Numbers Tell Tale of Passing Game Woes

Every basic receiving statistic shows that it has been a while since the offense, led by fired offensive coordinator Todd Downing, has struggled as much.

Bob Self/Florida Times-Union / USA Today Network

NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Titans have been done playing football for a couple of weekends now.

But when the team officially released its final 2022 stat package on Monday, it offered an unfortunate opportunity to review the carnage on the offensive side of the ball.

Is there any wonder why Titans fans are hungrily awaiting the arrival of a new offensive coordinator?

Derrick Henry did all he could to give the Titans a solid running attack last season as he topped 1,500 yards for the third time in four years.

But some of the numbers in the Titans’ passing attack were so woeful it was easy to wonder when the last time we’d seen the team reach such depths.

Here’s what some quick unofficial research on a handful of those categories showed:

Team receiving yards

2022: 3,227

The last time it was so low: It last happened in 2009, when the Titans produced just 3,104 yards through the air. Kenny Britt’s 701 receiving yards were tops on the team that year, followed by Nate Washington (569) and Chris Johnson (503).

Team receptions

2022: 285

The last time it was so low: It last happened in 2010, when the Titans produced just 273 catches on the season. Chris Johnson led the way with 44 catches that year, followed by Nate Washington and Kenny Britt with 42 each.

Team touchdown receptions

2022: 16

The last time it was so low: It last happened in 2018, when nine players combined for 16 touchdown catches. One of those touchdown grabs was made by safety Dane Cruikshank on a fake punt.

Individual receiving yards leader

2022: Robert Woods (527)

The last time it was so low: A reminder that this is unofficial research, but the last time the franchise’s leading receiver had such a low total appears to be 1974, when Ken Burrough led the Houston Oilers with 492 yards. He accumulated that total in 11 games, making 36 catches and averaging 13.7 yards per catch.

Individual reception leader

2022: Robert Woods (53)

The last time it was so low: It last happened in 2019, when rookie A.J. Brown led the Titans with just 52 receptions. But that’s a misleading comparison, as Brown averaged 20.2 yards on his receptions, compared to Woods’ average of 9.9 yards per catch this season.

Individual TD reception leader

2022: Dontrell Hilliard (4)

The last time it was so low: It last happened in 2018 – Marcus Mariota’s last year as a full-time starter – when Corey Davis led the team with just four touchdown catches, followed by Jonnu Smith with three. However, on a different note, the last time a running back led the Titans in touchdown receptions – as opposed to a wide receiver or tight end – was way back in 1999, when Eddie George tied for first with four. ()