Tennessee Titans: Week 1 Player of the Game

The Tennessee Titans did the unexpected and went into Cleveland and took down the Browns in Week 1 in a 43-13 win to start 1-0.

All phases of the ball were clicking in the Tennessee Titans 43-13 win over the Browns. When it comes to picking a Player of the Game in a game like this, it’s tough because there were so many players who deserve that honor.

So before I get into who the Player of the Game is here are some honorable mentions: Marcus Mariota, Derrick Henry, and Malcolm Butler. All three of these guys showed up and showed out, and their individual success led to the team dominating their opponent.

Mariota looked to be turning things around after trending downward over the past couple of years,  Henry continues to show his dominance over NFL defenses, and Butler continues his momentum from the end of last season and capitalized with a pick-six in Week 1.

But my Week 1 Player of the game goes to cornerback Logan Ryan. He dominated in the secondary and was all over the field throughout the whole game. Eight total tackles, seven solo tackles, 1.5 sacks, and an interception is an exceptional stat line.

Along with that, a positive stat for the Titans, they have won four straight games now when Ryan has played. He missed the last two games of last season, which the Titans split, but before that the Titans beat the Giants, Jaguars, and Jets.

I’d say it’s a good thing when Ryan is in the game because even though he’s one of 11 players out there on defense, he has a big impact on the game.

Even better, Ryan said after the game the Titans defense still left some plays out there on the field. There’s nothing better than a player dominating a game and still looking to get better after that game, that’s championship leadership.

"“I know our numbers look good,” Logan Ryan said postgame, “but we even left some plays out there today that we could’ve made.”"

Ryan’s interception came in the fourth quarter with a little over 11 minutes left in the game. With the Titans already up 16, this pick pretty much put the game out of reach as the Titans took over with only 34 yards to the endzone.

It was an impressive performance all around for the Titans, and the defense dominated all game. Shutting down the Browns offense was something I worried about, but the Titans had no problem doing just that on Sunday.

Now the Titans will get ready for their home opener against the Colts. Even though they lost their Week 1 matchup to the Chargers, the Colts surprised many as they took the Chargers to overtime.

The Colts might be without Andrew Luck but they’re still a pretty good football team so the Titans can’t afford to overlook them. The Titans need to continue to build off their Week 1 success and do the same thing to the Colts this Sunday.