GRADES

C OVERALL

Bill O’Brien rested many of his players, including Deshaun Watson and DeAndre Hopkins, and the Titans won a game they had to win.

B- QUARTERBACK

AJ McCarron played for the first time in two years. Playing with mostly backups, he threw for 225 yards and ran for 39 and a touchdown.

RUNNING BACKS

Taiwan Jones, the fourth back, had a team-high 40 yards rushing. D.J. Johnson ran for a touchdown and had five catches for 45 yards.

C RECEIVERS

Jordan Akins got the heavyduty work and finished with five catches for 54 yards. His longest reception was 20 yards.

C OFFENSIVE LINE

Laremy Tunsil, who has a sore ankle, was the only starter who was kept out. Run blocking was solid, but pass protection was inconsistent.

D DEFENSIVE LINE

They missed D.J. Reader in the middle. Carlos Watkins had six tackles, most by a lineman. They had no sacks or quarterback hits.

F LINEBACKERS

The Titans ran for 245 yards, including 211 by Derrick Henry. That’s bad run defense. Only Barkevious Mingo hit the quarterback.

C SECONDARY

Bradley Roby didn’t play. Johnathan Joseph (hamstring) went out early. They couldn’t cover rookie A.J. Brown again and had no interceptions.

B SPECIAL TEAMS

Bryan Anger had another exceptional performance with a 49.6-yard gross, a 47.8 net and three inside the 20. Coverage was superb.

C COACHES

Bill O’Brien rested a lot of starters and key backups, which was the smart thing to do considering they host Buffalo in the playoffs.