Tennessee Titans hold off Washington Commanders by finally scoring in the second half

LANDOVER, Md. — The Tennessee Titans finally got off the second-half schneid and scored against the woeful Washington Commanders.

The Titans relied on that second-half touchdown, a 1-yard run by Derrick Henry and their first second-half TD since the season opener, to beat the Commanders 21-17 on Sunday at FedEx Field.

Titans linebacker David Long intercepted Carson Wentz's pass at the Tennessee 1-yard line to secure the win with 6 seconds remaining.

It was the the third straight win for the Titans (3-2), who have a bye next week, and the fourth straight loss for Washington (1-4).

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Getting to Carson Wentz

It was Washington quarterback Carson Wentz who was supposed to have trouble in the passing game and not the Titans' Ryan Tannehill. But that's not what happened early.

Wentz, who had been sacked an NFL-high 17 times and thrown five interceptions entering the game, was nearly unstoppable in the first half.

He completed six of his first nine passes for 151 yards, including a 75-yard touchdown to Dyami Brown early in the second quarter. It was Brown's first touchdown of his career. He beat Titans cornerback Caleb Farley, who fell down in coverage.

Brown scored another touchdown late in the third quarter when he hauled in a 30-yard pass from Wentz while being covered by Titans rookie cornerback Roger McCreary.

Wentz was well-protected with plenty of room and time in the pocket. He did fumble twice in the first quarter but recovered both.

The Titans finally started giving Wentz some trouble in the second half. Jeffery Simmons and Rashad Weaver batted down passes on consecutive plays midway through the third quarter, the second of which gave the Titans possession on downs at midfield.

The Titans sacked Wentz three times. Simmons had two of those.

The Titans defense was missing several key players because of injury, including defensive backs Amani Hooker and Ugo Amadi as well as linebackers Zach Cunningham and Bud Dupree.

Tannehill, meanwhile, was hampered early by the Commanders' defense, especially defensive end Montez Sweat. Tannehill was sacked three times in the first half, twice by Sweat, and five times in the game.

Replacing Treylon Burks

Tannehill was without starting rookie wide receiver Treylon Burks, who suffered a toe injury late in the game last week against the Indianapolis Colts.

Burks' absence gave others in the receiving corps the opportunity to step up and make an impact.

Nick Westbook-Ikhine got open deep for a 60-yard catch from Tannehill at the Commanders 12-yard line, his third catch of the game.

Five plays later, the Titans scored their first points in the second half since the season opener when Henry plunged into the end zone.

Up to that point, Tannehill had relied more heavily on his running backs - Henry and Dontrell Hilliard - as passing targets. Six of his first 10 passes went to the two backs.

As one point Sunday, Henry had 82 rushing yards and Tannehill had 88 passing, showing off the balance the Titans desire on offense. Henry had 24 of those receiving yards.

Brian Robinson's return

Former Alabama running back Brian Robinson made his debut for the the Commanders on Sunday.

Robinson, a third-round pick in April's draft, was shot twice in August as the victim of an attempted robbery. He missed five weeks of practice before returning to practice. The Commanders added him to the active roster Saturday,

Robinson led Alabama in rushing in 2021 with 1,343 yards and 14 rushing touchdowns.

Robinson's first carry, which came on Washington's second possession, went for eight yards but was called back for holding.

The Commanders struggled to run the ball. Robinson ended up with 22 yards on nine carries.

Derrick Henry rolling

Henry was coming off his first 100-yard game of the season at Indianapolis. He entered the Commanders game averaging 76.5 yards per game.

He crossed the 100-yard rushing mark Sunday on his final carry.

Henry had 102 yards on 28 carries and two touchdowns.

He moved into a second-place tie with Earl Campbell for franchise touchdowns with 73. Eddie George holds the franchise record at 74.

A week off

The Titans have a bye next week, the earliest possible off week this year in the NFL.

They played and won their first AFC South game last week against Indianapolis and will play the Colts again when they return to action Oct. 23 at Nissan Stadium.

The Titans will play their third AFC South game the following week against the Houston Texans.

Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on Twitter @MikeOrganWriter.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee Titans hold off Washington on Carson Wentz interception