Titans 10, Jets 23 — Week 1: Forty-Nine Snaps and Not One Over Twenty Yards

Tennessee ran 49 pass-and-run snaps on Sunday and not one of them gained 20 yards. The Titans' first snap inside the New York 20 came with two 53 left and the score 23 to three. New York won 23 to 10 at Nissan Stadium without a turnover on either side, and the Titans trailed on 93 percent of the plays — against a defense that finished 30-second in the league against the pass last season.

Start with the passing game, because it is what did not happen. 35 pass plays, a hundred 40 yards, one touchdown, no interceptions, three sacks, and −7 expected points added. Expected points added is what a snap was worth given the down, the distance and the field position; for an offense a negative number means the plays left the team worse off than before it ran them. −7 is eleventh of the 16 teams in Sunday's early games, and 15 of the 35 were successful, a 43 percent rate that is twelfth. The first half was 10 pass plays for 32 yards and −5, and three of the 10 successful. The second half was 25 pass plays for a hundred eight yards, which is better only by volume. The three sacks were Kingsley Enagbare, David Bailey, and Will McDonald, whose 11-yard sack on second and 14 from the Tennessee 12 put Cam Ward on his own one with 13 40 left. The one touchdown was Ward to Elic Ayomanor for 11 on third and 10 with two 45 left, down 20. Tennessee converted four of 12 third downs.

The run game was fine and it was not used: 14 carries, 68 yards, +1 and a half expected points, tied for fourth of the 16 by expected points per carry, and seven of the 14 successful — tied for third-best rate. 14 carries in a game that was 10 to three at the half and still 10 to three with 10 minutes left in the third is the number to sit with. Not one of the 14 was stopped for no gain or a loss.

The defense was two things at once: thirteenth of 16 against the pass, and third on third down. 24 Jets pass plays produced 215 yards, no touchdowns, and +10 expected points — on defense a big negative number is the good direction, and +10 allowed is thirteenth of the 16. No sacks, no takeaways. Three throws did the damage: Geno Smith to Omar Cooper for 30 on third and nine on the opening drive, to the Tennessee four; then, on the first drive of the second half, Garrett Wilson deep right for 31 on second and two and Adonai Mitchell deep right for 40 on first and 20, to the 11, and Breece Hall scored from the four two plays later. Five plays, 80 yards, 17 to three. The run defense held 36 carries to a hundred 55 yards and two touchdowns and plus nothing in expected points, eighth of the 16; the touchdowns were Kenyon Sadiq from the three and Hall from the four. The third-down number is the good one: Tennessee stopped nine of 11, third-best of the 16 early-game defenses. The Jets also converted two fourth downs on an 18-play drive that ran deep into the second quarter and ended in a 33-yard field goal.

Two more in the ledger. Joey Slye made a 42-yarder with five oh eight left in the first, which was Tennessee's scoring until the fourth quarter. And Chimere Dike fumbled the kickoff after New York's second-quarter field goal, Qwan'tez Stiggers recovered at the Tennessee 38, and the Jets missed a 54-yarder off it. Nine possessions: one touchdown, one field goal, seven punts, four of them three-and-outs.

Now the part where a Week 1 episode has to be honest about what it is. The ranks in this episode are against the 16 teams that played in the early window on Sunday, not the whole league. What there is, is last year, and last year was three wins. In 2025 this offense finished 30-first in the league in expected points per pass play, 30-first in passing success rate, and 30-first on third down. On Sunday it was eleventh of 16 through the air and converted four of 12, which is better than that and still lost by 13. The defense finished 20-eighth in expected points allowed per play and 20-ninth against the pass; on Sunday it was thirteenth of 16 against the pass and third on third down. If you want one sentence out of this: neither unit looked like the bottom of the league, both looked like the bottom half, and against a defense that was last in the league against the pass a year ago, the thing to be least sure about is that the passing game is better than it was.

Tennessee is home to Philadelphia next Sunday. Watch whether the run game gets more than 14 carries, and watch the deep ball on defense, in that order.

That's your Titans — every game, by the numbers. This is Muffed: we do the same deep dive for all 32 teams. Follow the Titans show wherever you're listening, so next week's recap lands the moment it's out. No theater. Just the football.

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_Data via nflverse._