Titans rolled by Giants, 36-7

For the third consecutive game, the Tennessee Titans fell behind to their opponent 17-0. For the third consecutive game, there would be no Titans comeback. The New York Giants led 23-0 at halftime, extended it to 30-0 early in the third quarter, and finished the Titans off for a 36-7 triumph. The lone Titans score came on a return by Marqueston Huff off a dreadful Eli Manning interception in the third quarter.

Titans bright spots, aside from holding the Giants to five field goals and only one touchdowns in the non-competitive portion of the game, were few and far between. Zach Mettenberger, behind an injury-riddled offensive line and with a depleted receiving corps, managed just 92 net yards on 29 dropbacks (47 adjusted net adding in his interception) before aggravating his shoulder injury on a sack by a free rusher early in the fourth quarter. Jake Locker finished the game and was sacked three times of his own, as the Giants finished with eight on the day, and threw a pick of his own. The run game was basically nonexistent-Bishop Sankey had nine carries for 25 yards, and Antonio Andrews only touched the ball on kickoff returns. Derek Hagan led the Titans with 62 receiving yards, including one of the two good receptions I recall on what appeared to be deep zone void throws (Nate Washington had the other).

The defensive performance… Odell Beckham finished with 11 catches for 130 yards and a score, doing most of his damage in the competitive portion of the game. Andre Williams, whom I compared to Trent Richardson in my pregame post, finished with 131 yards on 24 carries. He was mostly effective after halftime, including the 50-yard score that made it 30-0. That single play, a toss on third-and-1 where deep safety George Wilson failed to make a play, may be the nadir of the season. Eli Manning was not sacked, though Jurrell Casey did manage three quarterback hits, and Huff’s was the only ball that really should have been intercepted. Both Quentin Groves and Sammie Hill actually recorded tackles for loss, while Jason McCourty (who was on Beckham) and Michael Griffin led the team in tackles.

Just one more bad game in a season filled with them. The Titans face the Jets at home next week, a team that took Minnesota to overtime today on the road. Tanking should remain fully in effect, though they’ll have to be careful they don’t take advantage of the Jets’ attempt to gift them the game.