Turnovers often decide the outcome of competitive football games. Today was no exception, as four Viking miscues led to three Titan touchdowns in Tennessee’s 30-17 win over the Norsemen.
With the win, the Titans are now 4-0 for the first time in franchise history.
My thoughts on the game, after the jump.
Game balls
I’ll issue my first game ball to all of the Titan special teams units. All three phases: kicking, punting and coverage, carried their weight in today’s victory.
Bironas was solid as usual, converting on all three of his field goal attempts. Chris Carr, who had struggled up to this point, showed some signs with a crucial 52-yard return after the Vikings had cut the Titans’ lead to six. Craig Hentrich’s final punt pinned the Vikes inside of the 5-yard line, which led to the Titans’ final turnover that for all intent and purposes, sealed the ballgame.
The Titan offensive line did a great job of protecting their quarterback, Kerry Collins. Michael Roos once again got the best of all-world DE Jared Allen, holding him sackless for the second consecutive year.
Roos, who was the subject of one of Tom’s recent articles, is proving to be very worthy of the contract extension he earned during the offseason.
My final game ball goes out to Albert Haynesworth. He won the much-anticipated matchup against Pro Bowl G Steve Hutchinson, as evidenced by his two sacks on the afternoon.
Haynesworth is a pivotal component of the Titans’ dominant defensive line and whether it’s in Tennessee or elsewhere, “Fat Albert” is poised to receive a fat paycheck next year.
Hopefully, the enormous payday will be courtesy of Bud Adams and the Tennessee Titans.
Gripes
In the previous two games against the Bengals and the Texans, the Titans combined to throw only one pass in the 4th quarter of both contests.
Based on that information, it was strange to see Dinger call three consecutive pass attempts on a 4th quarter possession that failed to take a minute off of the clock. After that series, the Vikings received the football and promptly marched down the field to score a TD, cutting the Titans’ lead to only 23-17.
Smash mouth football is the Titans’ bread and butter in the fourth quarter as they usually attempt to wear down opposing defenses. It was a little odd to see them get away from their normal strategy.
Kerry Collins and Kevin Mawae obviously weren’t on the same page on two fumbled exchanges. Thankfully, only one of them was recovered by the Vikes and it didn’t lead to any points, as the usually reliable Ryan Longwell missed on a 48-yard field goal.
Final thoughts
-Cortland Finnegan’s streak of an interception in each game ended, but LenDale White’s streak of scoring a TD in every game was extended. White, who only gained 13 yards on 11 carries, has scored all five of his touchdowns on runs no longer than two yards. He’s a modern-day Pete Johnson.
-It’s a beauty witnessing Chris Johnson in open space. Good job by Dinger to utilize Johnson’s speed on pitches instead of consistently ramming him into the Vikings “Williams’ wall”.
-18/35 for 199 yards and most importantly, no turnovers. Another great job of managing the football game, Kerry Collins.
-Tony Brown loves to jump offsides.
-Where’s Alge Crumpler? He’s doing a great job of blocking, but I was expecting a little more offensive production from the former Pro Bowler.
What are your thoughts on today’s Titan victory?
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