NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Even from the best teams, NFL seasons include significant variations from best games to worst. The question for a club near the middle is whether it can climb out of the downside often enough, playing to strengths, maximizing contributions and masking flaws.
In flipping a 27-3 loss in Cleveland into a 27-3 win over the Bengals at Nissan Stadium, the Titans did all of that and more, playing at peak levels on all levels.
It was a wow performance, and while 24-point wins aren’t going to be the norm, some of the features from it should be more regular: a rhythm on offense that produced the sort of desirable third-downs they always talk about that made room for 64.3 percent on third and fourth downs and an efficient passing game, a timely defense that severely limited a gimpy Joe Burrow and stopped all but one series before the Bengals got into the red zone and overall sound special teams.
They are 2-2, the same as the other three members of the AFC South as they prepare for a trip to Indianapolis and their first game against a division foe.
