Titans Film Room: DeAndre Hopkins Dominates Colts Zone Defense, Misses Out on Two Touchdowns

The Tennessee Titans brought DeAndre Hopkins in for performances like he had against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. Putting up 8 catches for 140 yards, Hopkins carved up the Colts' defense with ease. Unfortunately, the Titans weren't able to turn it into a win because of some missed chances that would've made Hopkins day even better.

Hopkins was particularly effective against zone coverage. On the film we see multiple examples of Hopkins understanding where the holes in the zone were, how to vary his speed to manipulate defenders and ultimately how to influence the coverage to his benefit.

Hopkins found ways to gradually increase his speed at the perfect times to make his move out of sight of defenders or behind their backs. He used subtle fakes in his routes to create separation.

We also got a glimpse of Hopkins' defining trait, his ball skills. Hopkins was contorting his body to make catches throughout the day and keep the chains moving for the Titans.

It wasn't only against zone, we saw Hopkins win against man. We also saw Hopkins win a creative way out of the backfield on a critical third down in the red zone. Hopkins was missed once coming out of the backfield as well.

That will bring us to those touchdown misses. Hopkins ran a seam route out of the backfield in the red zone and was open on the seam. Ryan Tannehill had a chance to step up and hit Hopkins for the score, but didn't make the play. 

There was also the miss by Derrick Henry. Henry is a running back after all, but Hopkins was open on the play and Henry simply threw the pass a bit too far. The small things in the game that add up to bad red zone offense.

Regardless of the team outcome though, Hopkins was excellent in the game and that should be a good sign for the Titans going forward as they continue to struggle to find consistent offense.

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