Following a lackluster home opener marked by offensive struggles and defensive lapses, the star tackle preaches patience as Tennessee navigates a difficult transition under new leadership.
Tennessee Titans fans were probably expecting a different outcome than the one that happened on Sunday.
After having a promising offseason with all these new additions on offense and defense, the Titans looked like they hadn't changed a bit.
There was little to no running game, and the passing attack suffered as a result. The Titans had 68 rushing yards and 140 passing yards.
The New York Jets offense moved the ball at will with little to no resistance. Even when the defense got stops or forced the Jets to settle for a field goal, the Titans didn't capitalize.
The Titans only scored a touchdown in garbage time when the game was already out of reach.
Tennessee lost 23-10 in its season opener and what was the last home opener at the current Nissan Stadium.
The team didn't look like it was playing the same sport as the Jets at times, especially in the physicality shown by both sides.
From a fan perspective it was a tough watch.
Jeffery Simmons felt bad about how the team played and tried to console the fanbase ahead of Week 2.
He urged the fans to stay vigilant through the growing pains the team must endure under a new coaching staff.
"I mean, it's always disappointing to lose the first one, especially at home in front of fans," Simmons said. "Fans had a lot of great energy coming out, and we got a long season. This is a long season ahead of us. This is not the end of our season. So, I hope our fans can stick with us. We going to go through them growing pains. At the end of the day, we just got to come back and take the corrections and get ready for week two."
The Titans have not won a season opener since 2020, when they beat the Denver Broncos. It has been since 2023 that the Titans have won a home opener. They took down the Los Angeles Chargers 27-24 in overtime that year.
These Titans are definitely not a finished product at this point in the season. The good news is that Robert Saleh and the coaching staff have 16 more games together with them this season.
Still, this one hurts as the Jets were thought to be too much of a challenge for the Titans. The Jets were without multiple players on Sunday and still embarrassed the Titans at home.
We'll see if the team can rebound with the Philadelphia Eagles coming to town in Week 2.
