Beddingfield: Inside Titans’ Defensive Gains and Offensive Regression

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By BLAKE BEDDINGFIELD, special correspondent

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Titans' defense gave a winning effort on Sunday versus the Houston Texans. The return of Jeffrey Simmons and Arden Key from injuries provided a much-needed talent infusion.  

I also liked the addition of rookie Kevin Winston Jr into the starting lineup for the injured Xavier Woods.  The Titans' defense showed an identity and when they can play in close ball games, they demonstrate their ability to stop offenses.

Chig Okonkwo
Chig Okonkwo/ Courtesy Tennessee Titans

Simmons, Sebastian Joseph-Day, T’Vondre Sweat, Cedric Gray, Cody Barton, Arden Key and Jaylen Harrell were all positive performers on Sunday.  

The offense was not as good and did not have a winning performance.

The Titans could only muster 194 yards passing on 37 attempts and only 25 yards from their running backs on 14 rushes. They fumbled twice, losing one of them, watched Cam Ward take three sacks and false-started five times. All that stopped the progression of the offense.

--Ward had another fumble. He has gained a reputation now. Going forward in his career, he will have defenses focused on getting the ball out every time a defender makes contact with him.

Ward is also getting more passes tipped at the line of scrimmage. His lack of height and sidearm angle makes it easier to have defensive linemen tip balls. Those tipped passes Callahan & Binkleyare just as effective as having great corners breaking up passes.  

--The Texans tipped three passes at the line of scrimmage on Sunday. These are wasted plays and down for an offense.  

--Ward completed passes to nine different receivers, but only one had over 50 yards and that was Chig Okonkwo who had a long of 39 yards late in the fourth quarter.  

Ward’s passing breakdown of yardage throws at the catch point (not yardage after the catch)

0–5-yard throws: 17 completions on 21 passes, one touchdown
6–10-yard throws: 3 of 6 passes completed
11–15-yard throws: 2 of 3 passes completed
16–25-yard throws: 1 of 6 passes completed, but he had a pass interference that negates one of the incompletions.
25+ yard throws: 1 of 3 passes completed.  

Best things I saw:

--Cody Barton with a PBU and a sack on fourth down to end the Texans' first drive.  The Texans RB Woody Marks completely whiffed on the block of the blitzing Barton. Excellent pursuit and finish by Barton.

--Short passing game of the Titans, kept the offense and Ward in rhythm and also kept the Titans from getting into long yardage conversions. The short passing attack also kept the Texans' pass rush from teeing off on Ward.

--Huge sack by Key and Jaylen Harrell on third-and-5 with the Texans in field-goal range. The sack forced the Texans to punt.

--The 39-yard pass to Chig Okonkwo with a pass rusher in Ward’s face. The throw shows the ability to push the ball downfield and utilize one of his better playmakers in Okonkwo.

The only question I have on that play is why were Okonkwo and Van Jefferson running the same route?  Was one of them supposed to go to the post while the other ran to the corner?

--As inconsistent and lackluster as Ward can look, he doesn’t let failure or bad play affect him during games; he continues to fight, compete and attempt throws without much hesitation.  That is a quality that can help him get better.

Worst things I saw:

--Simmons' penalty, which negated a missed field goal and gave the Texans offense a first down.  Luckily for the Titans, the Texans came away from the drive with zero points after failing on a fourth-down attempt. He lightly hit the snapper in the head. But it shouldn’t have been called. Unfortunately, it's not reviewable. The snapper's head went back, but ever so slightly.  

--JC Latham with three false start penalties.  Latham was concerned with Texans' edge rusher Will Anderson Jr.  The Titans also gave Latham help in protection when the Titans were in obvious passing situations.

--The run game for both teams was awful and forced the teams to throw the ball. Neither team was efficient throwing the ball either. You have to give credit to both defenses.

--Ward missed Mason Kinsey and Elic Ayomanor on wide-open, explosive yardage passes. A good QB must complete wide-open passes.

--The Titans' wide receiver depth took a major hit with Calvin Ridley, Chimere Dike and Ayomanor each leaving the game with injuries. Ayomanor was able to return, but the Titans were down to Van Jefferson and Mason Kinsey.

---The Texans may have the worst offensive line in the NFL. They are using a 400 lb. Trent Brown as a starting right tackle.  If they don’t have success this season, a big blame will be on the front office for trading left tackle Laremy Tunsil and not improving that line. Houston has invested heavily in offensive playmakers, but has failed to protect them with an O-line  

Keep an eye on: 

--I want to see Ward use his legs more often. A QB who can be a short positive yard runner can force the middle linebacker or safety to pay attention to him; it also creates situations where the pass rush in the middle of the line will hold their block and not get up field because of the threat on a third-and-short.

--I don’t see Ward getting better each week. If anything, he is regressing because the opposing defenses now have a game plan against him, and he hasn’t evolved his game to force changes to that plan.  Fumbles and tipped passes at the line of scrimmage and short passes to produce completions are not showing me a quarterback who is making positive strides.

I feel good about:

--Tyjae Spears rarely goes down on first contact. He runs hard, has very good contact balance and stays on his feet, always working toward falling forward and creating positive yard gains.

--The Titans' defense is putting pressure on the opposing quarterbacks with extra blitzers like Barton, but they are also starting to get pressure with their front four. The Titans’ defense is making strides in a positive direction.  

I don’t feel good about:

--Ayomanor is struggling. He isn’t making the tough catches. He is a limited athlete and must be more successful around coverage or with adjusted throws. He will not be a player who is wide open because of his average size and speed.

From what I see from Ayomanor, I would have him no better than a fourth WR on a good team. He will need to improve his strength and consistency at the catch point to crack the top three. He has too many average traits like size, speed and now the inconsistency with contest catches.  

--The Texans made it point to target Darrell Baker Jr in coverage. Baker was targeted 11 times during the contest with eight catches given up. Two of those were in zone coverage but targeted Baker’s zone. Four of those catches were very good catches along the sideline with good tight coverage by Baker.

Baker gave up plays Sunday but wasn’t a complete bust, He did have very good coverage that NFL receivers made very good catches against.

--Jalyn Armour-Davis was also targeted five times with three catches given up.  One of those incompletions was a pass interference on Armour-Davis. He is better in press-man coverage aligned on the outside, using the boundary as a guide and extra defender.  He struggles with switches, where he must take the inside receiver and cover across the formation or deep crossing routes.  

Looking ahead:

In the past two games, the Titans have established that they want to control Ward on offense with a short passing attack and giving them more convertible downs and distances. The issue is that the Titans aren’t scoring points because the run game is very average and the short passing game is predicated on moving the chains and having playmakers make yards after the catch.

The Titans lack the playmakers, and the offensive drives allow very little room for incompletions or penalty yards, keeping them from having positive-yard drives. The next phase is to create more options off the short passing game, allowing some downfield shots. On Sunday, Ward attempted nine passes over 15 yards in the air.  

Scouting Report

Kevin Winston Jr---Third Round selection 2025 draft---6’2 208

Winston has a combination of size, length and speed---He is an active player in both phases of the game who will force the run with an aggressive approach toward the ball carrier---Winston will also range to make plays in the passing game whether to the sideline or passes that are thrown in front of him---at this time in his rookie season he still shows some hesitation on turning it loose when he is playing the deep middle of the field.

He does not want to get beaten over the top, creating that hesitation. One phase of his game that will be a huge benefit to the defense is his man-cover skills against tight ends. He has the speed, strength and length to run with, match and mirror in that role.

I like Winston playing close to the LOS and being a run forcer. He is physical and has good eyes and instincts to the ball, but he has the dual athleticism to be able to cover and play in the middle of the field. Winston had a few blitzes against the Texans and he showed speed, quickness and immediate disruption. If he can improve his play recognition and his angles to the ball in the air, he can be an impactful safety in the NFL.  

Stock:

Positives: Cody Barton, Cedric Gray, Sebastian Joseph-Day, Jeffrey Simmons, Arden Key, Jaylen Harrell, Chig Okonkwo, Joey Slye, Johnny Hekker

Negatives: JC Latham, Elic Ayomanor, Titans run game