Bengals, Falcons, Titans, Panthers, Raiders: Ranking the 0-2 teams
1. Tennessee Titans
The most unsettling thing about the Titans losing to the Bills on Monday was the continued failure of the defense to stop the run. Tennessee allowed the second most yards (339) in the league, giving way to six yards per take, also the second-worst score in the NFL. I understand that the Bills are doing very well and the Giants are leading 2-0. That said, the G-Men went when Saquon Barkley went, and Mike Vrabel didn’t sell out to stop him, or worry about being deeply beaten by so many people taking on Jones’ training team.
Throw in a shoddy Ryan Tannehill and an underperforming Derrick Henry, and the only music playing on Broadway is dull, drab country songs. (Well, there, and “Bring me home, Country Road”.)
AJ Brown’s departure leaves a hole for rookies Treylon Burks trying to fill. He leads the team in yards received (102), ranking 48th among all pass catchers. The running game was supposed to open up the offense, and Henry needed to get started for that to happen. Tannehill looks like he still hasn’t made it past last year’s playoffs as the #1 seed, and honestly, neither is the rest of the Titans. With four of the next five contests against the Commanders, Colonels, and Texas, they can certainly get away with the unrest. Urgency is a must because the second half of the schedule doesn’t go as planned.