Peterson Scores on Debut, Tennessee Titans Rout LA Rams, 28-16

The Tennessee Titans have defeated the LA Rams on Sunday Night Football, with Adrian Peterson scoring a TD on his debut. The final result of this event was 28-16 for the guests from Nashville, who did their part of the job perfectly.

The Titans were in a challenging position without injuring Derrick Henry, but their defense stepped up to set the pace and pressure Matt Stafford. On the other side, Ryan Tannehill was steady, plus the Rams’ defense committed numerous penalties that have helped the guests.

We saw three touchdowns for Titans in the second quarter, both of them coming from Stafford’s mistakes. One was Kevin Byard’s pick-six and the second came also following an interception that saw the Titans returning the ball to two yards from the end zone.

“I basically spotted them 14 points,” said Stafford. “Just wasn’t good enough early in the game. The turnovers are on me.”

It was a shock for the Rams, who couldn’t recover, and who became more and more frustrated as time went by. Sean McVay wasn’t able to control his defensive players from committing some pretty strange penalties. In the end, the team from LA racked up 115 negative yards.

“We have to play cleaner football,” McVay said. “I want to see what we learn from our response.”

On the other side, the Titans were using pretty much everything. Their defense was at the highest possible level, and we need to say that this match might have been their best so far this year.

Also, Titans’ efficiency was crucial. They had only 194 yards from the scrimmage, while on the other side, the Rams posted 347.

“Those guys played fantastic,” Titans coach Mike Vrabel said of his defense. “It was fun to watch them play. … We really think that group is playing with a lot of confidence right now.”

Tannehill threw 143 yards for a TD and a pick and was sacked on three occasions for 18 negative yards. Midway through the fourth, he endured two rough hits from the Rams’ defenders but earned his team 30 yards for roughing the passer penalties.

AJ Brown had 43 receiving yards, Julio Jones 35, and Geoff Swaim 29 with one TD reception. Meanwhile, we saw Adrian Peterson debuting for the Titans, and the 36-year old, future Hall of Famer immediately scored. He didn’t have some notable stats, only 21 yards on 10 carries, but he sealed the win for the Titans with a TD with three minutes to go.

Adrian Peterson gets his first TD as a Titan 💥

(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/TGqjyeNO69

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 8, 2021

This was his 125th career TD and is now tied with Walter Payton, and the next one would move him to No. 10 with Jim Brown.

“It’s a blessing,” Peterson said. “Here I am in a situation to continue to pass and approach guys that inspired me to be great and be the best that I can be.”

Even though AP’s form isn’t like before, his presence in the locker room will undoubtedly positively influence the entire team. His experience and charisma are priceless, and we expect to see other Titans’ RBs improving besides the legendary player.

Up next, the Titans have two games at home, against the equally wounded Saints, and against the sorry Texans, and to be honest, Mike Vrable’s side has excellent chances of winning both of them.

As for the Rams will travel to San Francisco and Green Bay for two very challenging meetings.