What we learned from the Tennessee Titans' preseason win vs. the Atlanta Falcons
Ben ArthurATLANTA – The Tennessee Titans beat the Atlanta Falcons 23-3 in their preseason opener at Mercedes Benz Stadium on Friday night.
Here are a few quick takeaways:
Most defensive starters got some playing time
The Titans started the game with seven projected starters playing: nose tackle Tear Tart; safeties Kevin Byard and Amani Hooker; inside linebackers Rashaan Evans and Jayon Brown; and cornerbacks Kristian Fulton and Jackrabbit Jenkins. It was in sharp contrast to the offense, which played with mainly reserves.
With so many new faces on the defensive side of the ball, head coach Mike Vrabel took advantage of the opportunity in the preseason opener for his defense to start building much-need chemistry after the struggles in 2020.
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Rookie cornerback Caleb Farley and outside linebackers Bud Dupree and Harold Landry III did not play on Friday, though, as expected. Farley (back) and Dupree (knee) have been working their way back from injuries, as they started training camp on the NFI and PUP lists, respectively. Landry has missed the last several training camp practices.
Offensive line struggles early, but settles down late
The Titans played without their top six offensive lineman Friday, and it showed early in the game.
The pass protection, particularly on the inside, was very shaky to start. Backup quarterback Logan Woodside, who played up until the 9:41 mark of the third quarter, was rocked by two hits in the first half: a free rusher in the A gap and a safety blitz that wasn’t picked up. He was sacked three times in the first two quarters.
The group settled down by the mid-third quarter, though. Matt Barkley was not sacked.
Defensive front continues to impress
The Titans’ defensive front carried over a strong first couple weeks of training camp into the preseason opener. It was officially credited with four sacks. Linebacker David Long Jr. also had an interception.
Rashad Weaver flashes potential
Vrabel said on Friday that rookie fourth-round pick Rashad Weaver was one of the players he was looking forward to watching in the preseason opener.
The ex-Pitt standout delivered.
Weaver was the most impressive player on a Titans' defensive front that dominated the game. He was flying around and always seemed to be around the ball. Weaver had three tackles, 1.5 sacks, two quarterback hits, a tackle for loss and a pass defensed.
Encouraging showing for defense overall
It was against primarily Falcons' reserves, but the the play of the Titans' defense Friday was encouraging after historically bad third-down efficiency a year ago. It held the Falcons to 2-of-11 on third down.
Chester Rogers, Mason Kinsey shine at wide receiver
In the Titans’ competitive wide receiver room, Chester Rogers and Mason Kinsey were the biggest standouts in the preseason opener.
Special teams value is crucially important at the position behind A.J. Brown, Julio Jones and Josh Reynolds, and Rogers shined in that phase of the game. The veteran receiver had a 57-yard punt return in the first half that set up the Titans’ offense at their own 14.
Kinsey was the Titans’ leading receiver with four receptions for 51 yards.
The Titans will have joint practice with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Wednesday and Thursday ahead of their preseason matchup next Saturday at Raymond James Stadium.
Ben Arthur covers the Tennessee Titans for The USA TODAY Network. Contact him at barthur@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @benyarthur.
