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Tennessee Titans News: 5 Takeaways From 27-10 Defeat Of San Diego Chargers In Preseason Opener

By Jason Fletcher
Published on: 14:48 PST, Aug 14, 2016

The Tennessee Titans haven’t made the playoffs since the 2008 season and have gone a combined 5-27 over the last two seasons. To say there hasn’t been much optimism surrounding the franchise in recent years would be an understatement. That didn’t stop the Titans from coming out and destroying the San Diego Chargers by a score of 27-10 during Week 1 of the NFL preseason.

The Titans dominated nearly every statistical category, as the offense compiled 437 yards of total offense, including 288 on the ground, and averaged a whopping 7.8 yards per play. While it’s hard to get too excited over a preseason victory, it was the type of showing that could get the young Titans off on the right foot heading into 2016.

Here are the five biggest takeaways from Tennessee’s impressive victory over the Chargers.

Running Game Was Dominant

Of the 288 rushing yards for the Titans, DeMarco Murray gathered 93 yards on six carries, Derrick Henry added 74 yards on 10 carries, and Bishop Sankey recorded 53 yards on three carries and all three running backs scored touchdowns. It was an impressive performance from the Titans’ running backs and offensive line.

Tajae Sharpe Escapes Concussion

Sharpe has been one of the stars of Titans camp, but he was forced to leave the game against the Chargers due to a head injury. The good news is that Tennessee head coach Mike Mularkey said on Sunday that Sharpe didn’t suffer a concussion and should be able to return to practice on Monday. Prior to the injury, Sharpe recorded two catches for 35 yards, including a nice 31-yard reception from Marcus Mariota in the first quarter.

“He is doing well,” Mularkey said. “We did a full evaluation of him and he had no symptoms today and should practice (Monday) night.”

Dorial Green-Beckham Showed More Inconsistency

The Titans haven’t been very happy with Green-Beckham’s progression in camp as he struggles to show consistency. Against the Chargers, he made a nice 15-yard catch and made a nice block on the Murray touchdown run, but Mularkey said that he made a few mistakes and missed a go-route because of a poor release.

Deiontrez Mount Played Extremely Well

Mount missed all of 2015 with a knee injury, but the second-year player out of Louisville showed what he can do against the Chargers. The Titans’ 2015 sixth-round pick recorded four tackles, a sack, a forced fumble and a quarterback hit on Saturday night. It was quite a performance by Mount as he tries to earn his spot on the Tennessee Titans’ 53-man roster.

Mariota Played Solid Despite Not Having To Do Much

With the Titans’ offense running all over the Chargers, Mariota wasn’t forced to do a whole lot in the passing game, but he still completed all five of his passes for 45 yards. The most important part is that the offensive line kept Mariota upright as the Chargers never got to the Titans’ second-year quarterback for a sack.

The Tennessee Titans’ performance on Saturday night showed that if you can control the line of scrimmage in the NFL, you’ll win your fair share of games. The Titans dominated up front on offense and continually punched the Chargers defensive line in the mouth. It’s obviously just one preseason game, but if Tennessee’s offensive line plays like they did against the Chargers, the Tennessee Titans are going to surprise a lot of people.

[Photo via Frederick Breedon/Getty Images]

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