach 8,000 rushing yards and 80 rushing touchdowns within his first eight seasons. The other players on the list are Eric Dickerson, Barry Sanders, Emmitt Smith, Shaun Alexander, LaDainian Tomlinson and Adrian Peterson.

• The last time the Titans beat the Bengals at home in the regular season was week 10 on November 12th, 2017. Marcus Mariota capped a 73-yard drive with a seven-yard, game-winning touchdown pass to DeMarco Murray with 36 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. Murray scored all three of the team’s touchdowns (two rushing, one receiving). The Titans never trailed until Andy Dalton’s 70-yard touchdown pass to A.J. Green (115 receiving yards) with 5:03 remaining in the fourth quarter. The Titans recorded a time of possession of 40:09 and go 7-of-15 on third down, while the Bengals went 1-of-10 on third down.