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NASHVILLE — After so much anticipation, the Tennessee Titans opened the season with a 23-10 loss to the New York Jets. The Titans looked like a team that was still trying to get familiar with a new scheme on both sides of the ball.
Overview
The Jets took control early in the game after an eight-play, 65-yard drive to go up seven in the first quarter. Tennessee did answer that touchdown with a field goal but could not muster much offense beyond that until the fourth quarter.
Geno Smith led three scoring drives in the second half that yielded 16 unanswered points for the Jets to take a commanding lead. Smith ended his day 19-of-24 (79.1%) passing for 215 yards. New York also got solid production from its two offensive stars, Breece Hall and Garrett Wilson. Hall ended the day with 102 rushing yards and a touchdown, while Wilson added 79 receiving yards of his own.
The Titans looked lethargic on both sides of the ball.
Cam Ward and company couldn’t develop any semblance of an offense until the end of the game when they managed to score their only touchdown of the day. Ward ended the day 19-of-32 (59.3%) passing for 140 yards and a touchdown.
The offense didn’t have a skill player go over 40 total yards and the unit totaled just 195 yards on the day.
The defense had one bright spot in Anthony Hill Jr., who got the start in place of the injured Cedric Gray. He had multiple impactful stops and finished with a team-leading 14 tackles.
Outside of Hill, the defense just couldn’t get enough stops to make a difference. The Titans gave up multiple explosive plays and couldn’t get the Jets off the field in critical moments. They allowed 367 yards in the game and did not record a sack.
Positives
- Bright Future: Anthony Hill Jr. showed great promise in his rookie regular-season debut.
- No Injuries: The Titans came out of the game clean with no injuries to report.
Negatives
- Lack of Dominance: Tennessee was dominated on both sides of the ball and did not look good throughout the day.
- Turnover Battle: The Titans lost the turnover battle with one lost fumble on the day.
- No Possession: Tennessee only held possession of the ball for 21:14 compared to the Jets’ 38:46.
