Titans vs. Jaguars: Grades, Notes and Quotes for Tennessee
Even with plenty of opportunities provided by the Jacksonville Jaguars to take the game, the Tennessee Titans still couldn't get the big divisional win to stay alive in the AFC South, losing 19-13 Thursday.
A final last drive by Marcus Mariota was a valiant effort, but no timeouts and a lack of a sufficient offensive threat ultimately sent the Titans to 2-8 and 0-6 against AFC opponents for the 2015 season.
Injuries plague every NFL team this time of year, and the Titans are especially hurting. They had little depth to work with to begin the season. They were completely depleted at wide receiver in this game with the absence of their top two wide receivers, Kendall Wright and Justin Hunter.
It's officially time for the Titans to start playing for pride and not worry so much about making the postseason. They're still mathematically alive, but building some confidence for Mariota for the long-term future is much more important.
Position Grades for Titans
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Positional Grades
Quarterback: B
You can't put the blame on Mariota in this loss. He worked with what he had, which wasn't much at wide receiver. He still managed to throw for 231 yards and avoid throwing an interception. You can even argue he was the only reason the Titans scored any points at all.
The Titans were already thin at wide receiver coming into the season. The absences of Kendall Wright and Justin Hunter made this passing offense virtually nonexistent. It would be tough for a majority of NFL quarterbacks to work with the Titans' current offensive personnel.
Despite those tough odds, Mariota still managed the game effectively. Who knows what he would have mustered up on the drive to tie it at 16 if not for a fumble by Phillip Supernaw? That fumble gave the Jaguars favorable field position to force the inept Titans offense to need a touchdown to win.
Mariota needs some talented weapons around him to really blossom, and he doesn't have that right now. That was obvious in this game.
Running Back: C+
There was nothing flashy about this unit, but Antonio Andrews still averaged more than five yards per carry on 15 rushing attempts. The flow of the game kept him from getting more carries at the end.
Andrews fought for his yardage and helped his cause as this team's primary running back. He will continue to be an important part of the offense for the remainder of the season.
The success of Andrews slowed the game down and kept the Titans alive until the final possession. Everyone knew the Titans would have to rely on their running game, and Andrews still had a productive average at 5.2 yards per carry. You can't hang your head on what he did.
We saw the debut of rookie David Cobb, but the results were disastrous. He finished with a negative yardage total on four carries (minus-three). It will obviously take some time for Cobb to get comfortable and make any kind of impact.
Wide Receiver: F
This was the area that had red flags all over it heading into the game. The unit is in shambles without Wright and Hunter.
The team only took four wide receivers out of training camp, which was puzzling. This is the same team that decided to let veteran Hakeem Nicks go. That move doesn't look so smart now.
It's a bad scenario when you're relying on unproven talent and a questionable offensive line to create separation for a rookie quarterback.
Dorial Green-Beckham is the one guy who needed to step up in this game, but he showed he still has a lot of progress to make before he's considered a reliable receiver.
Tight End: C
Despite Delanie Walker having another promising performance with over 100 yards receiving, the unit didn't perform well as a whole. To justify the team taking five tight ends to the regular season out of training, it needed more than just Walker contributing. That's even more true with there being virtually zero production coming from wide receiver.
Phillip Supernaw got his first two receptions of the season but also fumbled at a critical juncture in the game when the Titans only needed a field goal. The turnover helped the Jaguars push the lead to six, and it was too much for the Titans to overcome. That one really hurt, but these are the growing pains young teams like the Titans are going to experience.
Offensive Line: C-
Mariota was sacked four times, and the O-line completely collapsed on the final play when he tried to throw the ball to the end zone. Better protection on the final play may have given him enough time to improvise and make something happen.
This unit has made some strides under interim head coach Mike Mularkey, but it regressed against the Jaguars. There were also few running lanes created for Andrews. He regularly had to create his own yardage after contact.
Defensive Line: C+
The Titans put some decent pressure on quarterback Blake Bortles, which kept him from completely breaking out. The fatigue seemed to catch up with the defensive line as the game wore on, and the ineptitude of the offense didn't help matters.
Jurrell Casey did register his fifth sack of the season, and the Titans held the Jaguars to fewer than four yards per carry as a team.
Linebacker: B+
This unit continues to make this defense tick and keep the team in games until the end. The linebackers deserve a lot of credit for keeping the Titans competitive in games they have no business being in.
That was the case against the Jaguars. Most of the pressure on Bortles came from the linebacker position. Wesley Woodyard, Avery Williamson and Brian Orakpo all notched sacks.
Pass coverage was also superb from this unit, which had to aid a depleted secondary. Zach Brown tallied his second interception of the season when it looked like the Titans would be able to cruise to the victory.
Secondary: C-
All things considered, the secondary could have been much worse. This area is plagued with injuries, much like the wide receiver position is.
Bortles is capable of throwing for 300-plus yards against any defense, but things weren't always easy for him against the Titans. However, he connected with one of his talented receivers on numerous occasions, finding Allen Robinson on several big throws that extended drives.
Every NFL team has a talented quarterback to throw at you, and the Titans are going to have trouble stopping most of them.
Special Teams: D
It was a disappointing game from this unit. Harry Douglas fielded a couple of punts over Dexter McCluster, but McCluster retained the kick return duties.
We didn't see Tre McBride, whom the Titans called up from the practice squad, field any kicks. It was his first time being on the active roster, per John Glennon of the Tennessean:
"WR Tre McBride also active for the first time. #Titans
— John Glennon (@glennonsports) November 20, 2015"
If the Titans keep fading in the standings, expect to see more of McBride toward the end of the season. This team needs to find a spark somewhere in kickoff returns to give the offense better starting field position.
Ryan Succop missed an important field goal that could have pushed the lead to seven points. It was a difficult kick from 53 yards, but it was one the Titans desperately ended up needing.
What essentially put it away for the Jaguars was their 63-yard punt return late in the fourth quarter that gave them an easy touchdown to put them ahead. If the punt coverage of the Titans executed better, then perhaps the defense could've held up to keep the Jaguars from reaching the end zone.
The Offense Really Misses Kendall Wright
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We're starting to see the effects of not having Kendall Wright and his importance to the offense. There is little that opposing defenses have to worry about on the perimeter without Wright in the game.
Relying on unproven talent at wide receiver is never a good thing in the NFL. This is basically what kept the Titans from getting more than 13 points, which has happened in six of the last seven games. All of those six games were losses.
The injury to Justin Hunter last week made matters worse, but he wasn't playing well leading up to the injury.
However, a healthy Wright may have helped this offense just enough to steal this game on the road. The Titans need him back quickly to avoid going 2-14 for the second year in a row. This offense stands no chance with the current personnel. The Titans need Wright's reliability to draw attention from defenses, which can allow the younger receivers to find room to make plays.
Titans Elected for Long Field-Goal Attempt
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This was a tough call to make for Mike Mularkey. The Titans were up by four and in control to put the game away with a touchdown.
Mularkey elected to go with the conservative approach of attempting a 50-plus-yard field with Ryan Succop instead of trying to convert a short fourth down.
You can't fault Mularkey for this decision. The defense way playing well as it had held the Jaguars to just nine points, and Succop can hit long field goals. He narrowly missed it, and that's why the spotlight falls on Mularkey for his decision.
He did admit to wishing he had gone for it, per John Glennon of the Tennessean:
"Mularkey says he wishes went for fourth down in JAgs territory instead of missed FG
— John Glennon (@glennonsports) November 20, 2015"
When you're 2-7, sometimes it's better to be the ultimate aggressor and go for it. Andrews was regularly breaking tackles, but it was still a tough call for a coach to make. Arguments for both sides could be made.
If the field goal had been good, then the Titans would have only needed a field goal to tie the game on the final drive. With a struggling offense, you have to go for points whenever you can get them. Succop has made plenty of kicks from that distance in the past but just happened to miss on this attempt.
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Dexter McCluster Injures Knee
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This is another troubling injury for a Titans offense that can't afford any more. Tennessee is already depending on a plethora of inexperienced personnel, and Dexter McCluster has been involved in so many different ways.
He took a nasty hit after catching a screen pass. He left the game with a knee injury, per CBS Sports Reporter Tracy Wolfson:
".@titans Dexter McCluster questionable to return w right knee injury @nflnetwork
— Tracy Wolfson (@tracywolfson) November 20, 2015"
The Titans do have rookie David Cobb back to help at running back, but he's another unproven player they'll have to rely on if McCluster misses any time. It will also put even more of a workload on Antonio Andrews to carry this offense on the ground.
McCluster's absence will also take away another weapon for Mariota in the passing game. This offense would be now even more inexperienced if McCluster were to miss any games.
Wesley Woodyard on Jags' Punt Return
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The biggest game-changing moment was the Jaguars punt return that put them in easy position to score the go-ahead touchdown. A longer field to drive may have been enough for the Titans defense to hold onto the four-point lead and grind out the victory.
Special teams are often overlooked, but they're still so important to how games are won or lost. Wesley Woodyard is the special teams captain, and he commented on the play, via the Titans official Twitter page:
"Woodyard on Jags' long punt return: "We let our team down. I put that on my back as the special teams captain." pic.twitter.com/faHHOfPBqp
— Tennessee Titans (@Titans) November 20, 2015"
These are the types of plays that separate playoff teams from 2-8 teams like the Titans. Taking care of the minor details like effectively covering a punt is vital. The Titans didn't do that here, and the misstep never gave the defense a chance to close out the game. It effectively wasted another solid defense performance from the front seven.
Mike Mularkey and Marcus Mariota on the Final Play
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The Titans were already fighting an uphill battle on the final drive with no vertical threats to scare the Jaguars defense. It didn't help that they also had no timeouts and a questionable offensive line.
Despite all of that, Mariota carried the offense deep into Jaguars territory and spiked the ball with five seconds left. It left enough time for one last play to the end zone for the win, pending an extra point.
The play never really developed as Mariota moved up in the pocket and was tracked down by a Jaguars defender for a sack to end the game. Mularkey commented on who the play was intended for, per Jason Wolf of the Tennessean:
"Mularkey: "We had to throw to the end zone." Final play was supposed to go to Rico Richardson. #Titans
— Jason Wolf (@JasonWolf) November 20, 2015"
Rico Richardson has yet to catch a pass since joining the team midseason. He had two targets in this game and five overall on the season.
Managing the timeouts better in the second half would have given the Titans a much more probable chance of drawing up a game plan to win the game on the final drive and not put them in such a difficult scenario. There was no time for Mariota to do anything but improvise.
Mariota did express that he wished that he had at least thrown the ball to the end zone to give the team a chance, via the Titans official Twitter page:
"Marcus Mariota: We had an opportunity at the end. I should have thrown it up and given someone a chance. pic.twitter.com/CVus1eNFJ5
— Tennessee Titans (@Titans) November 20, 2015"
It looked like Mariota was trying buy himself time by stepping up in the pocket to find the open receiver. Plays like that usually work due to the quarterback buying some time for receivers to get open, so you can't fault Mariota for trying to make a play.
With better weapons around him, the Titans wouldn't have been in this situation to begin with. The fact that they had a chance to still win on a final play is a testament to how promising the future is for Mariota.
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