The Tennessee Titans fell to the Minnesota Vikings 23-13 at Nissan Stadium on Sunday, bringing their 2024 record to 2-8.
The Titans weren’t expected to win this game, so it’s not a surprise that they lost, but the game would have been very different if they didn’t shoot themselves in the foot with 13 penalties for 91 yards. A couple of those penalties negated big plays or scoring plays that would have given the Titans momentum.
Overall, though, the Titans aren’t as terrible as they were when the season started. Despite the continued losses, they look better on the field, the turnovers are down, and the defense is still the team’s strength.
Against the Vikings, there were players who played well and those who didn’t. So, let’s take a quick look at the studs and duds (and studly duds) from Sunday’s loss:
STUD: Nick Westbrook-Ikhine
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Mr. Reliable Nick Westbrook-Ikhine was at it again on Sunday against the Vikings, roping in a 98-yard touchdown pass from Will Levis to keep the Titans in reach of the game. That play earned him Player of the Game honors as the Titans are becoming more reliant on Mr. Reliable. He was targeted six times, the same a Calvin Ridley, against the Vikings, racking up a total of 117 yards and a touchdown.
DUD: RT Isaiah Prince
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Offensive tackle Isaiah Prince was elevated from the practice squad on Saturday to help fill in for an injured Leroy Watson. In Watson’s absence, Nicholas Petit-Frere got the start at right tackle today, with Prince filling in for John Ojukwu. Not only was Levis sacked five times, but Petit-Frere was penalized for a false start early in the game, and at the end of the game, Prince was penalized three times for illegal formation. Two of those penalties negated game-changing plays, a 51-yard touchdown pass to Calvin Ridley and a 23-yard first down completion to Nick Westbrook-Ikhine. Prince wasn’t the answer today.
STUD: WR Calvin Ridley
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Calvin Ridley may not have seen the end zone on Sunday against the Vikings, but he is proving to be more reliable every week. He caught four passes on six targets for 58 yards and may have caught a touchdown pass if Will Levis hadn’t given the ball away at the end of the game. The interception was a pass intended for Ridley, but Levis was off the mark and it was stolen out of the air by Vikings’ safety Harrison Smith.
DUD: CB Jarvis Brownlee Jr.
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Jarvis Brownlee Jr. has had a really strong rookie outing in 2024. He’s been reliable and effective on a defense that has spent much of the season without a lot of bodies. But he is falling off a bit as the season wears on, and on Sunday against the Vikings, he wasn’t the same player we’re used to seeing. He recorded just two tackles (one solo) and committed two penalties against the Vikings on Sunday and was otherwise unremarkable.
STUD: Kenneth Murray Jr.
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Even before Jack Gibbens was carted off the field in the third quarter, Kenneth Murray Jr. took charge of the defense on Sunday. He earned an unsportsmanlike contact penalty in the first quarter, but from then on he played a clean game. He led the defense with 10 tackles (five solo), one sack, one tackle for a loss, and one quarterback hit.
Without knowing what Gibbens’ injury is, it is reassuring to know that Murray is willing to step up when things get hairy.
DUD: RB Tony Pollard
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Tony Pollard was essentially nonexistent today, carrying the ball nine times for a whopping 15 yards. He added two receptions for 14 yards. Other than that, you’d never even know Pollard was on the field today. Against a strong Vikings’ defense, this was expected, but the sheer lack of even giving him the ball was a surprise.
STUDLY DUD: QB Will Levis
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Will Levis returned to the field last week after missing time with a shoulder injury. The time off seems to have done him some good as he is definitely making better decisions in the pocket. He connected with Nick Westbrook-Ikhine on a 98-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter, and overall, he completed 17 of 31 pass attempts for 295 yards and a touchdown. However, he also took five sacks for 34 yards and threw an interception.
More STUDS:
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- WR Tyler Boyd
- DE Jeffery Simmons
- LB Jerome Baker
- CB Roger McCreary
- LB Arden Key
- K Nick Folk
- P Ryan Stonehouse
More DUDS:
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- LB James Williams
- DE James Lynch
- TE Josh Whyle
- TE Nick Vannett
