The Tennessee Titans dropped their first divisional game of the 2023 season with a 23-16 loss at the hands of the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.
While the rushing attack didn’t do much, the Titans were able to move the ball through the air. Unfortunately, finishing drives was a problem, with Tennessee ending the day 1-for-4 in the red zone.
Their biggest failed red zone trip came in the fourth quarter when trailing 20-16. The Titans drew up a run to Derrick Henry on fourth-and-1 at the Colts’ five-yard line but the play was stuffed for a turnover on downs.
On top of their red zone woes, another major issue was the Titans’ inability to stop the run, which was extremely uncharacteristic for this defense. Zack Moss ran wild all game and the Colts nearly broke 200 yards on the ground.
Bear in mind, this happened without Anthony Richardson, who exited early due to a shoulder injury.
Making matters worse, the defensive front was getting no pressure and the secondary provided zero resistance against Indy’s passing attack while also committing multiple back-breaking penalties to set the Colts up for points.
The Titans had a chance to tie the game with a minute left in the fourth but needed to drive the length of the field with no timeouts. The series ended with a Ryan Tannehill interception but a score was unlikely, anyway.
Now, let’s dive a bit deeper and see what went wrong for the Titans in Week 5.