By the numbers: Titans after Week 1

Sacks, interceptions, yards-after-catch all figured into big win over the Browns

Ken Blaze/USA Today Sports

A look at some of the Tennessee Titans’ notable numbers through Week 1 of the 2019 season:

1 – the number of AFC South teams that won on in Week 1. It’s a small thing but the Titans are one of three teams currently alone in first place. In this case, it easily could have been much different. Indianapolis lost in overtime after its kicker, future Hall of Famer Adam Vinatieri, missed two field goals and an extra point and Houston lost on Monday night in a game it led with 37 seconds remaining. Even though it’s early, the Titans should feel good that they’re one up on everybody else in the division.

2 – players with more than one sack. Outside linebacker Cameron Wake has two and a half, the most by any player during the opening weekend. Cornerback Logan Ryan contributed one and a half, which matched his career-high (the only other time he had one and a half was Oct. 27, 2103). Tennessee, which has five sacks overall, is the only NFL team that has more than one player with more than one sack.

3 – interceptions by Tennessee’s defense. That is the most by any AFC team and tied with San Francisco for the most in the league. The last time the Titans intercepted three passes in a game was Oct. 22, 2017 – also at Cleveland. That day, Kevin Byard had all three. This time, Byard had one while Ryan and fellow cornerback Malcolm Butler also had one each.

10 – pass attempts on third down, which was every third down the Titans faced at Cleveland. They converted two but were 0-for-7 on third-and-6 or longer. The 20 percent success rate on third down matched Chicago for the lowest by a team that won its opener.

12.36 – average yards-after-catch on Marcus Mariota’s 14 completions, which was tops in the NFL by a wide margin. Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes was second at 10.64 and Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson was third at 8.76. The average length of Mariota’s completions was 5.36 yards but the average gain was nearly twice that at 10.33 yards.

18.0 – yards per punt return for Cleveland, which has Tennessee’s punt coverage unit ranked last in the NFL. It should be noted that the Browns returned just one of Brett Kern’s six punts, but they also averaged 25.8 yards per kickoff return, which has the Titans’ coverage unit ranked 30. Amid all that went right, there is plenty of room for improvement on special teams.

21 – first downs by Tennessee’s offense, which matched the franchise’s highest Week 1 total in the past five years (the Titans also had 21 in 2017, a loss to Oakland). The NFL average for the opening weekend was 20.4. Six of those first downs were the result of Cleveland penalties, the most since Nov. 12, 2017 against Cincinnati (another team from Ohio).

29:18 – time of possession by the Titans’ offense. Tennessee was one of 10 teams that scored 30 points or more in Week 1 but was the only one of the 10 that did not have the ball at least 30 minutes. Some big plays by the offense and an interception return for a touchdown by the defense contributed to the shortage of possession time.

75 – yards on Derrick Henry’s lone reception against the Browns. It was the second-longest play of the week in the NFL and it matched the longest touchdown pass of quarterback Marcus Mariota’s career.

100 – receiving yards by rookie wide receiver A.J. Brown in his NFL debut. He was one of five non-quarterbacks who had 100 total yards or more in his NFL debut this week. Brown did it on just three touches, fewest among that group.