Maybe it was the holdout. Maybe it was just the new Titans offense struggling with a stout Jaguars run defense.
Whatever the reason, Chris Johnson was a total non-factor in his first game since his training camp absence. Johnson finished with 24 yards on nine carries. It was third worst game of his career.
“We just didn’t have the opportunities,” Johnson said via Tania Ganguli of the Florida Times-Union. “On first down, we would have no gain or a yard and we would have to throw the ball. That would leave us third down and you have to throw it again, so there was not many opportunities to run.”
The Titans barely possessed the ball for 20 minutes in the game. The Titans had five first downs in the first 50 minutes. That’s not an ideal ratio for running success.
There is an opportunity for the Titans or Jaguars to emerge as legitimate division title contenders with Indianapolis hurting. The Titans need to get Chris Johnson back to being Chris Johnson quickly for that to happen.