Titans find defensive spark to key win over Bears
The Titans made a big trade on Monday. They released three starters on Tuesday. And then they made 12 roster moves on Sunday.
All of it was geared toward shedding dead weight and moving forward with a unit better equipped for success on defense.
All of it worked.
Against the Bears on Sunday, the Titans defense swarmed like it hadn’t swarmed all season. It disrupted the quarterback. It was actually good on third down.
And so Chicago did not have much of a chance.
Here are five observations as the Titans used a 24-17 win at Nissan Stadium to improve to 6-2 while handing Chicago its fourth loss of the season:
Finally, success on third down
It had been their biggest Achilles’ heel all season.
But on Sunday, the Titans third-down defense morphed into a strength, the result of consistent pressure on Chicago quarterback Nick Foles and solid downfield coverage.
The Titans, who entered allowing opponents to convert on third down a league-worst 61.9% of the time, held the Bears to just 2-for-15 on third down.
New-look defense
The Titans’ least-imposing assemblage of outside linebackers were on the field for the Titans’ best defensive effort of the season.
Harold Landry, Derick Roberson and Wyatt Ray were the only players active at the position, but all three had solid days – Landry especially. The third-year linebacker had a sack – to give him a team-high 2.5 sacks on the season – as well as a pass deflection in the red zone in the fourth quarter to give Tennessee another third-down stop.
The Titans entered with just seven sacks on the season but totaled three Sunday, including one by Jayon Brown and one on a combined effort from Rashaan Evans and DaQuan Jones. Brown also forced a fumble late in the fourth quarter.
Earlier in the week, the Titans cut outside linebacker Vic Beasley, cornerback Johnathan Joseph and long snapper Beau Brinkley.
Breon Borders, promoted on Saturday from the practice squad, got his first start of the season at cornerback in place of Joseph.
And then there was Desmond King.
Desmond King with a big first impression
He didn’t have a chance to practice with the Titans this week – COVID-19 protocols prohibited that.
But that didn’t stop King, acquired on Monday from the Chargers, from coming up with a show-stopping play in the third quarter.
Jeffery Simmons jarred the ball loose from ball carrier David Montgomery, and King scooped it up before taking it 63 yards for a score that gave Tennessee a 17-0 lead.
King, whom the Titans traded a sixth-round pick for, started Sunday’s game for his new team.
The Titans also had a new punter in Ryan Allen, who was replacing the injured Brett Kern, and long snapper in Matt Overton, who on Saturday was promoted from the practice squad. Both newcomers were solid in their Titans debut.
A.J. Brown torches Bears
A.J. Brown had only three catches in the first half, but he made each of them count.
A combination of speed, strength and breakaway ability allowed Brown to do a significant chunk of damage after the catch.
It was evident on the second-year receiver’s catch, a 38-yard gain that featured about 25 yards coming after he broke a tackle.
And it was most impactful late in the second quarter, when Brown made a contested catch on a perfect fade down the left sideline thrown by Ryan Tannehill. Brown took cornerback Buster Skrine with him as he fought forward the last five yards before extending over the end zone’s plane for a touchdown.
The 40-yard completion was Brown’s sixth receiving touchdown of the season and put the Titans up 10-0.
Brown finished with four catches for 101 yards.
Rodger Saffold leaves with knee injury
Left guard Rodger Saffold left the game in the second quarter with a knee injury and did not return. Jamil Douglas replaced him.
And so the Titans were left with a left side of the line that looked totally different from earlier this season, when Saffold and starting left tackle Taylor Lewan were in place. Lewan tore his ACL in October and is out for the season.
The Bears took advantage, applying a good deal of pressure on Tannehill throughout the afternoon. The Titans quarterback was sacked a season-high three times.