Tennessee Titans bullied by A.J. Brown, lose 35-10 vs. Philadelphia Eagles

PHILADELPHIA — The Tennessee Titans felt what it was like to be on the other end of an A.J. Brown bully-ball game Sunday.

The Titans lost 35-10 to the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field, losing back-to-back games for the first time since the first two weeks of the season. Brown, whom the Titans (7-5) traded to the Eagles (11-1) for draft picks in April, caught eight passes for 119 yards and two touchdowns, gassing Titans defensive backs for scores of 40 and 29 yards in single coverage.

Normally a run-first team, the Eagles carved through the Titans secondary for 380 passing yards and three touchdowns. Titans running back Derrick Henry struggled to get going for the fourth straight game, rushing for 30 yards on 11 carries, forcing quarterback Ryan Tannehill to try to win the game with a depleted receiving corps.

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The Titans' lone touchdown came on a 25-yard strike from Tannehill to rookie receiver Treylon Burks, the player the Titans drafted with the first-round pick acquired in the Brown trade. Burks was injured on the play and did not return.

Injuries pile up

Few NFL teams are more accustomed to dealing with injuries than the Titans, but Sunday's game was particularly difficult for coach Mike Vrabel's bunch. Burks (concussion protocols), cornerback Kristian Fulton (groin) and linebacker David Long (hamstring) all left the game in the first half, depleting the Titans at already-thin positions.

The Burks injury proved particularly costly. Receiver Cody Hollister was already inactive with a neck injury and the Titans didn't make a practice squad elevation to offset his injury, so they had only four receivers available before the Burks injury. One was return man C.J. Board, who rarely plays beyond special teams. Without Burks, the Titans had to lean on tight ends Chig Okonkwo and Austin Hooper as slot receivers.

Fulton's injury also thinned the Titans at a key position. Elijah Molden didn't dress Sunday with a groin injury of his own, leading the Titans to have to use rookies Roger McCreary and Tre Avery as outside cornerbacks against Brown and DeVonta Smith, the Eagles' two star receivers. Avery was flagged for a pass interference against Brown that set up one touchdown and had Brown catch a 29-yard touchdown off his shoulders in the third quarter.

No need to run

Three minutes into the third quarter, the Eagles had already built a 28-10 lead. For a team built on running downhill with quarterback Jalen Hurts and running back Miles Sanders, the Eagles surprisingly didn't need to run much to put up big numbers. By that point in the game, Hurts already had thrown 29 times for 318 yards and three touchdowns, while the entire Eagles offense had carried only eight times.

The Titans run defense remains one of the most fearsome units in the league, so the Eagles followed a similar script as teams like the Kansas City Chiefs, Green Bay Packers and Denver Broncos did vs. the Titans: don't bother running the ball. Especially after Fulton's injury, the all-passing plan worked. The Eagles are the sixth team to throw for 300 or more yards against the Titans, who entered Sunday allowing the second-most passing yards per game in the NFL.

With top-tier passing offenses like the Chiefs, Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals awaiting in the AFC playoffs, this is a major concern for the Titans.

Porous pass protection

While the Eagles thrived through the air, the Titans struggled to get things started. Tannehill was sacked six times and had six passes defended. The offensive line in front of Tannehill struggled to let plays develop; the Eagles sacked Tannehill on the first third down of the game and on a third-and-6 in the red zone to force a field goal.

Tannehill prolonged drives with his legs early, scrambling for 34 yards in the first half and netted three first downs. But as pressure mounted later in the game, he was less able to escape past the first level of the defense to extend drives.

What's next?

The Titans return to action next Sunday in an AFC South matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Nashville. Kickoff is scheduled for noon.

Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at nsuss@gannett.com. Follow Nick on Twitter @nicksuss.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: A.J. Brown dominates, Tennessee Titans lose at Philadelphia Eagles