Calvin Ridley, Titans hope to overcome Golden Sombrero against Bills

It was the NFL’s equivalent of the Golden Sombrero: Eight targets, zero catches. That was the line of Titans wide receiver Calvin Ridley in last week’s. And while at least a few of those passes from Will Levis were difficult if not uncatchable, Ridley was a tad frustrated after the game.

But earlier this week as the Titans (1-4) prepared for a trip to Buffalo (4-2) on Sunday (1 p.m. ET, CBS), with Ridley struggling through a three-game drought, he explained he was trying to express that he wanted the ball earlier in the game.

“You just want to activate yourself,” Ridley said, courtesy of beat writer John Glennon. “You just want to get the ball in your hands any way you can to activate yourself, so you know you’re in a game. Once you’re in a game, you know you’re ready to make plays. That’s all I was trying to say, really, but it kind of came out a little different.”

While Levis and Ridley did connect on a 40-yard touchdown – a “scintillating grab” by Ridley — in the loss to the Jets, that deep-ball connection has been limited this year. It’s an important chemistry for the entire team, partly because of all the investments Tennessee made to upgrade in the offseason.

It’s also something head coach Brian Callahan and offensive coordinator Nick Holz are working to resolve. Even handing him the ball on a reverse, as they did against the Colts, is something the Titans need in order to get the ball in Ridley’s hands.

“Maybe some shorter routes for him,” Holz said Thursday, “where we can have somebody else clear out, especially against zone and get him in some of those kinds of things, screens. We finally got him the reverse again, just to get him involved. That was in the third quarter. So, there’s ways to guarantee him the ball, and I think we need to do a couple more of those.”

Holz and the Titans have watched every passing play this season, determined to fix more than the Levis-Ridley connection. Tennessee ranks next-to-last in both total offense (253.2 yards per game) and passing (135.0). They also rank 31st in turnover margin (minus-7).

And protecting the ball is even more important against Buffalo. Only three teams have more giveaways than the Titans (10). The Bills, meanwhile, are second in the league in turnover margin at plus-8. Josh Allen has not thrown an interception over his first 156 passes this season.

While the Titans’ defense has just one interception this year, Tennessee does own the NFL’s best defense, both overall (248.8 yards per game) and against the pass (137.0). They also own the league’s third-best defense in the red zone, having allowed touchdowns on only 40.0 percent of opponent drives inside the 20-yard line.