The more things change, the more they stay the same for the Tennessee Titans who came out flat and were embarrassed by the New York Jets in the regular season opener.
In a game that wasn’t even as close as the score indicated, the Titans did nothing to instill any type of confidence moving forward. The Titans offense struggled to get anything going, and the retooled offensive line was manhandled by the Jets aggressive front. To make matters worse, the defense failed to show up and had no answer for the Jets balanced attack.
The team still has plenty to clean up, and it needs to find a way to be more consistent and build an identity.
With that, it’s time to look back at both the good and bad performances of the afternoon. Here’s a look at the players who are rising or falling in the Week 1 stock report.
Was it perfect? No, but Hill was all over the field in his regular season debut and proved that the flashes from training camp and preseason can carry over into the regular season. Hill was the best player on the Titans’ defense on Sunday, leading the team in tackles (16 total) and appears to be a long-term answer for the defense.
Barton may be the veteran leader of the linebacker room, but he has been overshadowed by Hill and Cedric Gray. It appears that Barton only got the start because Gray missed the game due to his concussion, and he failed to take advantage of the opportunity. Barton finished with three total tackles, but did not make an impact.
After being blanked during the preseason, Tate recorded his first NFL reception early on against the Jets. The first-round pick did not light it up, finishing with only four receptions for 39 yards, but he was a consistent threat and looks to be settling into his role.
Jr.
Moore struggled all afternoon and was a liability against the Jets attacking front. Entering the second year of an $82 million contract, Tennessee needs better play from its left tackle, and he must be better heading into the future. Yes, Week 1 can be an outlier, but Moore has not really shown growth since arriving in Nashville.
Winston is still developing, but his athleticism stood out on Sunday, and he should be able to build on it. After battling injuries as a rookie, Winston is now healthy and flashed the playmaking abilities many expected to see. He finished as the Titans’ second-leading tackler (10 total) against the Jets, and should only improve as he gains more experience.
Ridley was a complete non-factor against the Jets with zero receptions on zero targets. This continued a subpar training camp and preseason and begs the question of whether he was worth keeping around even on a restructured contract. Elic Ayomanor outplayed his in-camp, and on Sunday against the Jets, it may be time to move on.
Any time the punter is the best weapon on the field, you have some issues. Townsend wasn’t perfect, but he consistently changed field position and set the defense up to make a difference. Unfortunately, the defense could not do anything with that advantage.
Led by Jeffery Simmons, the defensive line was supposed to be the defense’s strength, but as a group, they failed to make any impact against the Jets. Tennessee had no answer for Breece Hall or the running game, and there was absolutely zero pressure on Geno Smith; he had plenty of time to pick the secondary apart.
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