Titans do their job in giant win

[deeluxx3]

I was at this one. I wish I wasn’t. Don’t get me wrong, I love the Titans and living in New York City means that I don’t get many opportunities to see them in person, but sitting outside in “football conditions” is not my ideal way to spend a Sunday. I was underdressed and under the influence. There wasn’t enough $11 beer in MetLife Stadium that could have numbed me to the freezing rain that waited right until kickoff to start. Gloves got drenched, jeans were soaked and my hat turned into a helmet.

But the game, well, it sure was a game. Handcuffed to a condensed playbook and needing to just get out of the Big Apple with a big win, the Titans simply did their jobs. And on Sundays like this one, which make you understand why so many teams decide to play in domes, the simplest recipe to winning football games often suffices. Protect the football, run the football, and play good defense.

Marcus Mariota did essentially nothing all game, save for laying a brutal block on Alec Ogletree to spring a Derrick Henry run. In the midst of all this “nothing,” Mariota didn’t turn the ball over. Derrick Henry picked up where he left off after his record-breaking evening against Jacksonville, rushing for 170 of the team’s 215 rushing yards and two scores. He took advantage of the elements, running with a full head of steam on every single one of his 33 carries and exhausted the Giants defense.

Protect the football. Check. Run the football. Check. Play good defense. Not so fast.

How about playing great defense. Or better yet, defense that pitches its first shutout since 2000. Soggy conditions aside, the Giants came into this game winning 4 of their last 5 and averaging 31.4 points a game in those contests. Their rookie phenom running back, Saquon Barkley, had been on an absolute tear and looked to benefit from the cold weather.

The Titans defense was up to the challenge, bottling up Barkley for 31 rushing yards, essentially removing the future Rookie of the Year from the game. Eli Manning was sacked three times, hit another 8, and picked off once by Kevin Byard, who stuffed the box score with a solid, all-around performance. Rookie linebackers Rashaan Evans and Harold Landry both continue to contribute and improve. Their athleticism gives the Titans’ front seven speed and agility that it’s lacked for the past several years, and their growth and potential is exciting.

A couple weeks ago, I declared this team – and season – dead. They’ve since rattled off three wins in a row, all against the type of “beatable” opponents that typically trip the Titans up. In front of us are two home games to close the season against Washington and Indianapolis. The odds for a playoff berth are high if the Titans can win the next two, but any sort of peeking ahead to the Colts rematch could spell doom against a Redskins team who is also playing for their playoff lives. I won’t make predictions, as this team is truly unpredictable, but if we are able to stay focused and just keep this train rolling, it just may be a December to remember for this Titans team.