NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The offense had to be better, and like with every team in the NFL, the Titans sold hope through the offseason.

What we heard about Tim Kelly’s offense and then what we saw at training camp looked and sounded good, and the weaponry seemed upgraded with DeAndre Hopkins taking over at the head of the line with the receivers, Treylon Burks and Chig Okonkwo maturing heading into Year Two and Tyjae Spears bringing a new element to the backfield. 

Now, three games in, a team that averaged 17.5 points in 2022 is averaging 15 points and has failed to score a touchdown in each of its losses.

So yeah, it’s been terrible so far.

Tim Kelly on self-evaluating. #Titans pic.twitter.com/cndGllo13q

— Paul Kuharsky (@PaulKuharskyNFL) September 28, 2023

[Unlocked]

By BLAKE BEDDINGFIELD, special correspondent

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Bengals offense got back on track Monday night versus the Rams.

Their simple offensive approach was to take their best offensive playmaker, Ja’Marr Chase and continuously beat anyone L.A. could line up against him. They found success with that and it also helped an injured Joe Burrow focus on getting the ball out of his hand quickly and into the hands of a dynamic after-the-catch runner.

Facing a potential high-scoring offense is exactly what the Titans don’t want to see right now. They aren’t going to win this game on field goals alone.  

The Bengals offense is a tough matchup for the Titans because of the number of offensive playmakers they have for the defense to focus on.

Shane Bowen sees the most dynamic skill group the #Titans have seen yet with the #Bengals. pic.twitter.com/eDrCY6eJHV

— Paul Kuharsky (@PaulKuharskyNFL) September 28, 2023

On the other side of the ball, the Bengals' defense had six sacks against the Rams last week. Pass protection has been a giant issue for the Titans all year and this game will be no different.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- To get to .500, the Titans will have to beat the team that's been a recent archnemisis on Sunday at Nissan Stadium.

The Cincinnati Bengals got to 1-2 with a win over the Rams Monday night. Recent history says they should feel pretty good about their chances against Mike Vrabel's Titans.

They are 3-0 against them, including the 2021 gut-wrenching division-round playoff win in Nashville and a 20-16 loss in Nashville last year on Nov. 27 that began the dreaded seven-game, season-ending losing streak.

Joe Burrow is playing on a balky calf but he's got great weapons to challenge a secondary that is giving up big plays. And Trey Hendrickson looked good giving up two sacks while nose tackle D.J. Readrr has given Tennessee Problems in the past.

It's hard to feel great about a bounce back from the loss in Cleveland, though it's something Vrabel's done with his team quite a lot in the past.

Many of you joined our weekly broadcast conversation at the half of Thursday Night Football to discuss all the Titans' issues and all your concerns. Head to the private Facebook page or below on YouTube to rewatch the excellent c conversation.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Training camp is built to provide hope, and while all the things many of us bought into there are not guaranteed to fizzle, it's not looking good.

Most of the defenses the Titans see the rest of the way will not be as good as New Orleans and Cleveland were. Still, how much better can left tackle be? How will the receivers get more separation? What's the recipe for the corners to stop giving up explosive plays?

The new episode awaits you on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, iHeart and YouTube, which is below.

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By MIKE HERNDON, columnist

The Titans' embarrassing 27-3 loss to the Browns on Sunday was disheartening on several levels.

For one, it’s just hard to watch a football team spend an entire afternoon failing to move the ball even one length of a football field. Tennessee’s 94 yards of total offense represents the franchise’s fourth-lowest single-game total over 64 seasons of professional football. It just barely eclipsed the 80 yards of penalties that they racked up in Cleveland.

However, the biggest reason that it was so disheartening is that all the issues that most clearly defined this game – the poor offensive line play and leaky secondary – are the same problems that drove the team’s seven-game losing streak to end the 2022 season.

There was an attempt to fix those issues this offseason. New GM Ran Carthon replaced three starters on the offensive line, four if you include suspended right tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere and Mike Vrabel brought in a new defensive passing game coordinator in the highly regarded Chris Harris to bring along a young secondary.

However, early returns are not good in either area.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Titans went the inexpensive route, looking for upside at several positions they needed to fill during the offseason.

A year after they had to plug in their third tackle, Dennis Daley, after Taylor Lewan went down with a repeat knee injury in Week Two and got horrific results, they felt good about a former first-rounder in Andre Dillard.

But through three games, he’s been the worst player on an offensive line that came into the season as a big concern and has only increased the anxiety about pass protection and run blocking.

By JAKE DOWNARD

Jake Downard is a law student who creates NFL and NBA content focused on analytics on Twitter as @JakeAndBall. He also works with fanspo.com. Today is his second post at PaulKuharsky.com. A glossary of the analytics terms he uses is at the bottom of the piece.

From the second quarter against the Chargers to the moment Nick Folk hit the game-winning field goal in overtime, the Titans operated as arguably the most efficient offense in football. Ryan Tannehill was lights out, the run game was successful with the sudden success in play-action passing, targets were spread beautifully throughout the depth chart, and nearly every skill position player contributed in a big way.

A week after putting together a performance that got the entire fanbase excited for the first time in a long time, the Titans imploded. 

It does not take an analytical savant or advanced algorithm to conclude that they were horrible against the Browns. If you were curious, this is how their offense graded out in the advanced metrics that they were so successful in last week: [Unlocked]

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