Titans roll Raiders, force tie with Texans for AFC South lead

OAKLAND, Calif. — The Texans lost. The Colts lost. The Raiders lost Josh Jacobs before Sunday’s game at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, a shoulder injury rendering the star running back inactive.

Truly, it was all coming up Titans, the moment theirs to seize.

They did. Emphatically.

And they did it with their offense again. Tennessee piled up 552 yards of total offense, a season high. Its 42-21 win over the Raiders improved it to 6-1 since Ryan Tannehill took over as starting quarterback in Week 7.

Tennessee is now tied for first with Houston atop the AFC South.

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Here are five observations as the Titans (8-5) scored more than 30 points for a fourth straight game, a remarkable feat for an offense that averaged just over 16 points per game through the first six weeks of the season:

Offense goes bananas

We’re miles and miles from that abysmal Titans offense that couldn’t score points earlier this season.

Tannehill continues to pass with incredible efficiency. On Sunday, he completed 21 of 27 passes for a season-high 391 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. He completed passes to 10 receivers.

And then there was running back Derrick Henry, who keeps bulldozing his way through defenses. With his 18 carries for 103 yards, Henry crossed 100 rushing yards for the fourth straight game. He also ran for two touchdowns, bringing him to 13 rushing touchdowns for the season.

A.J. Brown goes off

The game’s most show-stopping play, though, belonged to Tannehill and A.J. Brown.

Early in the second quarter, Tannehill had one foot in the end zone as he threw deep for Brown while being pressured. Brown caught it right near midfield before breaking a tackle and flashing his speed, running for a 91-yard touchdown.

It was the Titans’ longest play of the season. It was the longest play of Tannehill’s career.

And Brown wasn’t done. Later in the second quarter, he caught a 16-yard touchdown from Tannehill before finishing with five catches for 153 yards.

Tye Smith has a knack for forcing fumbles

After the Titans’ Week 13 win against the Colts, Titans cornerback Logan Ryan said he often stays after practice to work on punching the ball loose with Tye Smith, something Smith is really good at.

We saw it again Sunday.

After forcing a fumble last week, Smith forced another against the Raiders in the fourth quarter. His strip was recovered by Jayon Brown, who ran it 46 yards for a touchdown that put the Titans up by three scores and helped seal their win.

The Titans nearly held an opponent to 20 points or fewer for the 10th time this season.

Secondary injuries mounting

The Titans secondary, often considered the team’s most consistently solid unit, is hurting.

Cornerbacks Adoree’ Jackson (foot) and LeShaun Sims (ankle) were inactive with injuries. Cornerback Malcolm Butler (wrist) was placed on injured reserve in November. And on Sunday, safety Kenny Vaccaro was the latest member of the secondary to miss time because of an injury. He suffered a concussion in the first half and was ruled out shortly after halftime.

The mounting injuries have thrust cornerbacks Smith and Kareem Orr and safety Amani Hooker into more prominent roles. Tennessee signed veteran defensive back Tramaine Brock earlier this week to give them some more depth.

Field goal problems persist

It’s been a season-long headache for the Titans when it comes to kicking field goals.

It continued in Oakland. Ryan Succop missed a 42-yard field-goal attempt at the end of the first half, his fourth miss in five attempts this season.

Collectively, Titans kickers have made just eight of 17 field-goal tries this season, the worst conversion rate in the league.

Reach Erik Bacharach at ebacharach@tennessean.com and on Twitter @ErikBacharach.