Titans Take Down Denver on Prime Time

Sep 15

DENVER, CO. – Monday night at Mile High. It doesn’t get any better for fans looking to end week one of the 2020 NFL Season with a nail biter of a prime-time game, as the Tennessee Titans upset the Denver Broncos 16-14.

Tennessee’s Kicking Woes Continue into 2020

Mike Vrabel’s squad had quite an effective night. All-pro back Derrick Henry did his usual thing; grinding out 116 yards on 31 carries for 116 yards, newly resigned quarterback Ryan Tannehill had his best passing performance as a Titan, completing 67 percent of his passes for 247 yards and two touchdowns (with 4th-year wideout Corey Davis going off with 7 catches for 101 yards), and the Titans defense kept a high powered Denver passing attack to just 216 yards on the night.

But none of that mattered, as TV fans could only keep their focus on one thing; Titans kicker Stephen Gostkowski. The “future hall of fame kicker” (not my words) whiffed on four out of his six kicking attempts last night. He missed three consecutive field goals from 47, 44, and 42 yards out, respectively, along with a missed extra point attempt. He made one extra point and the game-winning field goal kick from 25 yards out. Last year, the Titans had three kickers make only 8 out of 21 field goal attempts.

Denver Cooled Down after a Hot Start

Second-year quarterback Drew Lock came out firing during the first half of the game, connecting with rising star tight end Noah Fant and rookie wideout Jerry Jeudy early and often. Entering the second half, though, it was a different story. Denver opted to stay on the ground more, using their running back carousel of Melvin Gordon and Philip Lindsay as a change of pace in order to wear out Tennessee’s front seven. However, that approach led to just a single touchdown drive in the entire second half. Denver OC Pat Shurmer seemed to have lost confidence in his signal-caller. Granted, a good chunk of Lock’s incompletions were nearly picked off by Tennessee’s secondary in the second half.

As for Denver’s defense, the loss of Von Miller was felt on that front line, as third-year pass rusher Bradley Chubb registered only one QB hit the whole night. To make matters worse, veteran cornerback AJ Bouye exited the game with a shoulder injury, weakening the Broncos’ passing defense even more.

Going Forward

It’s a short week for both squads. Tennessee heads home to host a Jaguars team that pulled off a major upset against Philip Rivers’ Colts on Sunday. As for the Broncos, Fangio’s defense is in for a fight against a rejuvenated Steelers squad.