Countdown to Kickoff: 58 Days

With 58 pass plays of 20 yards or more, the Titans did not need to throw the ball as much as most NFL teams in 2019.
Countdown to Kickoff: 58 Days
Countdown to Kickoff: 58 Days /

The countdown to kickoff continues.

The Tennessee Titans will open the 2020 regular season Sept. 14 at Denver. That is 58 days away. So, today we look at one way the number 58 figures into the team’s recent history.

The Tennessee Titans did not throw the ball as often as most teams in 2019.

Then again, they did not have to.

Never in the Titans era (1999-present) has the offense produced so many big plays with a pass as it did last season, when it had 58 completions of 20 yards or more. The previous Titans-high for gains on 20-plus yards on pass plays was 55, set in 2001 and equaled two years later.

Tennessee tied with Cleveland in that regard for eighth in the NFL despite the fact that it attempted fewer passes overall than every team except Baltimore. The Browns, for example, threw 91 more passes and had 21 more completions. The Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs had 59 completions of 20 yards or more (one more than the Titans) on 128 more throws.

Rookie wide receiver A.J. Brown led the Titans with 15 receptions of 20-plus yards and third-year wide receiver Corey Davis was next with 10. Nearly everyone who was an eligible receiver for the Titans, though, contributed to that number.

Each of the top 12 in receptions had at least one of 20 yards or more. That includes fullback Khari Blasingame, who caught four passes including one that gained 24 yards. Two of Kalif Raymond’s first five catches covered 52 and 40 yards, respectively.

By comparison, Tampa Bay led the NFL in passing yards and passes of 20-plus yards (75) but had just 10 players gain at least 20 yards on a pass play.

Not surprisingly, 39.5 percent of the passes the Titans threw resulted in a first down. They ranked third in the NFL in that regard.


Published
David Boclair
DAVID BOCLAIR

David Boclair has covered the Tennessee Titans for multiple news outlets since 1998. He is award-winning journalist who has covered a wide range of topics in Middle Tennessee as well as Dallas-Fort Worth, where he worked for three different newspapers from 1987-96. As a student journalist at Southern Methodist University he covered the NCAA's decision to impose the so-called death penalty on the school's football program.