Exhausted defenders and sustained scoring drives have left Tennessee winless. To save their season, the Titans must fix a porous defense currently incapable of forcing quick stops.
The Tennessee Titans have now played two games in the 2026 season so far.
The Titans had a sluggish start to the year against the New York Jets. Tennessee was beaten soundly on both sides of the ball. Whether it was the offense, defense, or special teams, the Titans couldn't get anything done.
As a result, the Titans lost 23-10.
Then, the Titans took on the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 2.
There wasn't much hope from the fanbase after how bad the team looked in the home opener. Yet, the Titans put up a good fight.
The Titans battled for four quarters and took the Eagles down to the wire. The Titans actually had a 20-17 lead with 1:56 left in the game.
The Titans tried to run off as much clock as they could, but it wasn't enough.
The Eagles put together a final drive that ended with a touchdown pass to a wide-open Darius Cooper in the back of the end zone. Philadelphia won 24-20 over Tennessee.
The Titans are now 0-2 heading into Week 3.
The two games are very different, but one thing stands out. The defense has to be better at helping itself get off the field.
The Titans have allowed 75 minutes and 11 seconds of possession from opposing offenses so far. 104.5 The Zone's Zach Lyons shared that most of that has come from four drives in the first two games.
The worst one was an 11-minute and 48-second drive by the Jets. Luckily, that play resulted in a field goal. Then there was the Eagles' drive that lasted 7 minutes and 39 seconds.
The Titans got out of it after Jalen Hurts threw an interception. There were two other drives on Sunday that lasted over six minutes and resulted in touchdowns for the Eagles both times.
In Week 1, Jets running back Breece Hall was a problem. He ended up with 102 rushing yards and one touchdown. His performance can definitely be attributed to the Titans' inability to get off the field on defense.
The defense still struggled to get stops against the Eagles, and they didn't even have Saquon Barkley for most of the game.
At the end of the day, this Titans team has problems allowing first downs. The Jets outgained the Titans 19 to 11 in first downs in Week 1. The Eagles then picked up 23 first downs to the Titans' 14.
If the Titans want to eventually turn things around, they've got to stop letting opposing offenses sustain drives. This is the kind of thing that will allow the Titans to have another disappointing season.
Hopefully, this trend won't continue into Week 3 as the Titans take on the New York Giants this Sunday at noon CT on CBS.
