The Tennessee Titans' offense was all kinds of messed up during the regular season, and they shouldn't be exempt from criticism. But even that side of the ball looks clean and sparkly when compared to their pass defense.
The Titans finished the year ranked 25th against the pass, according to numberFire's metrics, which is certainly not wretched. But it's the manner in which they finished there that draws us in. Whenever they faced competent quarterback play, the Titans simply could not stop the bleeding.
In a 16-game sample, the Titans faced a quarterback ranked in the top 15 in Passing NEP per drop back just five times. That's compared to eight games against quarterbacks ranked 27th or worse. Their metrics against those talented signal callers are subject to censorship by the FCC.
Rather than giving the bulk number, here's a list of each quarterback ranked 15th or better in Passing NEP per drop back to face the Titans this year. For context, a league-average Passing NEP per drop back is 0.07.
| Quarterback | Week | Yards | TDs | INTs | Passing NEP per Drop Back |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Russell Wilson | 3 | 373 | 4 | 0 | 0.32 |
| Deshaun Watson | 4 | 283 | 4 | 1 | 0.65 |
| Ben Roethlisberger | 11 | 299 | 4 | 0 | 0.31 |
| Jimmy Garoppolo | 15 | 381 | 1 | 0 | 0.38 |
| Jared Goff | 16 | 301 | 4 | 0 | 0.38 |
Sub-Gucci.
You could respond to this by saying, "Well, duh, they struggled against good quarterbacks. Good quarterbacks are good." It would be a fair point, and we should expect teams to do worse against good competition. But what are the Titans going to face in the postseason? A whole lotta what you see above.
Their first test is Alex Smith, who finished eighth in Passing NEP per drop back, one spot behind Jared Goff. The offense is a whole separate issue, but the struggles of Marcus Mariota may not matter if this pass defense can't right the ship.