NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Ryan Tannehill is strong-willed and tough and the things he is facing can be part of the deal.

But when a quarterback is getting hit and sacked at the rate Tannehill is, his clock gets sped up and, on some level, psychologically, things have to change.

Pool photo/ Donald Page, Tennessee Titans 

Tannehill’s been lacking his No. 1 receiver in A.J. Brown, which really affects the passing game and as he sorts things out his pass protection has been inconsistent.

The quarterback has been sacked 37 times, which is on pace for 48 in the first 17 game season. That would be the second-most of his career to 2013. In his second season in Miami when he was sacked 58 times.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Titans are an unthreatening offense that can string together an occasional good drive or take advantage of field position but can’t find big plays.

It’s the team’s drive to play complementary football, the offense is very much the little brother to the defense. And that’s not the way it was drawn up.

Pool photo/ Donald Page, Tennessee Titans

The team was designed around Ryan Tannehill, Derrick Henry and A.J. Brown, with a bonus helping of Julio Jones.

Seven players have cap hits north of $4 million, and five of them are on offense. Some of that is where players are in terms of age and contract life, but it still says something about the emphasis of the roster construction.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Titans did exactly what they needed to do versus the Jaguars.

They tried to establish the run ending with a team total of 102 yards, they attacked the middle of the field with tight ends Geoff Swaim and Anthony Firkser and they utilized the short passes to get the ball out of the hand of the QB.

Julio Jones was a focus early and ended the game with four receptions for 33 yards.

Naquan Jones/ pool photo, Donald Page, Tennessee Titans

Jones, as I mentioned in the preview, will need to adjust his game to a possession receiver who will win versus tight coverage because he will struggle to separate with speed or acceleration out of his breaks like he used to.

Why teams aren’t playing more press-man or bump coverage against Jones and forcing him to work hard versus a tight release I am not sure. Jones can’t run by any corner anymore and it would force him to work hard to release off press and change the quarterbacks’ eyes away from a perceived covered option.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Laquon Treadwell lined up wide right with Laviska Shenault to his left, and the two took off downfield at the snap.

At about 10 yards, Treadwell cut in and Shenault cut out, heading directly for each other. Shenault saw the trouble quickly and went to the ground to avoid what might have been a real train wreck.

That left Treadwell to trip over him/run into Elijah Molden and fall on top of Treadwell’s legs, after which the ball landed behind them both, toward the sideline.

© Andrew Nelles / Tennessean.com / USA TODAY NETWORK

“I was laughing, honestly,” Kevin Byard said. “End of the game, two guys run into each other. I don’t want to speak too much on it. But I was talking some trash a little bit to them. It’s one of those things. I don’t know. It’s tough for them boys over there.”

En route to a 20-0 win over Treadwell, Shenault and the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Titans often forced the issue, but they also stayed out of the way and allowed the visitors to make mistakes. It’s something Tennessee failed to do enough in losses earlier this season against other terrible teams, the Jets and the Texans.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- An opportunistic defense took advantage of a miserable team.

Sunday afternoon we watched the Titans do to the Jaguars what they should have done to the Jets and the Texans earlier this season.

This time they got it right, cut their magic number for winning the AFC South down to two, got things corrected in the turnover differential department and didn't need to do anything dramatic on offense while they forced turnovers and watched Jacksonville do stupid stuff.

Let's all talk about it all as we do after every game.

Members can go to the private Facebook page or below the line to watch.

If you're not already getting text message notifications about broadcasts, the path to that is also in the rest of the post.

And if you are missing out on these or would like to get these and all that membership entails, well you're in luck -- my holiday sale means membership is 25 percent off right now.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Not only are the Houston Texans continuing to crumble, but they are also helping out division rivals.

Their release of linebacker Zach Cunningham turned into a major gain for the Tennessee Titans.

After claiming him off waivers, Tennessee is only on the hook for $316,112 for the remaining five games of the 2021 season, and has contractual control of Cunningham through 2024.

Courtesy Houston Texans

The Titans were 26th in waivers, so we know everybody passed on Cunningham except Kansas City, Dallas, New England, Tampa Bay, Green Bay and Arizona.

We don’t know if those teams put in a claim. [Unlocked]

By BLAKE BEDDINGFIELD, special correspondent

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Titans are coming off a much-needed bye week hopefully got the needed rest both mentally and physically after a lot of highs and a few lows to end a stretch of 12 games.

Now they get to face one of the worst teams in the NFL in the Jacksonville Jaguars.

This is a much-needed opponent because Jacksonville provides very little challenge in terms of competition if the Titans play well.

Some of the injured players should be coming off the injured list and others who have been inactive for games because of injuries should be closer to returning for the stretch run and the playoffs.

The Titans need to find a win against the Jaguars and must show improved offensive production and a plan on how to attack teams when their star players are not available.

 NASHVILLE, Tenn. – For weeks in May, Titans’ fandom crackled: Julio Jones could be coming.

The potential price and merits of a trade with Atlanta for the all-time great were hotly debated -- with the vast majority in favor of his acquisition in a go-for-it move. The Titans No. 1 receiver A.J. Brown, a huge fan, had big fun publicly campaigning for a deal.

On June 9 the Titans made the exchange, getting Jones and a 2023 sixth-rounder for their 2022 second-round selection and a fourth-round pick in 2023.

His new teammates rejoiced and the vast majority of fans and media applauded.