Torrential rain, special teams blunders, and a devastating injury to Fernando Carmona derailed Tennessee’s offense in a stagnant performance that spoiled a resilient showing by the defense.
The Tennessee Titans walked into a storm in Week 3 against the New York Giants.
The weather conditions were absolutely terrible. It was in the low 60s, and it rained throughout the entire game. The wind speed was predicted to reach up to 41 mph.
The Titans' special teams issues from Week 1 carried over into Week 3. Chimere Dike fumbled the opening kickoff, giving the Giants' offense great field position for their opening drive of the game.
The defense stood tall and was able to keep the Giants out of field goal range.
Then, on the first Titans snap, right guard Fernando Carmona left with an injury. Based on his teammates' reactions, it looked pretty severe. Carmona was helped to the sideline and went to the locker room on the medical cart.
This meant that backup Jackson Slater would take his place. Slater was drafted out of Sacramento State last year and played in 12 games as a rookie.
Carmona was questionable to return to the game and eventually downgraded to out just before the start of the second half.
After something of a moral victory in Week 2 against the Philadelphia Eagles, the Titans reverted to their Week 1 form. The Titans' defense only allowed field goals and was down 9-0 at halftime.
The offense couldn't do anything right. The Titans opened the game with five straight three-and-outs. They had one first down in the first half and went 0-for-6 on third-down conversions.
Tennessee went into halftime with 41 passing yards and 19 rushing yards. It was a 9-0 deficit, but it felt pretty hard to overcome, given how badly the team played.
The Giants received the opening kickoff of the second half. Winston and Cam Skattebo tried to drive the nail in the coffin and score on the opening possession, but the Titans held them to a field goal once again, making it 12-0.
The Titans finally showed signs of life on their first drive of the second half. Ward connected with Carnell Tate a few times to move the chains, and the Titans got into the red zone.
They had a streak of 23 consecutive red-zone trips with points, and that streak came to an end. The offense stalled after being unable to score on a 4th-and-5.
After not converting there, it really started to feel like all hope was lost. It would come down to the fourth quarter for the Titans to erase a 12-0 deficit, which wouldn't normally be hard for most teams, but this team was at its worst.
The Titans made things interesting late in the fourth quarter. Ward drove the offense down the field and hit Wan'Dale Robinson in the end zone, scoring on his old team to make it 12-7.
The defense had played well all game, holding the Giants to field goals, and needed a big stop.
The Giants got to 3rd-and-4, and John Franklin-Myers broke up a pass, forcing a 4th down. The Giants kept the offense out there to try to draw the Titans offside.
Ward and the offense got one more chance to try and escape with a scrappy win in what was a tough watch.
Tennessee would've started with bad field position, but thankfully New York gave the offense an extra 15 yards due to a fair-catch interference penalty.
The Titans had a heroic final drive and got into the red zone. They would eventually make it 1st-and-goal, and the game would come down to four more downs.
Ward had all the room in the world to score a touchdown with his legs. Instead, he threw a risky pass that was intercepted by Jevon Holland. Ward's first interception of the year would end up costing his team the game.
This Titans team came so close yet again to winning their first game.
It's hard to play worse than they did in the season opener, but they came pretty close. It's unfortunate that the offense couldn't capitalize with how well the defense had played.
This Titans team still has a lot of work to do. The Titans are now 0-3 heading into Week 4 with Derrick Henry and the Baltimore Ravens up next.
