Tennessee Titans: Three Takeaways from the MNF win against the Cowboys

#3 – Great performance after a bye week

Maybe it has something to do with the weather in Tennessee, but the Titans were able to come out of their bye week and pick up a huge win. Like the Tennessee Volunteers football team, the Titans came out of the bye week after sloppy play, picking up a much-needed win.

The Titans needed a bye week to regroup after they lost three straight games to the Buffalo Bills, Baltimore Ravens, and the Los Angeles Chargers.

Yes, the Titans did start out very sloppy, but they were able to turn it around and get their fourth win of the season, scoring a season-high 28 points.

The play calling was great all game long, as the Titans were able to dial up a number of different formations. Matt LaFleur used the bye week to open up the playbook more. For example, the Titans used a pistol package last night, setting up a read option where Mariota was able to pick up a big first down. Later in the game, he dialed up the shovel pass on the goal line, which frankly, none of us probably expected.

Not only did LaFleur call a good game offensively, but Dean Pees was also able to force pressure on the Cowboys offense all night long. He dialed up many blitzes throughout the game, which included the Titans picking up five sacks, which was a season high. Pees’ defense has been outstanding in the red zone so far this season, as they lead the league in red zone defense. Teams have scored a touchdown on just 31.82% of red zone possessions this season.

It will be interesting to see how the Titans answer in a short week, as they face off against the Patriots, one of the hottest teams in the NFL at this time.