Tennessee vs. Washington: Full Report Card Grades for Tennessee
Another week, another loss. In a defeat that mirrored last week's win against the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Tennessee Titans failed to preserve their lead on Washington to the end of the game, and Washington finished off the contest with a game-winning field goal.
The Titans defense had its way with Washington for most of the game, but between a few big mistakes and the offense's inability to sustain drives, things eventually fell apart for the defense, and the Titans lost 19-17.
It doesn't bode well for their future that the Titans have gone 1-2 against three teams in a row with lopsided losing records. Now they move on to face the division rival Houston Texans.
Here are grades for each unit in the game against Washington.
Quarterback
1 of 9
I'll start with the disclaimer that I know Charlie Whitehurst is a backup and that it's unrealistic to expect backup quarterbacks to perform like starters.
That said, Whitehurst has not instilled a ton of confidence during his time as a starter. His numbers don't seem that bad when you look at them out of context: 17-of-26, 160 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
One stat that helps the context is the measly 6.2 yards per attempt. Many of Whitehurst's completions were short passes on third down that had no chance of converting. That's why the Washington defense was willing to give those up.
I don't expect Whitehurst to sling the ball deep all the time, but he has to stop taking what defenses give him when they give him meaningless completions.
More importantly, the coaching staff needs to find something—anything—to make a Whitehurst-run offense effective. So far, it hasn't been.
Grade: D+
Running Backs
2 of 9
Bishop Sankey started much better against Washington than he did against Jacksonville, but the end result was about the same. He had 56 yards on 16 carries, which was not that impressive.
Of course, much of the problem Sankey has had lately is that defenses don't have to respect the pass. He's not the only running back on the Titans who has been struggling in the last few games.
Other runners were Leon Washington, who had one first-down run, and Jackie Battle, who ran for a few short gains.
Dexter McCluster caught a pass, and Battle caught two, but Sankey's one catch was for no gain.
Grade: C
Receivers and Tight Ends
3 of 9
While Kendall Wright disappeared in Week 6, he came back against Washington, leading the team in targets, receptions and receiving yards. He finished the day with 68 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Delanie Walker was never a big part of the game. Although he had five targets, many were completely uncatchable, so he only ended up with two receptions for 17 yards.
Derek Hagan was the second most productive receiver for the game, almost entirely due to his 38-yard touchdown catch and run.
Justin Hunter was nowhere to be found. He had two targets; he dropped one and caught the other for six yards.
The receivers and tight ends usually shine, even in the stretch of recent losses. This was a rare down performance from the group.
Grade: C+
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Offensive Line
4 of 9
The jury is in on how successful the Titans' effort to build up the offensive line these last couple of years has been. And the verdict isn't good.
Andy Levitre has not played up to his billing. Michael Oher has shown no growth since he came over from the Ravens, and Chance Warmack has been a huge bust at guard.
Run blocking has been up and down, but pass protection has been generally awful. It's bad enough having a backup quarterback play. Things get worse when that backup doesn't have protection when opposing teams dial up the pressure.
Whitehurst only took one sack that counted, but multiple sacks were negated by penalties, and he had to throw under pressure often.
Grade: D+
Defensive Line
5 of 9
Usually, the defensive line is a bright spot for the Titans because of Jurrell Casey. He actually had a quiet game by his standards, with six tackles.
Sammie Hill and Karl Klug made up for it. Hill had three tackles, including a sack and two tackles for loss, along with a defended pass.
Klug's only tackles were his two sacks on the quarterback.
Mike Martin, who started for Ropati Pitoitua again, had three tackles for the day.
Considering it was missing a good starter in Pitoitua, the unit had a solid outing.
Grade: B+
Linebackers
6 of 9
Tennessee's linebackers have been all over the map this season. For several games, they were the worst unit on the field. That hasn't been the case lately, including in this game against Washington.
While they were far from great, the linebackers were solid.
Derrick Morgan had a big day, with seven tackles, two tackles for loss, a sack, a forced fumble and multiple pressures. Shaun Phillips and Kamerion Wimbley, the other two outside guys, each had two tackles. Wimbley recovered what turned out not to be a fumble early on.
On the inside, Wesley Woodyard had the Titans' only interception, a defended pass and seven tackles. Missed tackles weren't the problem for him that they had been.
Avery Williamson continued to struggle in coverage, but other than that, he showed a lot to like. He had five total tackles and a recovered fumble.
Grade: B
Defensive Backs
7 of 9
The defensive backs struggled again. Jason McCourty had another bad game, missing an interception, getting beaten on plays and picking up a big pass interference penalty at the game's end.
Michael Griffin was even worse. Despite his team-leading 10 tackles, Griffin was awful. He was beaten in coverage for big plays, took bad angles that kept him from tackling and missed tackles.
To his credit, he did have a tackle for loss and a sack, but he's becoming less and less reliable in pass defense.
Blidi Wreh-Wilson was a mixed bag again. He struggled with consistent tackling but did manage seven total tackles and a defended pass.
George Wilson and Daimion Stafford played decently, but neither made any big splash plays.
Grade: C-
Special Teams
8 of 9
There were only a couple of mistakes on special teams, but one was very costly. McCluster fumbled on a punt, which gave Washington excellent field position and led to a field goal.
Washington ended up winning the game by less than a field goal.
The other mistake was in the fourth quarter. With very little time left, the Titans committed a penalty on a kickoff, forcing them back and making the ball returnable.
The Titans stopped the runner at the 25-yard line, but Washington scored a game-winning field goal on the drive anyway.
Other than that, the special teams were all right. Brett Kern had a short average punt, but two were inside the 20. Ryan Succop was perfect.
Grade: D+
Coaching
9 of 9
The Titans were playing with a handicap by not having Jake Locker on the field. Even so, they're familiar with that situation by now and still have not found an effective offense.
The Titans defense has been playing very well these last two games, but it can't hold forever. If the offense is going three-and-out more than half the time, the defense will wear down.
Ken Whisenhunt, despite being the offensive guru he is, needs to return to the drawing board. If Whitehurst is so incapable as a quarterback that there's no way to make him remotely effective, then why was he signed in the first place?
The coaching staff is starting to run out of excuses.
Grade: D-
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