Taylor Lewan, Byard don’t blame them

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Taylor Lewan cycled and cycled a stationary bike trying to shake off a few cramps before hitting the Tennessee Titans sideline on Sunday.

The offensive lineman then returned to what turned out to be a 38-13 embarrassment against the Arizona Cardinals in both teams’ season opener at Nissan Stadium.

Upon news of Lewan’s return, a chorus of boos sang the triple Pro Bowler serenade from those still present.

There was polish this one: The Titans got their butt kicked. Lewan, in particular.

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Cardinals linebacker Chandler Jones made sure of that. He sacked Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill five times and poked fun at Lewan on several of those games as he edged him over the edge.

Lewan did not speak to the media after Sunday’s game, but admitted to being detained on Twitter.

“I got my butt kicked today, no way around it,” Lewan tweeted. “I let the team and the fans down. Thank you (Chandler Jones) for exposing me. It will only force me to improve.”

I got my ass kicked today, no way around it. I let down the team and the fans. Thanks @ chanjones55 for exposing me. It will only force me to get better.

– Taylor Lewan (@ TaylorLewan77) September 12, 2021

Lewan has been trying to improve for some time. Sunday was his first regular season game since October 18 of last season. It was then that he tore his ACL.

Titans coach Mike Vrabel said a million things contributed to Sunday’s poor performance. He acknowledged that the offensive’s lack of collaboration during the preseason was a factor, but said he refused to use it as an excuse for the loss.

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Instead, he said what more than one player echoed afterwards, that the Titans were “overplayed and trained”.

“It’s a big league,” Vrabel said. “It doesn’t matter where you come from, where you are recruited, the price of your shoes, your watches, what type of car you drive. You have to prove it on the ground.

“When you play like this, there shouldn’t be any shock.”

Lewan wasn’t the only one hearing the boos. Fans expressed their displeasure as the team made their way to the locker room at halftime 24-6.

Safety Kevin Byard said there was no shock when the Titans were booed either.

Not after the offseason, Julio Jones had just three catches for 29 yards. Not after AJ Brown had four in 49. Not after Derrick Henry ran 58 yards on 17 carries.

“This game is not played on paper,” Byard said. “We have to play every week. It’s not about what you said you were going to do, but what you do, and we didn’t do enough today to win.

“You’re going to get booed, and rightly so. We haven’t played well so I can’t expect less. Our fan base wants us to be a great team. We want to be a great team.”

Offensive lineman Rodger Saffold III believed turnovers – the Titans made three – and head-to-head clashes are where the Titans fell short against the Cardinals led by Kyler Murray.

Next on the schedule for the Titans are Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks, who plan to use this week to try and reinforce some of those weaknesses ahead of Week 2.

When asked if the Titans failed to execute the game plan, Saffold’s response was straightforward.

“One hundred percent,” he said. “One hundred percent.

“We’re proud to be a physical team… which is supposed to win head-to-head matches.”

They aren’t supposed to let Tannehill get fired six times in a game.

Contact Paul Skrbina at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @PaulSkrbina.

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