5 Key Plays from the Titans in victory over the Jaguars

The Tennessee Titans broke a two-game losing streak by getting back to the basics – great defense and eliminating turnovers.

The Tennessee Titans victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars was a nice return to winning, and as Ryan Tannehill said, “I think we kind of got back to our brand of football a little bit.” The Titans shut out the Jaguars, ran the ball well, and got Julio Jones back.

Here are five plays that led the Titans to victory:

Titans top plays leading to win: Ryan Tannehill’s big run

1Q 11:36 – Tannehill 17-yard Run for First Down

On the first drive of the game, the Titans faced a third and seven from Jaguars’ 48-yard line. In a gun bunch right formation, the Titans called a pass play that led to Tannehill running straight up the middle for a first down.

The key to the play was the pass protection, believe it or not. Although the Titans’ offensive line did not play well the rest of the game, they held up here (albeit against only a four-man rush) and Tannehill was able to step up in the pocket. It appeared that the Jaguars were in man coverage as nobody had eyes on Tannehill as he ran free down the middle of the field.

This play was pivotal to victory for two reasons.

Number one, this play picked up a third down on the first drive and helped lead them to a touchdown on the first drive – and the only touchdown of the first half. Number two, Tannehill used his legs (and picked up a penalty along the way).

One of Tannehill’s greatest abilities as a quarterback is his ability to run the ball. Here, and on his touchdown run in the third quarter, he scrambled on a pass play to pick up a first down just like the best of any dual-threat quarterback.

He did not run circles behind the line and juke out every member of the defense, but simply had the speed to get up the field fast. With Derrick Henry still out, the Titans will benefit from this more and more.