Jeffery Simmons gave the Tennessee Titans everything a defensive tackle can give on a rainy Sunday at MetLife Stadium. Cam Ward had the ball at the New York Giants’ 7-yard line with a chance to win it, and threw into the end zone with 17 seconds left instead.
Safety Jevón Holland caught it, and the Giants held on for a 12-7 win that dropped Tennessee to 0-3. The Titans’ defense didn’t allow a touchdown, holding New York to four Dominic Zvada field goals, but the offense managed one first down and 54 yards in the first half.
Tennessee still outgained New York 262-238, including 208-103 after halftime. Here’s whose stock moved in a game the Titans had every chance to steal.
Stock up: Jeffery Simmons
Simmons finished with a career-high 10 tackles, a sack and two tackles for loss, and seven of those tackles came before halftime. The sack moved him to 44.5 for his career, tied for 11th in franchise history.
He set the tone for a defense that finished with three sacks and eight tackles for loss while holding the Giants to 238 total yards. Linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. added eight tackles of his own, giving him 34 through three games.
“He is special. His energy, how active he is, his power, his ability to win one-on-one in the pass rush,” Titans head coach Robert Saleh said Monday.
Stock up: Wan’Dale Robinson
Robinson led the Titans with seven catches for 57 yards against his former team. His 4-yard touchdown with 5:35 left finished a 13-play, 91-yard drive, the only sustained stretch of offense Tennessee put together all afternoon.
With rookie Carnell Tate adding six catches for 58 yards, Robinson gave Ward a reliable option underneath when the Titans finally started moving the ball.
Stock down: Cam Ward
Ward finished 23 of 36 for 181 yards with a touchdown and an interception. The yardage was his best of the season, but the two throws that decided the game both went wrong. Earlier, he missed Carnell Tate wide open in the end zone. Then came the first-and-goal pick to Holland, which ended a franchise-record streak of 208 consecutive passes without an interception.
“I’m sure he’s going to want that one back,” Saleh said Monday. The case for keeping him as the starter still holds, but a 0-3 start puts every one of Ward’s mistakes under a brighter light.
Stock down: Chimere Dike
The Titans were in trouble before their offense took the field. Dike fumbled the opening kickoff, his second lost fumble of the season, and the Giants recovered at the Tennessee 37-yard line to set up the first of Zvada’s four field goals.
In a game decided by five points, those three points mattered. Saleh stood by the Pro Bowl returner Monday.
“I know he is hurting, I know he is disappointed. He is not trying to go out there and fumble,” Saleh said.
The Titans visit the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium on Sunday, Oct. 4, with kickoff set for noon CDT.
