Too Many Mistakes as Titans Drop Season Opener to Denver Broncos 20-12

It is hard to win a football game without scoring a touchdown.

The Tennessee Titans (almost) did. 

Both teams were passing off the opportunity to win like it was a game of hot potato. 

The Broncos would turn it over (they did so four times). But then the Titans would drop passes, commit brainless penalties, or settle for field goals. 

Cam Ward was unimpressive in his official NFL debut. He went 12/28 for 112 yards and no touchdowns or picks. Not concerningly bad, but not especially good either. 

As predicted in the preview article, Calvin Ridley was almost invisible. He had four catches for 27 yards, but three of those catches came in the fourth quarter when the Titans had to throw on nearly every down. 

Also mentioned in the preview article, the keys to the game were to get Tony Pollard going and to contain Courtland Sutton. 

Tony Pollard had almost 100 all-purpose yards and was the Titans' best player offensively, but even he couldn’t get into the end zone. 

Sutton was not contained. He was the Broncos' leading receiver with six catches for 61 yards and a touchdown. 

Despite that, the Titans' defense played well for most of the game. When Bo Nix was under pressure, he struggled mightily, and all his turnovers came on downs when he faced pressure, usually from Jeffery Simmons.

Simmons was the defensive all-star Titans know and love, but football is not a one-man sport. The rest of the Titans’ defense was alright, aside from the penalties. Jarvis Brownlee had three penalties himself, and as a team, the Titans had 13 penalties for 131 yards.  

That’s right. Titans’ penalties had more yards than Cam Ward. 

It doesn’t matter how many turnovers a team forces. If they have more penalty yards than passing yards, they probably won’t win the game. 

Player of the Game

Joey Slye. 

Okay, not really. But he scored every single one of the Titans’ points, so he deserves credit.

But the player of the game has to be Jeffery Simmons. 

He had four tackles, a forced fumble, four QB hits, and a sack. 

Yes, his late unnecessary roughness penalty was a killer, but he cannot be blamed for the Titans' other penalties or the offense’s inability to score a TD. 

If the Titans can cut the penalties and get into the end zone a few times, they will get some wins soon. 

For now, though, the season starts with a loss, but not as bad a loss as many predicted, even despite the Titans’ mistakes.

All hope is not lost. It’s a long season. See you next week.