RACKING UP SACKS
Titans defense hopes it found groove in victory against Colts
NASHVILLE — The Tennessee Titans hope they have found the combination to help them get to opposing quarterbacks, and they’ve at least set a standard they want to continue.
An eight-sack performance will do that for a football team.
The Titans reached that total in Sunday’s 20-16 win at Indianapolis, the franchise’s best single-game sacks performance since Nov. 10, 1985, when they were the Houston Oilers and had eight in a 20-0 win against the Buffalo Bills. That’s tied for the team’s third-best total of all time.
“It puts the standards a little higher,” Titans coach Mike Mularkey said. “I think all the work and the effort that they’ve been having in other games, it was good to see it come to light with what they did. Hopefully it’s going to give us a little confidence.”
The Titans have racked up 11 sacks over the past two games, the defense’s best such stretch since recording 12 sacks in October 2016. The Titans (7-4) rank 18th in the NFL with 25 sacks this season, with their position moving up due to what they’ve done the past two games.
Defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau said Tennessee defenders have been getting
consistent pressure on quarterbacks all season, with the team listing 168 quarterback pressures this year. Linebacker Brian Orakpo has a teamhigh 48 yet only four sacks, while linebacker Derrick Morgan has 45 and a teamhigh seven sacks.
“If you’re playing good ball, good things happen,” LeBeau said, though he did note such a high single-game sacks total
was “kind of unusual.”
The Titans will take it, of course.
“It’s just like turnovers,” LeBeau continued. “If you’re getting to the ball and you’re hitting people, you’re going to get some good turnovers. We had some good breaks in there, and the guys played great.”
Seven Titans got at least half a sack against the Colts, and defensive end DaQuon
Jones got his first two this season to nearly match the 2.5 combined he had through his first three seasons. The fourth-year pro has eight pressures this year but hadn’t gotten to the quarterback until last week.
“It’s very frustrating,” Jones said. “At the end of the day, you have to keep believing in yourself and the ability to play football. It’s going to come. You might miss them early. We still have five games left, so a lot can happen.”
Morgan gives credit to the back end of the defense for covering receivers long enough to let linebackers and linemen get to quarterbacks.
Colts wide receiver T.Y. Hilton was thrown at five times Sunday but caught only two passes for 15 yards. Titans safety Kevin Byard leads the NFL with six interceptions, while cornerbacks Logan Ryan and rookie Adoree’ Jackson have been excelling as well, Morgan said.
“They’ve been doing an excellent job of covering up their guys and making the quarterback double-pump the ball and giving us time,” Morgan said.
Now the Titans’ challenge is keeping the pressure up Sunday against Houston (4-7). The Texans have allowed 34 sacks this season, eighth-most in the NFL. Four more sacks for Tennessee would match the best two-game total in franchise history.
“It’s definitely huge,” Titans defensive lineman Jurrell Casey said. “You want to make sure we stay with that drive, that same momentum going into this game.
“But at the end of the day, they can kill you going up in the air. No matter who that quarterback is back there, we’ve got to make sure we put the pressure on them.”