For the first time in the Brian Callahan era, the Tennessee Titans lost a game where they were beaten in every phase, dropping their record to a hapless 0-3.
The offense couldn't sustain drives. The defense let Green Bay Packers (and former Titans) quarterback Malik Willis treat them like a punching bag. Special teams made a crucial error that turned a missed field goal into a touchdown, making it three special team gaffes in as many weeks.
As if that wasn't bad enough, the Titans faced an offensive-minded head coach for the first time in the Callahan era, and you saw the difference between a rookie play-caller like Callahan and an experienced one like Matt LaFleur.
Will Levis' pick six occurred on a questionable play call that saw every Titans receiver run a short hitch. Levis stared it down and threw his league-leading second interception returned for a TD.
That wasn't the worst decision Callahan made on Sunday, however. Panicking and getting away from the running game too quickly was an error in thinking.
Shockingly, the Titans only called eight running plays on Sunday. Forget using the lopsided score as an excuse, because the Packers only had a 10-point lead until the final play of the first half. Even then, it wasn't time to panic because the Titans were set to get the ball in the second half. At that point, they had plenty of time to turn it around.
We're all in favor of a pass-heavy offense, but the Packers had allowed 100+ yard rushers in both of their previous games this season. Meanwhile, the Titans' most consistent offensive weapon over the first two weeks was Tony Pollard.
Callahan overthought it and he decided to roll the dice with one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL against the Packers' defensive front. The result was Levis being under constant pressure, including an embarrassing eight sacks.
There are plenty of people to blame for the Titans loss because the Packers completely dominated them. However, Callahan is supposed to be an offensive coach who identifies what the Titans do best while finding ways to exploit the weaknesses of the other team.
On Sunday, he did the opposite and his inexperience was on full display as LaFleur called a masterful game to turn one of the most successful defenses in the NFL (until Sunday) into a joke.
The Titans are in a rebuild. Levis and Callahan are both going to go through growing pains this season. Fans need to have patience and that could mean another season where we are talking about the NFL Draft in November. But don't forget, the best-case scenario for this team is that Levis and Callahan are both much better in December than they are in September.
It doesn't make the 0-3 start less disappointing, but this is the truth. As hard as it is, fans need to keep the faith and hope for those two to turn the corner by the end of the year because that is the shortest path to success for this franchise no matter how upset you are right now.
