Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson (28) rushes against the San Diego Chargers during the first half at LP Field. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports
If Tennessee Titans RB Chris Johnson didn’t catch four passes for 63 yards and a TD, then he would have been a massive fantasy disappointment yesterday against the Kansas City Chiefs. Johnson was only able to ground out 17 yards on ten carries against a very tough Chiefs defense, but his 49-yard reception on a desperation flick from Ryan Fitzpatrick salvaged his fantasy day into a nice, 14-point outing.
Chris Johnson could also be in line for an uptick in goal-line carries and other short-yardage rushes if the Titans coaching staff is unimpressed enough with the job Jackie Battle is doing. He was notably stuffed at the goal-line on two occasions, and he repeatedly failed in his one duty; get the first down in cloud-of-dust situations. At this point, the only source of value that Battle provides to a football team is his strength on goal-line carries, so by failing, he is beginning to render himself useless to the Titans offense. I doubt they pull the plug on him until Shonn Greene gets back, because Greene will be back soon to assume those key duties again.
Don’t expect Johnson to get short-yardage carries in the future, but I wouldn’t exactly rule it out completely either. He is obviously all for getting more of those rushes, via The Tennessean , “Of course I feel like I should be out there, but (offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains) makes the calls, so there’s nothing I can do about it.”
So far this season, Chris Johnson is averaging just 3.1 yards per carry, and he has yet to score a rushing touchdown. By the way, his touchdown catch yesterday was his first score of the 2013 season.
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