It was by far the best game of the year the Titans played but costly turnovers on special teams resulted in two Jets touchdown drives on short fields and a 24-17 loss.
After a great 1st drive put together by Mark Sanchez and the Jets that resulted in a touchdown, Titans rookie CB Ryan Mouton fumbled on the ensuing kickoff which led to another Jets touchdown to give them a 14-0 lead.
The game was far from over though as the Titans clawed back into the game. There wasn't a lot of running room for Chris Johnson today, but he did finish the game with 97 yards on 22 attempts. Kerry Collins looked especially good in the 2nd & 3rd qtrs of the game and the old vet led the Titans back with 17 unanswered points to give them the lead. Lendale White played great today. He hit the hole hard and was always fighting for that extra yard. His TD run today in the 2nd qtr was probably his most impressive TD run I have seen from him in a long time.
The big story of the day was the Titans defense. They were getting pressure with their front four, and a few timely blitzes from DC Chuck Cecil who failed miserably in his debut vs Pittsburgh. The Titans defense was the reason why they were able to come back in this game.
The Jets had no answers on offense for the Titans defense, but like earlier in the game benefited from another huge turnover as Ryan Mouton fumbled another return deep inside Tennessee territory. The Jets capitalized with a Jerricho Cotchery TD Reception and they never turned back. The fumble was clearly the turning point in this game, as the momentum was shifted back into the Jets favor.
Tennessee did have some chances to get back into the game, but the same problems that have plagued this offense in the past showed up again in the 4th qtr. The inability to make a clutch catch, Justin Gage, Nate Washington, Kenny Britt & Alge Crumpler all dropped passes that need to be caught in this league. The sloppy conditions might have been a small factor, but a couple grabs here and there would have resulted in a possible comeback.
Kerry Collins was 0-13 in his last pass attempts but a lot of the passes should have been caught. I don't blame Kerry for the loss even though both of his interceptions were bad throws. His play was very good today.
"It's frustrating," Collins said. "By no means can we start pointing fingers and start pushing panic buttons. We've just got to stay together and keep believing in what we are doing and we'll get it turned around."
So what now? Since the expanded playoff format in 1990, only 3 teams have made the playoffs since going 0-3. The last team, the 1998 Buffalo Bills. Can this Titans team make it 4? It will be very tough to do so in the AFC as it looks right now that the Jets,Ravens have a pretty good hold of both wildcards being 3-0 right now. (I still expect New England & Pittsburgh to win their divisions) For a wildcard in the AFC you will need to be at least 10-6 to be considered.
So lets look at the schedule. 4 more losses ends the season. A split vs Indy & Houston, a sweep vs Jacksonville. 4-0 vs the NFC West which I don't think will be a problem. That puts the Titans at 8-4. That means the remaining games vs the AFC are absolutely critical. (New England, Buffalo, Miami & San Diego) 2 of 4 from this bunch would result in 10-6.
The talent & coaching is there, lets just hope lady luck is on their side.
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