Category: Game Recap

Biggest takeaways from Titans’ Week 1 loss to Saints

The biggest takeaways from the Titans’ Week 1 loss to the Saints.

After spending yet another offseason defending Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill, there was nothing to defend following the 16-15 Week 1 loss to the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.

Tannehill threw the game away, tossing three back-breaking picks and nearly two others en route to one of the worst performances of his career.

The three-pick, zero-touchdown showing was the second of his career, with the first coming over a decade ago during his rookie season with the Miami Dolphins (2012).

Making matters worse, Tannehill missed at least two easy throws that could have been touchdowns, and he opted to throw into double coverage on two occasions instead of going to wide-open receivers elsewhere.

The ugly showing spoiled what was a mostly sensational effort from the defense, which held the Saints in check all game long.

The respective performances of Tannehill and the defense are just two of the biggest takeaways from Sunday’s loss.

6 takeaways from Commanders’ 20-16 win over the Cardinals

Some takeaways from the Commanders’ Week 1 win. Some things are a concern, but fixable.

The Washington Commanders survived a scare in Week 1, defeating the Arizona Cardinals 20-16 to move to 1-0 on the season.

It was an up-and-down day for Washington’s offense, as the Commanders turned the ball over three times, one of which led to an easy defensive touchdown — Arizona’s only touchdown of the day. The Commanders also fumbled in the red zone, taking at least three points off the board.

There were plenty of missed opportunities for Washington. Yet, the Commanders survived.

What did we learn from this game?

Here are some takeaways from Sunday’s win.

Studs and duds from Commanders’ 20-16 win over Cardinals

Who shined and who struggled in the Commanders’ Week 1 win?

The Washington Commanders are 1-0 after Sunday’s 20-16 hard-fought win over the Arizona Cardinals to open the 2023 NFL season.

The Commanders jumped out to an early 7-0 lead after quarterback Sam Howell found running back Brian Robinson Jr. for a seven-yard touchdown pass.

However, three turnovers would keep the Cardinals in the game, including Howell’s fumble near the goal line that an Arizona defender picked up and ran in for an easy touchdown. It was Arizona’s only touchdown of the day.

Ultimately, the Commanders won the game, and no one cares about the score. Coaches would much rather study bad tape after a win than after a loss. So, who shined in the win?

And who struggled?

Here are Washington’s studs and duds from the 20-16 win.

Commanders defense saves the day for 20-16 win over Cardinals

A big effort from the defense saves the day for the Commanders.

Despite what you have often heard in the last decade, defense can still win NFL games.

Sunday, the first game of the new ownership group headed by Josh Harris and Mitchell Rales, was very much a celebratory tone. Until the Commanders offense committed three first-half turnovers and thus trailed the Cardinals 13-10 at the half.

With Washington still trailing 16-10 late in the third quarter, the Cardinals faced a 3rd & 15 from their own 35. Montez Sweat broke through, sacked quarterback Josh Dobbs, who fumbled and Daron Payne recovered on the Cardinals 29 with two seconds remaining.

It was exactly what the offense had needed, struggling as it was. Following the three first-half turnovers, the Commanders offense on its two second-half possessions had run 7 plays gaining 0 yards and 3 plays for two yards.

So, taking over on the shortened field of 29 yards, offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy had his offense give the ball to running back Brian Robinson Jr four consecutive plays, which gained 21 yards. Following a Sam Howell incompletion, Chris Rodriguez ran for two more, setting up a 3rd & Goal at the 6.

Howell took the deep snap, dropped back, then rolled left, tucked the ball in and scored standing up. The Commanders were up 17-16 and would not relinquish the lead.

Again when the defense gave the Commanders the ball, they were 3 & out, punting back to the Cardinals. Again it was Dobbs who fumbled and again it was Sweat making the play on Dobbs. This time DT Abdullah Anderson recovered at the Arizona 37.

Joey Slye added his second field goal of the day for a 20-16 Washington lead with 2:23 remaining.

The final Cardinals’ possession produced only 12 yards in six plays as the defense again held, giving the Commanders a win in their 2023 opener.

When the day was concluded, the defense had held the Cardinals to 9 points. Remember, Sam Howell’s second-quarter fumble had granted the Cardinals a defensive touchdown from two yards.

Picking up from where they were last season, the Commanders defense held the Cardinals offense to converting only 4 of 14 third downs. Unlike last season, the defense forced two second-half turnovers and it was enough for the Commanders defense to save the Commanders offense and get the Week 1 win.

Next Gen Stats report following Titans’ Week 1 loss to Saints

The Next Gen Stats report from the Titans’ Week 1 loss to the Saints.

It was a disappointing day all around for the Tennessee Titans, who couldn’t get out of their own way for the most part en route to a 16-15 loss to the New Orleans Saints.

Offensively, there weren’t too many things to get excited about outside of Derrick Henry and occasionally DeAndre Hopkins.

Other than that, the quarterback play was horrendous, the receivers struggled to get open and make routine catches, and the offensive line was inconsistent.

As for the defense, it was a borderline phenomenal performance.

Despite the offense’s frequent turnovers and a blocked punt, the unit still held the Saints’ offense to 16 points while recording four sacks and an interception on top of that.

Truth be told, it really should’ve been five sacks had the officials not blown a call on what was very clearly a fumble in the red zone that should’ve resulted in the Titans gaining possession at the very least.

The only touchdown Tennessee’s defense allowed came after a Ryan Tannehill interception gave New Orleans a short field to work with.

Unfortunately, cornerback Kristian Fulton was injured in this one early on and that allowed Chris Olave to feast for over 100 receiving yards.

The defense also failed to stop the Saints from picking up crucial first downs on the final drive, but it’s hard to place any real blame on the group outside of that.

Arden Key was awesome in this one, tallying 1.5 sacks (it should’ve been 2.5) while also finishing with an incredible 2.91 average yards of distance from the quarterback, which was easily the best average for either team, according to Next Gen Stats.

As for everything else, let’s take a closer look at some of the biggest takeaways from Next Gen Stats data following the Titans’ disappointing season-opener.

Titans’ winners and losers from Week 1 loss to Saints

Titans kicker Nick Folk was one of the bright spots in the team’s Week 1 loss to the Saints.

After a 2022 campaign that was filled with frustration on the offensive side of the ball, the Tennessee Titans picked up where they left off with an abysmal showing in a Week 1 loss to the New Orleans Saints.

Tennessee was unable to muster up a single touchdown the entire game and despite having a much better surrounding cast than last year, quarterback Ryan Tannehill played one of the worst games of his career.

On the bright side, the defense was very good for the most part, kicker Nick Folk was as advertised in his Titans debut and the offensive line was good enough to not wreck this game.

Now, let’s dive a bit deeper and see who qualified as a winner, loser and somewhere in between following the Titans’ 16-15 loss to the Saints.

How Titans’ new-look offensive line fared in Week 1

Shaun Calderon takes a closer look at the performance of the Titans’ offensive line in Week 1.

The Tennessee Titans lost a gut-wrenching Week 1 game to the New Orleans Saints, 16-15. The most nauseating part of the day was watching the offense at work — and more specifically, quarterback Ryan Tannehill.

It’s not an exaggeration to say he had one of the worst performances of his entire career on Sunday afternoon.

His offensive line didn’t do him many favors, either, allowing three sacks on the day with several other close calls that saw the pocket collapse and force Tannehill to escape and throw on the run.

The offensive line had its positive moments, but it was way too inconsistent all around.

Left tackle Andre Dillard was getting physically manhandled early on but managed to settle down as the game went on. With that said, there’s no denying he has to be better going forward.

Left guard Peter Skoronski was solid throughout, but he did have a moment where he ended up on the floor, which resulted in a negative play for the offense.

If there was one thing I noticed Skoronski has to get better at — and I’m sure he will — it’s when it comes to him picking up and passing off stunts in time so he doesn’t get exposed for his lack of length.

As for the other three offensive linemen, they definitely had their fair share of mistakes; however, I thought they did well for the most part.

Aaron Brewer seemed much more comfortable at center, where he doesn’t have his size limitations exposed as much. And, his rare athleticism showed up whenever he was allowed to get out and use it to his advantage.

When it comes to right guard Daniel Brunskill, at first glance I thought he held his own throughout the game, although that opinion could certainly change when I re-watch this one.

The same can be said for right tackle Chris Hubbard, who had some fantastic blocks against the run. Even still, he wasn’t perfect by any means, either.

One play that stood out was when Cameron Jordan beat the veteran tackle, subsequently forcing Tannehill to leave the pocket and eventually throw it away.

As a whole, this group has to find a way to impose its will on the opposition. I felt like the unit did OK, but for this group to reach its full potential it’s going to have to thrive instead of just survive, which I felt like it was doing a ton of out there on Sunday.

Tannehill did make the O-line look much worse than it was at times due to his horrendous pocket presence that led to him panicking instead of keeping his eyes downfield.

It seems like the trust for the offensive line from Tennessee’s quarterback wasn’t all the way there, so that’s something that they’ll have to clean up going forward.

Otherwise, the potential of this offense will be average, at best.

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What Ryan Tannehill, Titans said about Week 1 loss to Saints

A look at what Ryan Tannehill and the rest of the Titans had to say about the Week 1 loss to the Saints.

The Tennessee Titans started off their 2023 season on the wrong foot with an ugly 16-15 loss to the New Orleans Saints on Sunday afternoon.

While the defense and kicker Nick Folk played well, the offense was downright bad, led by one of the worst performances quarterback Ryan Tannehill has ever had wearing the two-tone blue.

Tannehill was picked off three times and should have had two more. He ended up completing just 16-of-34 passes for 198 yards en route to a laughable passer rating of 28.8.

“It’s a sick feeling in your gut, weren’t good enough in the red zone, missed opportunities, all of it,” Tannehill said after the game, per Kayla Anderson of 104.5 The Zone. “On the whole, we just have to be better.”

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Tannehill, who didn’t want to go into detail about his three turnovers, isn’t the only one who was sick after seeing that performance.

Here’s a look at what else Tannehill and the Titans had to say about the Week 1 loss.

Commanders defeat Cardinals 20-16: Everything we know

Who was Washington’s player of the game? What was the turning point? Here’s everything we know from the Commanders’ win.

The Washington Commanders are 1-0. Washington kicked off a new era for the franchise with a 20-16 win over the Arizona Cardinals in front of a sold-out crowd at FedEx Field.

The Commanders entered the game as 7-point favorites, and early it looked like Washington might cover, but turnovers kept the Cardinals in the game. The Commanders turned the ball over three times in the first half, one of which was a Sam Howell fumble that Cardinals linebacker Cameron Thomas recovered for an easy touchdown.

Arizona maintained that lead until early in the fourth quarter when Howell scored the decisive touchdown, and the Commanders never looked back.

Here’s everything we know from Washington’s season-opening win.

Social media shreds Titans’ Ryan Tannehill for putrid Week 1 performance

Titans QB Ryan Tannehill was awful in the Week 1 loss to the Saints and was promptly shredded for it on social media.

For the second season in a row, the Tennessee Titans dropped their season-opener by a single point, losing to the New Orleans Saints, 16-15, on Sunday.

Despite the score being close, this was a disastrous game for the Titans’ offense, which failed to score a single touchdown all game long.

Quarterback Ryan Tannehill was legitimately horrendous, throwing three interceptions, with a few more that probably should’ve been picked off, as well.

Not only that, but he also missed Chig Okonkwo and Tyjae Spears on deep balls where they were wide open and likely would’ve had touchdowns had he connected with them.

On top of all that, the officiating was shaky at best all day, with the most questionable call coming on a play that might’ve resulted in a defensive touchdown in all likelihood.

Nonetheless, if you’re going to point the finger at anybody, point it at the quarterback who played arguably the worst game of his entire Titans tenure.

As you’ll see by the reactions posted below, that’s exactly what a lot of Titans fans rightfully did.