After a shaky preseason opener, Tennessee’s defensive backs silenced the skeptics. Alontae Taylor’s ball-hawking pick-six highlighted a dominant resurgence against Seattle, proving this unit can handle the heat.
The Tennessee Titans secondary knew that they needed to have a good showing at joint practice with the Seattle Seahawks after the first preseason game.
The Titans were on the road in Week 1 of the preseason and faced off against the San Francisco 49ers. From the jump, the secondary had issues.
Third-stringer Kurtis Rourke dismantled the secondary. Rookie De'Zhaun Stribling and veteran Jordan Watkins didn't have too hard a time recording catches against the defensive backs.
It was a disappointing showing from Alontae Taylor and Cor'Dale Flott in particular. Flott was lined up on Stribling for the first drive, and Taylor covered Watkins.
Stribling and Watkins ended up being first and second in receiving yards for the 49ers by the time the final whistle blew.
The team had to put this performance behind them and move on to the Seahawks. The Seahawks came to town on Friday, and the secondary looked like a much-improved unit.
The Titans wanted to show the reigning Super Bowl champions that they would not be a pushover.
Taylor had a good day, taking back a pick-six versus Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold. Robert Saleh said at a recent press conference that he wasn't ready to panic when it came to the cornerbacks, and he was right.
Taylor broke down what led to the great play at Friday's press conference. The coverage was a great decision, and after watching Darnold go through his progressions, Taylor knew that the ball was going to be thrown eventually and picked it off.
"Yeah, coach made a great call," Taylor said. "We played cloud and seen Sam go through his progression and knew the ball had to come out. So, I just jumped it."
He also spoke about how it was to bounce back and how he thought the team did overall versus the Seahawks' offense.
"Good," Taylor said. "You know, one thing I can say about this team, man. We're all getting better. We understand we gotta go through trials and tribulations in order to get better. We can't be on a high all the time. I think that's what training camp's about."
The Titans definitely needed this after their poor showing against the 49ers. While it was a big win for the team, they'll still have to go against the Seahawks in preseason game number two on Sunday.
We'll get to see even more of the Titans taking on the Seahawks on Sunday night at 7 p.m. CT on Fox from Nissan Stadium.
