The Tennessee Titans held on for a 28-21 win against the St. Louis Rams Sunday, evening up their record to 4-4 and keeping their playoff hopes alive. Here’s what Titans fans can takeaway from the victory.
The Titans’ running game is alive and well. Or, Tennessee’s Chris Johnson is alive and well. The talented Titans’ running back, a former first round draft pick, finished with 23 touches on the day for 150 yards, 2 touchdowns—each for double-digit yards—and gave fantasy football GMs 29 points on the day. That’s 40 more yards of production for the Tennessee offense than his previous four games combined and the most since the 96 yards he ran in the Titans’ Week 2 road loss to the Houston Texans. As the headline from NBC Sports’ Mike Florio reads, “Chris Johnson gets back to being Chris Johnson.”
“Tennessee’s best hope to make good on an AFC playoff berth is tied closely to the kind of work Johnson can produce in the season’s second half,” said Sports Illustrated’s Don Banks.
The Titans’ other two TDs on the day came on the run, with one each from RB Shonn Greene and quarterback Jake Locker.
Tennessee lowly run defense plays as advertised. The Titans give up an average 122.5 yards per game, good for 27th in the league. Rams RB Zac Stacy didn’t have as much production as Johnson, but his 27 touches for 127 yards was good for 4.7 yards per run. With rushers taking snaps against the Tennessee defensive line, the Rams finished with 160 rushing yards and an average 5 yards per carry.
One shining spot among the Titans defenders is DT Jurrell Casey, who finished the day with 6 solo tackles, 2 sacks and a forced fumble, resulting in the next Tennessee touchdown, Johnson’s 19-yard rushing score. As Yahoo Sports contributor Will Lomas reminds Titans fans, Casey has the chance to be the first Tennessee defensive tackle to break double-digit sacks and end a 21-year streak extending back to the Houston Oilers days.
The Tennessee Titans take the field next week at home against the winless Jacksonville Jaguars. A strong showing against the Jaguars’ last-ranked run defense could help Tennessee turn it around and get them on the road to being playoff bound.
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