2024-09-16 15:05:03
NASHVILLE – It was a painful – and familiar – ending to the home opener for the Tennessee Titans.
Just like last week in the season opener at Chicago, the Titans once again made mistakes, including a pair of turnovers and another special teams blunder, and it came back to haunt them.
The end result was 24-17 for the second week in a row, this time a loss to the New York Jets.
“Same story as the last one,” Coach Brian Callahan said after the game. “I thought we played better than last week, but the mistakes were critical. It’s incredibly frustrating, but at the end of the day I think we have what it takes on our team to win football games. We’ve been in position to win them, and we’ve made just enough mistakes to not.
“I believe in our team. I believe in our guys. I believe in the way we work, and I believe in what they’re made of. It’s going to come. We’re not going to give up. It’s Week 2, and we’ve played not even close to our best football. So, we’re going to keep going.”
With the loss, the Titans are now 0-2 on the season.
“It’s kind of weird,” Titans quarterback Will Levis said. “Cally came in (the locker room) and said the same thing, it’s like déjà vu. Saw it twice in a row, shooting ourselves in the foot. You’re not going to win football games like that.”
Levis completed 19-of-28 passes for 192 yards with a touchdown and an interception in the contest. He also lost the ball on a costly fumble inside the 10, when the Titans were in control of the game early. It took points off the scoreboard.
Defensively, the Titans played well for long stretches.
But they allowed three touchdown-scoring drives of 70-plus yards by the Jets, including one late in the fourth quarter as the Jets surged ahead.
The Titans allowed another blocked punt on special teams that put points on the scoreboard for the Jets.
“It is frustrating, losing,” defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons said. “The things we keep talking about – taking care of the football, and getting turnovers, and it’s not happening.”
The Titans did some good things, but they frustrated themselves – and their fans – with the mistakes.
Calvin Ridley flashed his speed early, as the Titans jumped ahead.
Ridley got into the corner of the end zone after taking a handoff from Levis, scoring on a 10-yard run to give the Titans a 7-0 lead with 2:30 left in the first quarter. The play capped a nine-play, 68-yard drive that also included a 15-yard catch from Ridley on third down.
The Titans had a chance to expand the lead in the second quarter, but a mistake by Levis, who tried to pitch the ball back to Tyjae Spears as he was going down, was ruled a fumble and recovered by the Jets at the 12-yard line. The Titans had driven the ball to the New York seven-yard line, and they seemed poised to extend their lead.
On the team’s next possession, Levis was intercepted on a deep ball to Treylon Burks.
The Jets then put together a 12-play, 73-yard drive late in the second quarter, and capped it off with a 12-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Aaron Rodgers to running back Braelon Allen just 1:47 before halftime to tie the game.
The Titans took a 10-7 lead at halftime, however, on a 41-yard field goal by kicker Nick Folk.
The Jets took the lead early in the third quarter after a drive was kept alive on a roughing the passer penalty on Simmons.
Instead of the Jets punting, they capped a 70-yard drive off with a 30-yard touchdown pass from Rodgers to running back Breece Hall to take a 14-10 lead at the 12:08 mark of the third quarter.
Then came another special teams mistake – Ryan Stonehouse had another punt blocked – and that set the Jets up for more points, as they cashed it in for a Greg Zuerlein field goal to take a 17-10 lead at the 5:58 mark of the third quarter.
The Titans struck back in a hurry, scoring on a deep ball – a 40-yard pass from Levis to Ridley – to make it 17-17 with 3:22 left in the third quarter.
But the Jets got it done late when it mattered, as Allen’s 20-yard touchdown run capped a seven-play, 74-yard drive to make it 24-17 with just 4:31 remaining.
The Titans had a first-and-goal at the 10 in the final minute, but they were unable to score.
In the locker room after the game, players talked about another one that got away.
“We lost, man,” Ridley said. “I don’t want to lose, I want to win the game and go home and chill, and be happy. But we have to go back to work and figure it out. I think we’re getting close, though. I’m upset, but I think we’re getting close.”
The Titans return to action next Sunday at Nissan Stadium against the Green Bay Packers.
