Titans-Niners TNF Recap

do you know? The Tennessee Titans, looking like a team lost and out of ideas, come racing back on Thursday Night Football thanks to a defining star performance from A. J. Brown in the twenty seventeen win over the San Francisco forty Niners. You know, it keeps their a f C South title hopes alive when it looked like the cults were edging in. And that right now is for another day.

This is Mark Sessler. I'm here with the grave digger Titans fan, Justin Graver, And you know what I was concerned, Um that the night we have you guesting on this show, that the Titans looked um putrid for it was. It was just an incredibly ugly first half. And if you know you're tracking Twitter on these Island games and Todd downing um was essentially going to be sent out of town in a box at some point. But look at

the whole team gathered around. This is sort of the Titans and who they've been just with so many injuries. But they got a J. Brown back tonight, and I just thought that he heated up and looked more comfortable as the game went on. Sixteen targets, a ton of catches and yardage. Grave digger, you're a happy grave digger. I think typically that profession um doesn't always attract happy people. But you've seen tonight. I see a smile on your face here Um on our stream yard. How you feeling?

What are you thinking? I feel great, a little pumped up. I was celebrating around, running around, screaming a little bit. But I mean, what can you say about a J. Brown? I think I mentioned this on Maybe it was last Sunday Nights show that I thought a J. Brown, or

maybe it was a different show. I don't know. I said it on a show recently, on so many shows at this point that it's how I understand it's hard to keep trying to keep tracking, but um that A J. Brown might be more important to the Titans offense than Derrick Henry Even, and I think that played out tonight because the Titans had so much trouble manufacturing explosive plays over the last few weeks, not to mention turning the ball over, and they didn't turn the ball over tonight,

which is a huge way to help you win a football game. Niners turning over twice and A J. Brown the explosive plays. He had a twenty something yard catch in the first half on a big third down. He had that huge bomb down the field on the free play on a third and twenty plus, And I felt like the Titans, because they had a J. Brown in the field, we're constantly able to overcome those third and longs.

They were faced with so many third and longs, and I think at one point um they said they were like six of nine on third and long and then they converted on that play to make it seven a ten And it was just in an m v P performance I think in this game from A J. Brown, and that's why the Titans came out on top. You're

so right about the third and long attempts. At one point, you know, when when the touchdown happened to A J. Brown, they had at that point six conversions and third and ten or longer, which is the most in a game by any team this season. So you know, as as much as they struggled, uh, they when they came to life. I mean it really brought Ryan Tannehill um oxygen. I thought, after just a tough month where you know, he's throw

into ghosts and the turnovers killed them. And when we saw against I know it was the Jaguars, but when they had a turnover free game, they were dominant. And tonight, when they don't make those mistakes, when they weren't saddled with those errors, uh, they were able to climb out of the low start and fight their way back. I also thought that the Niners. I mean, it's the kind of game where you look back. If you're a Niners fan,

you think, look at number one. We we also um have stars on our team, but we cannot go make the mistakes that we had tonight. And so especially from the quarterback position, it was the killer interception to Jack Rabbit by by Graff Jimmy g You know, why why why why am I struggling to say his last name? I've never known him for like seven years. Here. I mean that that was a killer turnover. Um, he had the missed deep shot to Kyle U's check, which would

have been another score. He had a terrible interception to open the third quarter. I mean we were texting during this and it was just like points left on the board and it led to you tweeting at halftime and it wasn't I didn't think it was just a sunny fan type of tweet. It was you could see this. You could see this like not a game where the Niners did not close the door. You said the Titans will win this game, watch and bang you were dead on.

I mean, I think that the Niners come out of this, and I know that you know we're not going to Trey Lance probably at this point. I know people are taught king about even the Alex Smith to Kaepernick transition on a playoff type season years ago. Um, that's possible. I mean, anything is possible. But Jimmy g just when you get this version of them, um, it's hard to overcome. It's like it kind of left George Kid a lot

of the mix. I mean, Deebo Samuel had another to watch him and a J. Brown go you know, punch for punch. He had that huge catch that's set up the touchdown to tie it late in the game. So it's like these are two teams that in a way, it's just like there's not a lot of margin for error.

But Jimmy g has floored them a couple of games in the last month that leave them, I know, there's still the six seed, but leave them wanting and wondering what they're ceiling is when you're gonna get that kind of quarterback play, I think they will only go as far as he can take them, and as far as Shanahan can scheme around his deficiencies. I thought the Niners

opening drive was brilliantly drawn up. They had a couple of those bootleg plays that got players in space on in the flat they it felt like, I'm not sure if this is exactly true, but it felt like every passing play on that first drive was off play action, which had the Titans defense all discombibulated and out of balance. And then the Titans defense stepped up and after the that scripted drive and the one right after it where the Niners went all the way down the field and

through an interception in the end zone. From there, it felt like the Titans defense got it together and kind of understood how to stop at least slow down the forty Niners playmakers, especially I mean Deebo Samuel had his amazing game, but Kittle and auk Or and Jeff Wilson too were pretty much taken out of the game. And I think that the Titans defense did a really nice

job adjusting and and stopping those guys. Well, their defense has just come up big in certain games here, and it's it's like, I really think the journey that they've been on and and and for you, for you as a Titans supporter, I mean, it looked like things. It looked like a team just heading in the wrong direction to anemic. Um. But now they've got the Dolphins and the Texans, and by by the nature of sweeping the Cults, Um, I mean, they've got wiggle room. They're gonna win this

division barring a disaster. I mean, I'm not convinced they're a better team than the Cults right now on any level. Um. But when you get these guys back, you start to remember, Uh. And I don't like saying remember the Titans. That's extremely

I didn't even attempt to do that. That's that's it is, but you recall what this team was when they were I think the best team in the a f C early in the season and and the Niners their final two games against the Texans and the Rams, they're gonna make the playoffs, barring I mean the Rams game will be but even if they lose that, they've got the tiebreaker over teams like the Vikings and others that are

sort of hanging around. So it's not a crisis. It's just that I think that you find out, Yeah, the Niners drafted this quarterback for a reason, um Trey Lance, and in his you know, other rookies are just playing.

They've not done that with him. And a flip side I thought for Ryan Tannehill, I mean he you know, he's such a great athlete that that great run that he had down the stretch in the in late in the game, UM mattered and he and you just remember that, you know it was last year when you had a J. Brown that he would take these shots where he would get thundered titanically to the ground but complete that four

five yard passed down the field. And with a J. Brown back, and then when you get Derrick Henry, it's like you know what they did the job. I really think that Mike Rabel has created a culture where they survived. They survived these things and it came real close. This was another example of Razor's edge. We've talked about it with the Titans for a bunch, but you've got to be feeling good um as a Titans supporter and analyst,

just to see how they escaped tonight. Yeah, and when it was ten zero at halftime, I thought that was such a huge bummer, like a deflating sequence for the Titans, when it went from Deontay form and breaking one for a long touchdown and then two flags on the play, one on him for face masking which he didn't even touch anyone's face mask, and a second penalty on the

Titans for a hold. That was a really not to be biased as a fan, but I felt like his Jeff Swain's hands were inside the shoulder pads pretty tight, and Greg Olsen even said so on the broadcast, and yet the flag came out and the Titans to not even come away with points from that drive was such a bummer. But I felt encouraged by the fact that they showed the ability to at least make a play

like that even if it didn't count. And that's when I felt that the Titans were going to come out in the second half and get the ball to start the half and possibly go win the game. That's why I tweeted that. And we were texting a little bit during the game, and I said, it feels like games like this always flipped when it's like a ten zero halftime game. The same thing happened earlier this week with

the Browns and the Raiders. Um, weren't the Browns up ten nothing or fortunately nothing at halftime and then like right in them, it's like like not going back into it. Yeah, I mean they climbed back in. So I think you're so right in these TNF games, we understand that they are. There's a zany d n a um through throughout the bloodstream in these games. Um, but yeah, like the Niners should have been up twenty four nothing at one point.

It's like it had they done that, I think it changes sort of everything that the Titans could hope to do. But to have, you know, to have the advantage or the disadvantage just to be ten points, it's like then

you have your best player, um becoming comfortable. It's like they I think they noted, you know, correctly that he didn't get to practice, and we don't, like we don't really track that sometimes, but it's like, what was his uh warm up over the week to get back into game, you know, mentality and it's like you just saw him becoming more comfortable in his own skin. Is the game crept along? And then then then really it seemed like the door was wide open for Tennessee. So a massive victory.

I have a question for you, how did you, um, how did you become a Titans fan? I don't know if we've covered We've covered a lot of things about you, um this more a mundane aspect of your existence at the moment. What what's how did that happen? I wish I had a more interesting answer. But when I was really young, I grew up in Dallas. When I was really really young, I was a Cowboys fans. The Titans were still Houston Oilers. And when the Titans moved to

Nashville and became the Titans. For some reason, as like an eight year old kid, I loved Eddie George. And when I was nine, the Titans went to the Super Bowl and they lost to the Rams by one yard, and I just felt so much heartbreak for them losing that Super Bowl, and I loved Eddie George and I loved watching Steve McNair that I just decided I'm gonna ride with this team because as why not, I don't know, And here we are fifteen years later. I think that's

a very pure origin story. I enjoyed that. I also thought you were getting a little spicy tonight. I enjoyed this uh p f t. You know, you know, at some point during the game when the Titans were, you know, dealing with some issues put out Are the Titans frauds? Question mark? Discuss? And then you just you know, you you quote tweeted them and just said when they were coming back and starting to feel like total raging fire, yes, discuss.

I like what you're doing tonight, You're you're feeling yourself a little bit. You deserve it. It's a huge win for them. I mean, had they lost, I think that you'd have to be questioning a lot of things about the Earth right now. Yeah. Really, I do want to say about the Niners that I think their defense, I mean, the Titans have been pretty great on the ground the last few games, even without Derrick Henry, but the Niners defensive front was really stout tonight. The Titans couldn't really

get much running game going. McNichols was their best rusher seven carriers for thirty one yards. Tannehill was second on the team. And this is a team that's using three running backs now a lot Hilliard five for twenty form and though only nine carries for nine carries for only

seventeen yards, and that Niners front is so ferocious. Granted, the Titans had a lot of backups in on the offensive line, but their kryptonite is the cornerbacks, and that's how Tennessee was finally able to get back in this game. It felt like the first half it was a lot of stuffed runs up the middle that led to all

those third and longs we talked about. But in the second half they were throwing them ball more on early downs, finding a J. Brown And I think the Niners are gonna have to figure out how to overcome these weaknesses in the secondary if they want to do anything in the playoffs this year. You are right about their deeds.

Their fifth and d v O A since Week ten, ninth against the past, and it's not looked like it's sometimes but second against the run, behind only the Rams, so that that has been a strength for them, you know, Arey Thomas. I think it's just had a rough rookie season and a rough December. I thought he made some place tonight. You know, you can still see with confidence and if that, if that, if he can round into shape over the next couple of weeks, it will be necessary.

That will help a lot because they have been victimized. I mean he specifically through the air, and I mean I think tonight just like oh, by the way, when you're gonna get a J. Brown turning into what he was, um, you know, from the halftime, from half on, like no one in the league stopping that, and we've seen examples

of it in the past. It's the kind of thing where if you're gonna get if you get three or four games like that from him in a row in January, we have no idea where this team will end up. I mean, it just it is an example that it's a star it's a star led league, and they just have been playing without those guys and and it hasn't been there. It hasn't to your point about him being you know, as valuable, if not arguably more than Derrick

Henry inside that offense. I mean, we all get to Derrick Henry is, but they have been able to run the ball um yardage wise. It's just that I think that when you're dealing with Derrick Henry, it's like it's a little different than Foreman and the rest of the cast of characters. Um. But but they have just been missing so much through the air. So this was a god send this evening, and they got just enough. It's

a huge win. UM. I don't know if we need to, you know, beat this dead horse anymore at this point, we've said it all. But is there anything else you'd like to add about what you witnessed this evening? I have confidence that the Titans could potentially win their next two games and make a playoff run. With Derrick Henry back as a Titan stand it feels pretty nice to see this team finally kind of snap out of the offensive funk they've been in for quite a while. So

felt good. Well, I'm glad for you. UM it keeps your spirits high during this Christmas season. I think it's probably gonna be Um the opposite how I'm how I'm feeling after the Browns are like walloped by Aaron Rodgers and the packers and like six degree a Green Bay, uh skies. You know at eleven am Western time, Um, on Christmas Day, you know it's that's the President. I'll be opening. I suspect, but um, your president is shinier and I'm happy for you. Fair and Greg should not

have locked against the Titans. Poor guy. I told them. I tried to warn him, but he didn't. Well, he's sort of out of the race. I think he's gonna he's gonna do something evil with the locks um willing. He's he's lost the power to take that part of the show away from us. So too bad for him. All right, anyway, all right, thanks everyone. Um, we've got

a lot coming up. We've got our Friday Network show tomorrow, which airs at four am on the West Coast on Saturday, so I know all sorts of young people will be up at that time, and we've got our Sunday flagship show as well. Grave Digg will be back in the studio along with Tam Posey and the rest of the crowd that night. Good evening. H. S.