Finally, after suffering losses in each of their last six games, the Tennessee Titans experienced what a victory feels like again.
Led by a solid effort from veteran QB Kerry Collins, a beyond-the-century mark rushing performance from Chris Johnson and an opportunistic defense, the Tennessee Titans snapped their six-game losing streak with a 31-17 victory over the Houston Texans.
Additional thoughts on today’s Titans’ win, after the break.
Hats off to the “Game Manager”
I’ll extend some kudos in the direction of Kerry Collins thanks to his solid performance on the afternoon. The veteran signal-caller completed 14 of 24 passes for 237 yards, tossing 2 touchdowns while suffering an interception.
As the case with the last Titans’ victory, KC was helped out by a stellar effort from emerging stud WR Kenny Britt (more on him in a few). It also doesn’t hurt when the running game is able to churn out 147 total yards.
Collins isn’t a guy you’re going to be able to rely on over the course of a full 16-game season at this point in his career, but for a game or two, he’s still capable of turning back the clock a bit and playing the type of football that’s needed to help the team win on Sundays.
A few words on Kenny Britt
Despite the presence of Randy Moss on the roster (even though it’s difficult to tell due to yet another goose-egg on the stats sheet) Kenny Britt is clearly the #1 WR in Nashville. In only his second game back from being sidelined due to his bum hammy, Britt stepped up with a 6-catch, 128 yard effort.
When we look back in a few weeks upon what’s mostly been a disappointing Titans’ 2010 campaign, one of the positives will definitely be Britt showing us that he’s got what it takes to be the team’s primary WR for years to come.
Good job, Chuck Cecil
As I wrote in an article a few weeks ago, Chuck Cecil’s troops have played badly as of late. It’s mostly been a pick-your-poison situation for opposing offenses, with them wreaking havoc on the Titans’ pass defense on some occasions, while running over the run defense on others.
Today, the Titans’ defense did a solid job on both fronts. Arian Foster, who gutted the Titans rushing the football just a few weeks ago, was held in check to the tune of a measly 15 yards on 11 carries. While Matt Schaub did end up with 325 passing yards, he had to work hard to get them, as the Texans’ signal-caller was often harrassed by a Titans’ pass rush that tallied 4 sacks on the afternoon.
The defense also did a good job getting off the field, holding the Texans to a 38% (5/13) third-down conversion rate.
Final random thoughts
-Jason Babin continues to impress, as evidenced by his personally-gratifying 2 sack effort against the team that drafted him.
Needless to say, the Titans picked up a quite a steal at a bargain-basement price last offseason.
-As Andrew stated in a recent piece, it’s definitely time to see what the youngsters are capable of doing when given the opportunity to play. Guys like Javon Ringer, Damian Williams and Jared Cook should all continue to get chances to make plays over the season’s final two contests.
-Another reason behind the Titans’ first victory since October: They did a good job of finishing in the red zone, as indicated by scoring on four of their five chances inside the Texans’ 20.
-Nice to see rookie Alterraun Verner come up with an interception. As a rookie, he’s exceeded everyone’s expectations by becoming a solid performer at CB and moving forward, he definitely looks like he’s going to be a part of the defense for several years to come.
– It was very interesting to see Bo Scaife on today’s inactive list as a healthy scratch, especially considering his comments last week suggesting team division due to the whole VY/Fisher saga.
I’m done, folks. Any thoughts on a (gasp) Titans’ victory? Feel free to provide your always welcomed insight below.
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