It's three games into the 2022 season, and an argument can be made that the Tennessee Titans are one of the more maddeningly inconsistent teams in the NFL.
The Titans have been outplayed and outgained in every game, and yet they’re one Randy Bullock missed field goal away from being 2-1 and tied for the AFC South lead instead of 1-2 and looking up at the Jacksonville Jaguars and Indianapolis Colts.
Identifying what Tennessee’s biggest glaring weakness is? That's no great mystery.
The Titans have the second-most efficient offense in the NFL in the first half with a success rate of 50.6 percent, according to Pro Football Focus, but the least efficient offense with a success rate of 38.4 percent in the second half.
“I think in the first half, we’re able to set up some things, and then come back off play passes or screens off those looks,” says Titans offensive coordinator Todd Downing. “But that gets difficult to do when you’re not sustaining drives. I’ve certainly got to do a better job at making sure we’re able to get into those counterpunches, if you will.”
Per PFF, Ryan Tannehill’s passer rating drops from 109 in the first half to 52 in the second half, and Derrick Henry also averages two yards less per carry in the second half.
The Titans, who have the No. 25-ranked offense, are outscoring opponents 44-27 in the first two quarters, but they’ve been outscored themselves 57-7 in the second half with their only touchdown coming on a long scoring drive in the season opener against the New York Giants.
Tennessee has been shut out in the second half in back-to-back games. That’s not going to cut it against legitimate playoff teams, and certainly not Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts, who have the No. 12 overall defense (315 total yards allowed) and the third-ranked rushing defense (77 yards allowed per game).
Day and Night:
Titans offense in the first half: 542 yards, five touchdowns, three field goals, five punts.
Titans offense in the second half: 324 yards, one touchdown, 11 punts, one missed field goal, one interception, one pick-6, one fumble, one turnover on downs.
“We’ve got to do it the second half; we’ve got to keep our foot down,” center Ben Jones said after Sunday’s win. “We’ve got to start the first play on each drive with positive plays. We can’t keep getting behind the sticks. So, we have to be better in the second half.”
But it’s not just a lack of offensive production holding the Titans back. They blew a 13-point halftime lead against the Giants and lost by one, and they nearly squandered a 14-point lead against the Raiders last week, ultimately winning by two.
That kind of lackadaisical effort from the defense will be the Titans own undoing if it continues to persist.
Indianapolis has already come back back from a 20-3 deficit against the Houston Texans in Week 1 and a 17-10 deficit against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 3, and with the Titans’ track record this year, a double-digit halftime lead on Sunday doesn’t even seem safe enough for them.
“You have to beat the teams in your division,” Titans coach Mike Vrabel said. “And you have to steal a couple on the road, which, [this] is the next opportunity for that. We understand they’re a good football team. But we have to go on the road against a good football team that just beat a good football team and start doing some things better.”
The Titans will take on the Colts Sunday at noon central, with Fox's Adam Amin and Mark Schlereth on the call.
Follow Michael Gallagher on Twitter @MGsports_.
