BAD MOOD RISING
Titans frustrated by back-to-back losses
NASHVILLE — The Tennessee Titans are not happy.
Their sizzling 5-0 start in which they made comeback victories seem routine is a distant memory with the fresh pain of back-to-back losses for the first time since last season.
“It’s tough,” quarterback Ryan Tannehill said. “Everyone’s frustrated. Just not going out and performing the way we expect to is frustrating, plain and simple. But at the end of the day, we have no one to look to but ourselves.”
Tennessee’s perfect start ended with a 27-24 loss to the undefeated Pittsburgh Steelers on Oct. 25, a game not decided until the final minute, but last Sunday’s 31-20 loss to the struggling Cincinnati Bengals made for an ugly afternoon for the Titans.
They’ll try to bounce back today as they host the Chicago Bears (5-3), who also have lost two straight — 24-10 to the Los Angeles Rams and 26-23 in overtime to the New Orleans Saints last week — but won each of their first three trips to Tennessee in 1998, 2004 and 2012.
The short skid last
December for the Titans was followed by a win in the regular-season finale and a surprising playoff run as a wild-card team to the AFC title game.
The Titans, who trailed the Steelers 14-0 and fell behind 10-0 to the Bengals after Tannehill was intercepted in the end zone, know they must start faster if they want to get going again. Tannehill said slow starts have kept them from putting pressure on opposing defenses.
“It’s going to be really important for us to go out, play well early in the game and put points on the board,” he added. “That way we’re not putting ourselves in a bad situation as it gets down in the second half.”
Tennessee running back Derrick Henry continues to be a bright spot even during the downturn.
A second-round draft pick in 2016, he is off to the best start of his NFL career, leading the league in rushing with 775 yards on 161 carries (4.8 per attempt), including eight touchdowns. Those are all his highest numbers yet through the first seven games of a season.
If he runs for 125 yards and a touchdown against the
Bears, it would be just the 10th time since 1948 that a player has run for 900 yards and nine scores through eight games and the first time since Shaun Alexander in 2005 for the Seattle Seahawks. Jim Brown, Terrell Davis, Eric Dickerson, Emmitt Smith and Jim Taylor also hit those marks.
The combination of power and breakaway speed the 6-foot-3, 247-pound Henry has is a big challenge for defenses.
“I don’t think there is another running back built the way he is,” Chicago cornerback Jaylon Johnson said.
The Bears have their own offensive woes being outscored 49-7 in the third quarter this season, and they’re trying to figure out why.
“I think that’s something we’re working on putting a finger on and figuring out,” quarterback Nick Foles said. “And it’s going to take the coaches and the players to do that. The biggest thing is just going in at halftime and talking through things, and it’s making sure we’re ready to roll going into the third quarter.”
Chicago’s lone third-quarter points came in their 23-16 road win against the Carolina Panthers on Oct. 18, when
Foles scored on a 1-yard run. The Bears also had a rough time against New Orleans, and it wasn’t just because wide receiver Javon Wims got ejected for punching safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson. Wims was suspended two games by the NFL, dealing another blow to the Bears as they struggle with depth due to injuries and COVID-19.
Meanwhile, Tennessee will be without three-time Pro Bowl punter Brett Kern and wide receiver Adam Humphries.
The Titans declared Kern out Friday after he hurt his right wrist late in last Sunday’s game. He has missed only two games since joining Tennessee in 2009, having appeared in 175 games for the Titans, and is also the holder on field goals.
Humphries is working his way through the concussion protocol after getting hit on a catch in Cincinnati and being taken off the field on a cart.
“We’ve always taken these concussion protocol players very seriously,” Titans coach Mike Vrabel said. “They’ll work their way through the protocol. There’s zero pressure for them to get back quicker than what they should.”