How Nashville’s Titans have managed to stay undefeated.
Tennessee’s Nashville The Tennessee Titans’ locker room atmosphere significantly changed following their 17-10 victory over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. The club, led by defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons, felt relieved after ending a three-game losing streak.
“This is a fantastic victory,” Simmons grinned. “One that we really needed because of the energy, social media, all that, and everything has just been down.”
There’s no place like home when it comes to playing games in Nashville. The Titans (4-7) have never lost a game away from Nissan Stadium, but they are unbeaten at home in front of their supporters.
Even though their Week 6 loss against the Baltimore Ravens was held at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, it was still regarded as a home game.
Tennessee is one of four teams that have not lost a game in front of their home fans. The San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles are all 5-0 at home.
Veteran wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins has played in a lot of games as a visitor against the Titans over his seven-year career with the Houston Texans and once in 2021 when he played for the Arizona Cardinals.
Despite Hopkins being in his first season with the organization, he admitted he’s always appreciated the way the fans support the Titans.
“These fans are special,” Hopkins said. “They’re standing up throughout the game. You look up in the audience seeing no one sitting down. So, they’re cheering on third downs. The defense is out there, and they’re there supporting us. A lot of admiration for these fans.”
Tennessee’s home success is no coincidence. The offense has been more efficient at home as opposed to on the road, and the defense has been a little more stingy.
This season’s variance is more extreme than any season since 2018, when Mike Vrabel became the coach. The Titans have a 28-18 home record up to this point as compared to a 24-23 away record, and they’re losing streak away from Nashville extends to 10 dating to 2022.
Sure, the opponents (Los Angeles Chargers, Cincinnati Bengals, Atlanta Falcons, Panthers) are not the same caliber as who the Titans have faced on the road. As Vrabel pointed out, they have played some tough defenses on the road like the New Orleans Saints in the season opener, along with the Cleveland Browns, and Pittsburgh Steelers.
But there’s a different level of pride that NFL teams take in playing at home.
“As a man, you don’t allow another man to come in your house and take anything,” outside linebacker Arden Key said. “It’s like that with football. We’ve got great fans that care. It would be a disservice for us to not go out there and try to get the win for our home fans.”
Overall, the Titans rank 27th in points per game (16.8). That number catapults to 24.7 at home. The Titans have scored 20 or more points three times this season, all of them coming at Nissan Stadium.
Vrabel pointed to being able to use the cadence as a weapon at home games because the crowd is silent when the offense is on the field.
He said varying the cadence can help “undress some of the coverage or some of the pressure that may come” or even force the defense to jump offsides.
It gives a sneak preview of the answers to the test for rookie quarterback Will Levis.
Following the team’s poor performance in a 34-14 road defeat to the Jacksonville Jaguars the week before, Levis stated he wanted to improve his efficiency when entering and exiting the huddle.
After the team’s victory on Sunday, he appeared a little more happy with their performance.
