HOUSTON -- Against a reeling team that had given up an average of four touchdowns a game, the Tennessee Titans managed two field goals in a 20-6 loss against the Houston Texans.
The Texans are having a terrible year, too. By showing life against them and finding a win, the Titans could have at least claimed to be on pace with an AFC South rival.
Instead, the Titans showed there is a significant gap between them and another struggling team in the NFL's worst division.
Subbing for the second week in a row for an injured Marcus Mariota, Zach Mettenberger -- a sitting duck at quarterback -- was sacked seven times. The protection was horrible, the routes long-developing.
But repeatedly, Mettenberger simply held the ball too long.
“That’s the strength of their team, the D-line and they played well today," Mettenberger said. “It’s a combination of things. I’ve got to get the ball out of my hands. We’re got to win our one-on-ones. We tried to do a lot of things, but obviously just poor execution on our part…
“We have to find a way to overcome that and deal with that adversity. We just couldn’t figure anything out today to get it going.”
Standing in is an admirable trait up to a point. There is no honor, however, in willingly getting clobbered when no payoff arrives, and there was none on the horizon for Tennessee.
The second-year quarterback stood and took it; the Texans dished it out and tied a franchise record for sacks in a game.
It's the third time this season the Titans have allowed six sacks or more.
The No. 1 task that coaches see when they choose to start a young quarterback, or are forced to start one, is to protect him at all costs. The Titans don't seem to see it that way, and if they do, they are simply not equipped to do it.
Rookie right tackle Jeremiah Poutasi was pulled for the second time in three weeks, replaced by Jamon Meredith. Joe Looney, out of the league this season until Oct. 20, started at center and helped contribute to the issues.
Whitney Merciless had 3.5 sacks and J.J. Watt had 2.5.
Watt said he doesn’t know why he gets one-on-ones and that he’s surprised when he does and tries to take advantage.
How many did he get from the Titans?
How many hits did I have, he asked?
The game statisticians said nine, but I know Watt didn’t mean to suggest he didn’t get to Mettenberger at all when he was doubled. And if the Titans left him one-one-one with any of their linemen nine times it’s grounds, by itself, for serious consequences.
Coach Ken Whisenhunt says virtually the same thing every time the Titans get the quarterback hit too much.
“I think they created some one-on-one matchups and they won,” Whisenhunt said. “We tried a bunch of different things to try to counter that, but we lost matchups. We slid the line, we doubled the guy, we chipped. What you have is a balance of trying to do those things and still get guys out in the pattern, with what they we playing coverage-wise made it difficult.”
The Titans were a disaster once again, and the biggest reason once again was an inability to protect the quarterback.
“We played like s--- today, we’re upset about it,” left tackle Taylor Lewan said. “We need to do better. I need to do better.”
What it means: The Titans are 1-6, and any optimism about the bad division and Tennessee still having a chance to win it has been effectively snuffed out. The Titans couldn't do things right, and while they are limited by personnel, Ken Whisenhunt and his staff didn't sufficiently change things up in a plan for another bad team they helped cure.
What were they thinking? Before Ryan Succop's 44-yard field goal that cut it to 10-6 in the third quarter, the Titans had to burn a timeout. Succop had furiously waved an additional Titan onto the field, and DaQuan Jones seemed to get to his spot. But this team can't even get the right number of people onto the field to try a field goal.
One reason to wonder: Mettenberger has a big arm and good skills. Maybe on a better team he'd have fared better these past two weeks. Wins and losses are not quarterback stats, but the Titans are 0-8 when he starts. I was firm in my stance that dealing him would have been a mistake when that was a popular stance by a lot of national pundits after the preseason. He's been really bad subbing for Mariota. Routes were long-developing and protection was poor, but he's got to find ways to at least throw it away. Tennessee certainly needs a functional backup; as bad as the circumstances have been, Mettenberger hasn't looked like one. His value may have been higher after the preseason than it will be again in some time.
Fantasy watch: Running back Bishop Sankey is as good as dead as a fantasy option. He didn't get a carry and lost the one role he had, as the team's kick returner, after losing a fumble and booting the next chance, which he recovered. Dexter McCluster was the kick returner after that. Running back David Cobb is eligible to come off injured reserve this week or next. Indications are he's recovered from the calf injury that set him back. He should be active and Sankey inactive going forward.
Ouch: Kendall Wright left the game with a left knee injury in the third quarter. It didn't look good, and he didn't return.
What's next: The Titans play next Sunday at New Orleans in their second game against an NFC South team this season.