The Tennessee Titans hosted the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday for their second preseason game of 2024.
The Titans left with a 16-15 victory on a last-second field goal by rookie kicker Brayden Narveson, but it was not an easy win. Without their starters, the Titans fell behind early and had trouble recovering, but seemed to wake up on the final drive and pull out the win.
Here’s a breakdown of what we saw on Saturday and how we graded the Titans’ win.
Attack: B
Malik Willis got the nod when the Titans held their first team out of the game this week. Behind the backup offensive line, Willis struggled early. He seemed to have trouble reading the defense and was a step too slow in his decision-making. His first two drives ended in punts after incomplete passes, penalties and a sack. His third drive went into the second quarter and looked better than the first two, but still ended in a punt.
Mason Rudolph looked like the experienced quarterback he is, relying on his experience in Pittsburgh to make quick, accurate decisions and scoring a touchdown on his first drive down the field.
The Titans’ wideouts and running backs were OK. Julius Chestnut had the most touches with 13 carries and two catches for a total of 74 yards. Nick Westbrook-Ikhine only caught two passes, but one of them was Rudolph’s 15-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter.
The offense gets a B because it worked well as a backup unit. Despite early struggles, the offense pulled itself together enough to pull out a win, and that’s the ultimate goal in this game.
Defense: B
The Titans’ backup defenders played relatively well against the Seahawks, allowing just 239 yards. The rush defense was strong and stopped almost every run. The Seattle backs averaged just 3.6 yards per run, thanks largely to the play of Chance Campbell (eight tackles), Elijah Molden (five tackles) and Jaylen Harrell (two sacks).
The secondary could use some help, though. They allowed 175 yards, which doesn’t seem like a lot, but at seven yards per play, there’s still work to be done.
Nevertheless, the defense only allowed one touchdown overall, so they worked well together as a unit.
Special Teams: A
The special teams received the highest rating on Saturday as they were responsible for the win, but that’s not the only reason. There were two kick returns totaling 49 yards and a punt return totaling 14 yards. All of that is field position, and the Titans’ special teams put the offense in the best position to get down the field.
Nick Folk, of course, made the extra point attempt he was sent on, but that was the only time the starting kicker took the field. Brayden Narveson cemented his position as backup kicker when he sank a 59-yard field goal and tied the game with a 46-yard field goal. Folk’s job is not in jeopardy, but Narveson will take over if he is needed.
Coaching: A
The coaches’ main goal on Saturday was to evaluate the substitutes. They needed to see which players would step up and prove themselves and which players would falter under pressure. In that regard, they did their job. They let Willis continue an attack he started at the end of the first quarter and into the second rather than inserting Rudolph at the change of quarter. While that didn’t help the offense, it was smart to keep him in and not switch things up in the middle of the attack.
The coaching staff still has a lot of work to do. The starting lineups are largely locked in and after this week the coaches will have a better idea of what those players will do when it’s their turn. Given everyone’s performance on Saturday, those decisions won’t be easy.
Overall: B+
The bottom line is that the Titans played well with their backups on Saturday. There are always questions with backups – will they do their job and how will they fit in with the rest of the team? But this team is clearly full of players who are willing to put in the effort to win a game, regardless of how many minutes they get.
Yes, these players took full advantage of their time last night to earn their spot on the team. That was the goal of the coaching staff, to see who would earn a spot on the roster. And honestly, they played well as a unit. There were a few minor hiccups, but the Titans can be happy with the team they put together.
This article originally appeared on Titans Wire: Titans report card: How we graded the Week 2 preseason win
