The Tennessee Titans’ struggles after halftime are clear when you look at the numbers. Jeffery Simmons, a two-time Pro Bowl defensive lineman, said on Wednesday that these problems are a big reason the Titans are 2-7 this season.
“Especially in the second half of our games, it’s like we’re not finishing,” Simmons said. “We have to be able to suffocate teams for four quarters.”
The offense is under pressure because it has trouble scoring at all after the opening kickoff, but especially after halftime. The Titans rank 27th in the NFL, averaging only 17.4 points per game.
In the final quarter of games, Tennessee is the worst in the league, averaging just 2.9 points in the fourth quarter this season.
Most of their 26 fourth-quarter points came in their biggest win on Sept. 30 against Miami, where they scored 12 points in the fourth. They also got a late touchdown in last week’s loss to the Chargers when the game was already decided.
First-year coach Brian Callahan is still learning the ropes in his role as play-caller. But he agrees that the Titans need to be better at scoring in the second half of games than they have been so far this season.
Even just one more touchdown per game would make a big difference. The Minnesota Vikings, who are 7-2, will visit on Sunday. The Vikings average 24.6 points per game, ranking 10th in the NFL.
“We’ve been in position to score those and we haven’t, and thus have not won as many games as I think we are capable of winning,” Callahan said. “But that’s going to be big.”
The Titans can help themselves by cutting down on penalties, sacks allowed, and turnovers. Only the Las Vegas Raiders have a worse turnover margin in the league. Quarterback Will Levis has been sacked an average of 3.6 times per start, and the Titans were flagged nine times just last week.
When Callahan was hired, Levis had to adjust to a new offense. Then, he injured his right throwing shoulder early in the win at Miami. He tried to play after their Week 5 bye but admitted his shoulder wasn’t fully healed when he threw a late interception in a loss to the Colts.
The Titans held Levis out for three games, and backup Mason Rudolph led them to a 1-2 record during that stretch. Levis got to watch and learn, and in his return, he completed a career-high 78.3% of his passes in the loss to the Chargers.
The Titans also protected the ball, having their first game of the season without a turnover. Levis threw his final touchdown with 49 seconds left, as the Titans worked on their two-minute drill, even if fans wondered why it mattered in a game that was already decided.
“The quarterback’s job is to lead us down and score points, and we need to do more of that to give ourselves a chance to win,” Callahan said about Levis. “And that’s going to be a big part of what we look like over the second half of the season.”
Levis seemed more comfortable in his return last week. He completed 18 of 23 passes for 175 yards and two touchdowns, both to Calvin Ridley. An overturned defensive touchdown late in the first half shifted the momentum in that game.
The Vikings will be a tough challenge on Sunday. They have the third-best scoring defense in the NFL, allowing just 17.4 points per game.
Levis said the Vikings’ defense gives a lot of different looks, which means a quarterback could spend a lot of time trying to figure out what they might do.
“At the end of the day, it’s going to be more so our jobs, our responsibilities, and everyone getting to the right space at the right time,” Levis said.
