Jake Locker Bounces Back with 2-Touchdown Performance vs. Arizona

After his poor performance last Friday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jake Locker was still deemed worthy of being the starter for the Tennessee Titans. On Thursday night, in front of a national audience, he proved why he deserved that designation.

Here's a review of his performance against the Arizona Cardinals. 

Drive No. 1

Locker went one-for-two, with his only completion a five-yard pass to Jared Cook on 3rd-and-11, as the Titans went three and out. 

Drive No. 2

After a Michael Griffin interception, Locker found Kendall Wright for a 10-yard touchdown pass, and the Titans take a 7-0 lead.

Drive No. 3

The Titans go three-and-out once again, all three plays passing. Locker's only completion was to Wright for four yards.

Drive No. 4

Locker's only pass on this three-and-out was an incompletion to Javon Ringer.

Drive No. 5

Undoubtedly Locker's best drive of the game. He started the drive with a seven-yard impromptu bootleg after David Stewart got driven in the backfield on play-action. He then missed Cook on an overthrown pass.

The next play, on 3rd-and-7, Locker found Wright for a 29-yard pass. Locker would then run for four yards two plays later to end the quarter. Two plays later, Locker ended the drive with a 28-yard touchdown pass to Nate Washington.

Drive No. 6

Locker picked up where he left off in the last drive by finding Jared Cook for a 35-yard gain, on a play in which he caught the Cardinals with a pump-fake. The drive ended up stalling, and the Titans settled for a field goal.

Drive No. 7

Locker went zero-for-two on the drive, but almost hit Washington for a huge gain. Another three-and-out for the Titans.

Drive No. 8

Locker ended his night with another three-and-out, although he did hit Ringer for seven yards.

Drive No. 9

Locker went three-for-four for 10 yards on a mainly uneventful drive for the Titans. 

Overall Performance

Locker finished the game going 11-for-20 for 134 passing yards for two touchdowns through the air, and 11 yards on two carries. He certainly looked a lot better than he did last week against the Buccaneers, and he looked much more comfortable throwing the ball.

Furthermore, Locker proved in this game that he can be a solid starting quarterback in the NFL. While the Cardinals don't boast the best defense in the world, Locker showed that he can play at a high level. While his accuracy is still a work in progress, Locker has a whole lot of potential.

Time will tell if he'll be able to play like this on a consistent basis, but for now, Titans fans should be happy with what he did against the Cardinals.