In this wildly unpredictable and attrition-filled journey for the 2021 Tennessee Titans, there’s no more unforeseen statement than the one I’m about to make:
If the Titans are to make something special out of this season, it’ll be the defense that carries them there.
I know, right? But it’s true. This is now a defensively driven football team, which says a little about the Titans’ improvement on that side of the ball and a lot about the skill-position injuries that have decimated their once-powerful offense.
Never was that shift more apparent than Sunday’s water-logged 22-13 defeat to the Houston Texans.
Statistically, it was the Titans’ best defensive performance of the Mike Vrabel era. They allowed only 190 yards. Of the Texans’ final seven possessions, none were longer than four plays. They didn’t allow a gain longer than 13 yards.