Titans Team Report

INSIDE SLANT

The Titans blew their best chance of making the postseason with Sunday’s 27-17 loss to the Indianapolis Colts.

Now stuck at 5-7 and needing a miracle to make the playoffs, the Titans can only try to get back to what worked for them during their five-game winning streak.

Tennessee knew it would take a near flawless performance to derail the unbeaten Colts and played far from that with two turnovers, a dropped pass that could have been a touchdown and two trips into the red zone that resulted in no points—they gave the ball over on downs both times.

At least as they prepare for Sunday’s game, facing a must-win to keep any postseason hope flickering, the Titans should have an easier time of it as they go from the top of the league to the bottom against the 1-11 St. Louis Rams.

Titans coach Jeff Fisher admitted that the team’s chances of playing being Jan. 3 are remote. But he also noted that, to have any chance at all, they must win this week against the hapless Rams.

“I talked with the guys this morning. We gave it our best shot. We didn’t get it done. We had opportunities and we didn’t get it done,” Fisher said. “We did some good things in this ballgame. We’ve got to build on it and move on. We’ve got to win the next game—that’s the most important thing to us. Again, realistically, most of it’s out of our control. We need to win out and they’re aware of that. The only chance you’ve got is to win the next one.”

For the Titans, they need to get back to being in control via Chris Johnson and the running game. Johnson had 27 carries on Sunday for 113 yards, but because the Titans were down by two scores in the second half, Vince Young(notes) wound up passing 43 times, completing 24 for 241 yards and two TDs with one interception.

Johnson had to earn his yards on Sunday; his longest run of the day was just for 11 yards. However, Fisher took a slight issue with talk that Johnson was “contained” by the Colts despite a day that put him at 1,509 yards for the year.

“I kind of chuckle when someone says they shut C.J. down. We’ve got to try to keep things in perspective here. I think he’s one of three to reach 1,500 yards after 12 games,” Fisher said. “It’s quite a group that he’s keeping company with. His efforts have been tremendous. We’ll applaud the Colts defense for not giving up a 90-yard touchdown run. I thought C.J. played very well in the game.”

NOTES, QUOTES

—Defensive tackle Tony Brown was quite the entertainer on Sunday. Unfortunately, it cost his team 15 yards and three points before the end of the half. Brown was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct for shoving Colts guard Kyle DeVan(notes) in the facemask after DeVan had knocked him over the pile.

On the field goal, Brown body slammed DeVan to the turf while going against him, was booed as he smiled for the video board going into the half and made a “call me” gesture to fans in the stands.

Teammates took issue with the penalty, which became a factor at the end of the game when the Titans were down 10 instead of seven and had the ball after recovering an onside kick.

“They had it at the 40, and then we get a stupid penalty of 15 yards that gives them field position,” linebacker Keith Bulluck(notes) said. “If we didn’t get that penalty, once we got that onside kick, we’re probably playing to (tie).

“For once, I must say I’m on the same wavelength as the coaches. Coaches always stress, especially Coach Fisher, penalties that have absolutely nothing to do with the play. They are dumb penalties and they hurt us as a team.”

Brown hurried out of the locker room and told reporters, “Ain’t nothing to write about,” when questioned about the play.

• Running back Chris Johnson tied Eddie George’s best season ever as a Titan with 1,509 yards with four games to play. Earl Campbell has the two best rushing seasons in team history, the top performance being 1,934 yards in 1980.

Johnson is on pace to finish with 2,012 yards and needs to average almost 123 yards a game to get 2,000. To break Eric Dickerson’s single-season record of 2,105, Johnson needs to average 149 yards over the final four games.

STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

Player Notes  

• RB Chris Johnson had 27 carries for 113 yards Sunday but hit a lot of singles rather than home runs. His longest run was 11 yards.

• QB Vince Young had the best game of his Titans career, completing 24 of 43 for 241 yards. He had two TDs and one interception, which came after rookie Kenny Britt(notes) quit moving on a scramble drill.

• WR Justin Gage(notes) missed his fourth straight game with a back injury but is getting closer to returning.

• DT Jason Jones’(notes) season might be in jeopardy. He has missed five games with a shoulder injury that does not appear to be making significant improvement.

• P Brett Kern(notes) was on the losing end of a game for the first time this season after 11 straight wins with Denver and Tennessee combined.

Report Card Vs  . COLTS

Passing Offense:   B—Vince Young was 24 of 43 for 241 yards with two scores and one pick but could not connect on two critical fourth-down red zone passes that hurt the Titans.

Rushing Offense:   A-minus—For the first time in nearly two months, Chris Johnson wasn’t superhuman. But he was still plenty good, rushing for 113 yards on 27 carries. The only drawback was that no run was longer than 11 yards.

Pass Defense:   D—It was a tough test against Peyton Manning(notes) and the Colts, but the Titans got no sacks or interceptions as Manning easily took advantage of matchups he liked, such as Pierre Garcon(notes) on Nick Harper(notes).

Rush Defense:   C—Joseph Addai(notes) finished with 71 yards, a decent enough showing for the defense, but Indy got critical yards on the ground nearly every time it needed to move the chains via the run.

Special Teams:   B—For the first time in a long time there were no major blunders here, and Kenny Britt’s 56-yard kickoff return is perhaps this group’s highlight of the season.

Coaching:   C-minus—The Titans wanted to keep it close with a chance to win in the fourth quarter. The fourth-and-2 fade route trailing 24-10 was a questionable call, given that Chris Johnson probably should have been option No. 1 in such a critical situation.