Woeful Titans tired of talking about winless start with skid now at 10 straight

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The time for talking is over for the winless Tennessee Titans. Three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons says they're playing bad football and he's tired of both hearing and saying they have to play better.

“We haven’t played good football on Sundays to win a football game, so we got to eventually play good football to win football games on Sunday,” Simmons said.

His frustration spilled over after the Titans dropped to 0-4 this season with their skid reaching 10 straight going back to last season with a 26-0 loss in Houston.

Coach Brian Callahan handed over play-calling duties last week, and that didn't help as rookie quarterback Cam Ward turned in his worst game yet. Ward was 10 of 26 for 108 yards passing with an interception and a passer rating of 35.4.

The Titans have more turnovers (five) than offensive touchdowns scored (three) this season.

They're averaging a mere 3.66 yards per play. That’s third worst through four games over the past 20 NFL seasons, trailing only the Jets (3.16 in 2019) and the Jacksonville Jaguars (3.56 in 2013).

Callahan said he can see on film where the Titans are improving, though they still have to figure out how to finish off games. He is 3-18 as head coach — two losses from matching the record Ken Whisenhunt had when he was fired by this franchise in November 2015.

A winless start is nothing new to Callahan, who was Cincinnati's offensive coordinator in 2019 when the Bengals lost their first 11. They finished 2-14 and drafted Joe Burrow at No. 1 in 2020. Callahan said Monday he remembers well winning only six games in two seasons.

“This is not a foreign place,” Callahan said. “I've felt this before. Again, that turn was remarkable and it was a really incredible accomplishment, and that's what keeps us going.”

Asked if he’s had any reassurance whether he’ll get a chance to finish his second season, Callahan said that wouldn’t matter. His job is simply to put the Titans in position to win games until the team doesn’t want him anymore.

“I also know how the NFL works,” Callahan said.

The defense. Yes, the Titans gave up 20 points in the fourth quarter to the Texans. They've been outscored 47-10 in the fourth quarter, but they kept it a 6-0 game through three quarters with no help from the offense.

The offense. The Titans were shut out for the first time since Oct. 13, 2019, and only the seventh time since this franchise moved to Tennessee before the 1997 season. They managed only 175 total yards — the second time in four games they couldn't reach 200 total yards.

Their three touchdowns scored are the fewest in the NFL with Cleveland and Houston the closest teams having scored six apiece.

Simmons. The defensive tackle needs more help on the pass rush, but he had a sack and four pressures against Houston. He needed only 2.09 seconds to sack C.J. Stroud, the fastest sack in the NFL over the past two seasons.

Simmons crossed the line of scrimmage just 0.32 seconds after the snap, per NextGenStats. That's the fastest by a defensive tackle this season.

Joey Slye. The life of a kicker means success rides on every attempt. He started this season by making his first 10 field goals. Now he has missed on his past four, including two in Houston that could've tied the game. Last week, he had a 62-yarder blocked after missing a 64-yarder wide right.

His latest misses came from 41 and 43 yards.

RT JC Latham should have a chance to return after missing three straight games with a strained hip. Otherwise, the Titans could have put him on injured reserve. RB Tyjae Spears (high ankle sprain) will start practicing with a 21-day window to return from injured reserve.

18 — That's the longest skid in franchise history by the then-Houston Oilers. They lost the last 11 of the 1972 season and then the first seven of 1973 before finally beating the then-Baltimore Colts on Nov. 4. Both of those teams went 1-13.

Even in their worst season in Tennessee, the Titans won twice in 2014.

Staying on the field as an offense more would be a big step toward finding the end zone more. Losers of five straight road games, the Titans continue a three-game swing Sunday at Arizona before going to Las Vegas.

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