Slow starters
Titans want to get offense going early
NASHVILLE — Tennessee Titans coach Mike Mularkey opened the season with an onside kick, trying to get his team an extra offensive possession. He won the toss last weekend and chose to receive, looking for a quick start.
So far, all the attempts to get the Titans going from the start of the game just aren’t working.
They have scored 10 points combined in the first quarters of their first five games, and their lone touchdown in the first 15 minutes came on their opening possession of the season in a 26-16 loss to Oakland. With the Titans (2-3) stuck in a two-game skid, it’s becoming even more crucial to get the offense scoring quicker heading into next Monday night’s AFC South game against Indianapolis (2-3).
“I’d like to hopefully get a fast start and put some points on the board early,” Mularkey said of wanting the ball to start last week’s 16-10 loss to Miami. “Put them more on their heels than us.”
According to Sportradar, only seven NFL teams have scored fewer points in the first quarter this season than Tennessee. The Titans are being outscored 34-10 in the first quarter despite being tied for 14th in the league while scoring 22 points per game.
Blame mistakes and penalties. The Titans have regressed from last season in a couple of key categories: scoring touchdowns inside an opponent’s 20 and third-down conversions. Last season, the Titans led the NFL while scoring touchdowns on 72 percent of their drives in the red zone, and they ranked third by converting 46.1 percent of third downs.
Now the Titans are struggling in both categories. Marcus Mariota, who has a league-best passer rating of 111.3 in the red zone since entering the league two years ago, has yet to throw a touchdown pass in that area of the field this season. The Titans have converted 33.9 percent (21 of 62) third downs.
“Really, it’s on us,” Mariota said. “There’s several instances, even in the last few games, we’re trying to do too much as a unit instead of just trusting what the coaches have laid out for us, trusting the game plan. We’re going to get back to it. We were really good on third down last season, and we’ve got to be a lot better this year.”
This past Sunday, the Titans thought they had a touchdown in the first quarter with a 59-yard touchdown pass from Matt Cassel to Delanie Walker, only to have the play erased by offensive pass interference. They also had two turnovers in the first 15 minutes.
“We know where we’ve got to get better,” Mularkey said. “We know why we’re not operating at a high level. We do know the answer, and we’re trying to fix that.”
The Titans faced the Dolphins without Mariota (strained left hamstring), and Pro Bowl left tackle Taylor Lewan missed most of the game with an injured left knee. Both Mariota and Lewan were limited at practice Thursday. Mularkey said Mariota hasn’t even come close to a full sprint yet, and the Titans will need to see how the quarterback responds to what he did in practice Thursday.
The Titans have also played the past three games without their top draft pick, wide receiver Corey Davis (hamstring). The fifth overall selection isn’t expected to be available against the Colts, but his eventual return should help. Davis and safety Johnathan Cyprien (hamstring) did not practice Thursday.
“I think it would help us in a lot of areas, all of our downs,” Mularkey said of having Davis on the field.
The Titans may not be able to wait that long.