The Titans are 0-2, and that's frustrating.
It's made more frustrating by just how they've managed to lose both games: closely, and entirely avoidably.
But there are reasons for patience and optimism yet. And what your expectation was coming into this season is the largest factor in how you feel through Week 2.
The ahead-of-schedule paradox
If you came into Brian Callahan's debut season expecting the Titans to be good out of the gates, then you're probably distraught today. I can't help you there.
But if you had reasonable expectations, you likely anticipated plenty of bumps in the road as so many moving parts worked out their kinks. The pragmatic thought was that the Titans can ultimately prove to be a good team, but they might stink for a month or two.
And if we're grading them on this timeline, the Titans are... arguably ahead of schedule?
This was a lightbulb moment during a heated post-game debate on the AtoZ Titan Gameday show Sunday afternoon.
Tennessee isn't losing because they're getting outclassed. They've looked like an evenly-matched foe in both of their losses. And that wasn't necessarily guaranteed coming into the year! How shocked would you have been if the Titans new offense was really clunky and all the new defensive personnel took a couple games to gel?
So the paradox is this: the fact that they are getting so close and they are competitively ahead of schedule is what makes their losses so painful. The "you're right there!" of it all is what has many Titans fans up in arms.
It's contradictory, but it's true: had the Titans not really ever been in either of their games so far, I think you'd see less fury and more calls for patience in Nashville today.
So it all depends on how you choose to look at them, glass half-full or half-empty. On one hand, they've lost two games they absolutely could have won. But on the other hand, they've been a more competitive team so far than many expected them to be.
Don't believe me? Let's look at their production:
Doing enough to win games
Box score scouting only gets you so far. If you don't watch the games, the stats on the page usually won't do you much good.
That being said, you can deduce simple levels of production from the numbers. And in both of their games, the Titans have been the more productive team... for good and for bad.
Their offense has moved the ball up and down the field effectively enough to win both games. They've out-gained the Jets and the Bears 544yds to 413yds. They've been more efficient as well, operating at a 4.5 YPP (yards per play) clip against an opponent 3.8 YPP.
They've also gained more first downs than their opponents: 36 to 27. And in the passing game, they've been more productive as well as more efficient. Will Levis is 38/60 for 319yds (63%), while Aaron Rodgers and Caleb Williams have combined for 32/59 for 269yds (54%).
More times than not, the team that moves the ball better wins the game. And the Titans are doing that! So why aren't they winning?
Have you ever played the card game Spades? If you have, then you know that you can have all the high Hearts, Diamonds and Clubs in the deck. But if you don't have any Spades, it won't matter. You'll still lose the hand.
Total yards, first downs, and completion percentage are the King of Hearts. A card that's usually a winner.
But turnovers, sacks, and redzone efficiency are the 5 of Spades that trumps your King. They can nullify all your good work in an instant. And this is where the Titans have been more productive than their opponent in the worst kind of way.
For starters, Tennessee's 5-to-1 turnover ratio is practically all you need to know on it's own. You cannot win ball games at that clip.
They've also allowed 7 sacks to their opponent's 4, which set them behind the sticks and kill drives. And while they've gotten themselves into twice the number of redzone situations as the Bears and the Jets, they've capitalized on them at the exact same rate (2-of-6 to 1-of-3).
The bottom line is that the Titans are absolutely productive enough as a football team to compete in 2024. They've showed it twice. That's ultimately encouraging. All they have to do is clean up their own mistakes, which is proving to be a difficult task. How quickly they manage to do so will determine the outcome of their season.
