With the first week of the 2022 NFL season in the books, it’s time to take a tour of the NFL power rankings of experts from different media outlets to see where they are ranking the Tennessee Titans going into Week 2.
Rest assured, the rankings won’t be kind, as Tennessee suffered an upset loss at the hands of one of the worst teams in the NFL in the last five years, the New York Giants.
Tennessee staked itself to a 13-0 lead and looked to be cruising to a 1-0 start, but a second-half collapse on both sides of the ball allowed the Giants to get back into the game and ultimately win, 21-20.
The Titans are no strangers to bad starts after getting crushed in Week 1 last season, but they’ll have an incredibly tough matchup to navigate if they want to avoid an 0-2 start, with a game against the Buffalo Bills upcoming.
Let’s see where experts are placing the Titans after Week 1.
Nate Davis, USA TODAY: 24 (-2)
Andrew Nelles-USA TODAY Sports
Nate Davis, USA TODAY:
With WR AJ Brown gone and OLB Harold Landry done, Tennessee can’t afford off days from RB Derrick Henry and HC Mike Vrabel … and certainly can’t allow a proud defense to get manhandled as it was by the Giants.
Robert Zeglinski and Christian D’Andrea, For The Win: 17 (-3)
Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
Robert Zeglinski and Christian D’Andrea, For The Win:
Tennessee led this game for 53 minutes and only ran for 93 yards. That’s a very un-Titans number, especially with Derrick Henry healthy. The defense that pushed this team to the AFC’s top seed last season gave up 394 yards against a Daniel Jones offense, which is … oof.
Barry Werner, List Wire: 12
Syndication: The Tennessean
Barry Werner, List Wire:
No way to excuse the Titans losing their home opener to the Giants. Maybe all the wondering about losing their thunder with some of the offseason moves could be correct. Next: at Buffalo Bills
Mark Lane, Touchdown Wire: 12 (-3)
Syndication: The Tennessean
Mark Lane, Touchdown Wire:
One could say that, if not for the Giants making the two-pointer, they would have won the game, or if the Giants had gone for the conventional extra point, Tennessee would have gone to overtime at worst. Nevertheless, taking a loss to New York at home has to bring them down.
Dalton Miller, Pro Football Network: 19
Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
Dalton Miller, Pro Football Network:
You can’t lose to an inept Giants team that throws you a gimmie interception in the end zone and keep your status. The Titans probably aren’t the 20th-best team in the league. They’re almost undoubtedly much higher, but they were awful in Week 1 against a bad football team.
Football is weird. The ball bounces in weird directions. Tennessee dominated most of this matchup. However, they let Saquon Barkley pull a Derrick Henry on their defense. After rushing for 42 yards on seven carries in the first half, Barkley put up 122 yards on 11 carries in the second.
Vinnie Iyer, Sporting News: 22 (-6)
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Vinnie Iyer, Sporting News:
The Titans did their best to keep their offensive formula working with Ryan Tannehill playing off Derrick Henry and the power run, but it’s harder to make plays with a whole new batch of playmakers. The defense should be more fundamentally worrisome for Mike Vrabel minus Harold Landry.
Frank Schwab, Yahoo Sports: 21 (-1)
Andrew Nelles-USA TODAY Sports
Frank Schwab, Yahoo Sports:
The Titans might be in trouble. If you can’t win at home against the Giants, you’re not going to win that many games. It wasn’t that fluky either. The Giants out-gained Tennessee 394-359. It’s only one game and it’s bad to overreact to Week 1, but Tennessee’s opener didn’t offer many great signs.
Josh Schrock, NBC Sports: 27
Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
Josh Schrock, NBC Sports:
The Titans are no strangers to surprising losses early in the season. But those Titans teams had a lot more talent than what they put on themselves against the Giants.
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