The Titans (4-4) have lost three of four, wasting a three-game homestand with a 24-17 loss to Cincinnati in which they blew a 10-point halftime lead. Now it only gets tougher with five of their final games on the road starting Sunday with a visit to Carolina (2-6).

Munchak said Monday this loss hurts because they had been in position to win and didn’t at home.

“There were still a lot of good things in that game. We have eight football games to play. A lot can happen in this league,” Munchak said.

The Titans started the season 3-1, and Munchak said they’re sitting here miserable at 4-4.

“We don’t by any means feel sorry for ourselves. We know we’ve got to play better. We see what we’re capable of in flashes, but it’s just not consistent. And that’s what’s happening now. We’re not consistently doing things that we can to put us in winning position,” Munchak said.

It helps that the AFC’s best teams are 6-2, and Houston is 6-3 in the AFC South.

“Nobody is out of reach,” right guard Jake Scott said. “There’s nobody running away with it. On the other side, there’s not that many teams out of it completely. It’s going to be very interesting in the AFC going down the next two months.”

Before the Titans can make a run at even another winning streak, they need to string together consecutive drives, quarters and halves. They blew a 17-7 halftime lead by being held to only 95 yards total offense by Cincinnati in the final 30 minutes Sunday.

On the plus side, the Titans showed signs of life in the running game really for the first time all season. Chris Johnson had 55 yards on nine carries for an average of 6.1 yards per carry with a long of 20 where the three-time Pro Bowler flashed some of his trademark speed. He also had two catches for 22 yards in the first half.

Munchak said Johnson probably was excited seeing bigger holes.

But Johnson got his hands on the ball only seven more times in the second half and had just 9 more yards rushing on five carries. He never had a carry in the fourth quarter even though the Titans trailed only 21-17 when they got the ball back with 10:52 left.

Munchak credited the Bengals with keeping eight players at the line to stop Johnson, and the Titans couldn’t take advantage of the stack near the line through the air. Matt Hasselbeck finished with 272 yards passing, but only 106 in the second half.

It only got worse inside the final 2 minutes with tight end Jared Cook having a sore knee. Nate Washington caught a pass and went down with a bruised hip, forcing a 10-second runoff since Tennessee had no timeouts. Lavelle Hawkins returned after having an open dislocated finger, but couldn’t lateral the ball to keep the final play alive.

“It’s frustrating when you don’t continue to make plays,” Munchak said. “We have to put ourselves in position.”

The defense had its own struggles. The Titans held Cincinnati to 139 yards in the first half, then couldn’t get off the field in the second half. One play summed up Tennessee’s struggles when safety Michael Griffin and cornerback Jason McCourty crashed into each other trying to defend a pass to A.J. Green, knocking them to the ground for a few minutes.

The challenge gets tougher. After Carolina, the Titans visit Atlanta with a home game against Tampa Bay squeezed between another road game at Buffalo.

Dropping two home games puts the pressure on them to make those up on the road, according to Scott.

“I think we’re a good enough team to do that,” Scott said. “We just have to do that.”

Notes: Munchak said S Chris Hope will practice Wednesday for the first time since breaking his left forearm Oct. 2 at Cleveland. Munchak also said Cook (bruised knee), Washington and Hawkins may be limited a bit Wednesday.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Read More: Brandon Lloyd (WR – DEN), Tennessee Titans, Denver Broncos, Carolina Panthers

With just four days remaining before the NFL trade deadline hits, interested teams will inquire about Denver Broncos wide receiver Brandon Lloyd, who is reportedly quite available. Two teams have already emerged as potential landing spots, but it seems unlikely that either place will trade for him–at least according to the beat writers.

The Carolina Panthers could use another wide receiver opposite Steve Smith, which would help rookie quarterback Cam Newton. However, long-time Panthers beat writer Darin Gantt thinks a trade won’t happen between the two teams because Lloyd is an aging veteran who is a free agent and wants a nice, new contract at the end of the year. Those are all reasons the Broncos want to trade him.

The Tennessee Titans are also a possibility as they lost receiver Kenny Britt to a right knee injury in a game against the Broncos this season. Jim Wyatt of the Nashville Tennessean believes the Titans are interested in Lloyd as well as other receivers. He doesn’t believe the Titans will make a deal with any team.

For more on the Broncos, visit Mile High Report. Visit SB Nation NFL for more news and notes around the league.

The Tennessee Titans are starting to look pretty prescient for that big
contract they handed out this summer. Just not the one they gave to Chris
Johnson.

Matt Hasselbeck(notes) looks to duplicate a breakout performance with his new team
- hopefully with a little more help from his running game – as the Titans host
the injury-ravaged Denver Broncos on Sunday.

Throughout August, a contract extension for the holdout Johnson dominated
storylines coming out of Titans camp, overshadowing a move that perhaps was even
more critical for Tennessee’s short-term success: a new quarterback.

Having let Vince Young(notes) and Kerry Collins(notes) walk away following a season in
which it ranked 25th in passing yardage, the club signed Hasselbeck to a
three-year, $21 million deal immediately after the lockout. The longtime Seattle
signal-caller has quickly responded by adding some punch to the Titans’ usually
run-first attack.

He ranks sixth in the league with 621 passing yards after throwing for 358
in last Sunday’s 26-13 win over Baltimore.

“We knew that he could come in and be a leader, and if anyone could get
caught up on what we are doing in a short amount of time, it would be a guy like
him,” said coach Mike Munchak, who notched his first NFL victory. “Now two games
in, (we’re) just excited to see where he’s at. The guy finds windows to deliver
balls.”

Success has not come as easy on the ground, even if Munchak’s club is armed
with a $56 million running back. Johnson got only nine carries in a Week 1 loss
to Jacksonville as he worked his way back into game shape, but got a steady dose
of action last week – 24 carries – and was held to 53 yards.

Despite his struggles, the Titans (1-1) still dominated a rugged foe, and
Johnson was more than happy to let the game serve as a statement to future
opponents.

“A lot of teams come in thinking they can just load the box and if they stop
me, they can win. … It just showed we have other playmakers,” he said. “We
have other ways to beat you. Hopefully, they help out and let other teams around
the NFL know you just can’t stack the box and try to stop me and win.”

The Broncos (1-1) likely need the injuries to stop if they’re going to keep
winning.

Missing key starters Brandon Lloyd(notes), Champ Bailey(notes), Knowshon Moreno(notes), D.J.
Williams and Elvis Dumervil(notes), Denver clawed its way to a 24-22 win over
Cincinnati last Sunday. Things look more promising for Lloyd, Moreno, Williams
and Dumervil this week as they all returned to practice Wednesday.

Bailey’s status is still up in the air due to a balky hamstring. The All-Pro
cornerback’s absence could be particularly critical as the Denver secondary is
forced to deal with Kenny Britt(notes), who, along with Pittsburgh’s Mike Wallace(notes), has
the longest active streak in the league (five games) of 85 or more receiving
yards.

For that reason, the Broncos would do well to continue following the mantra
of linebacker Joe Mays(notes).

“The next man up is the best man up,” Mays said, “and whenever your number
is called you have to go out there and execute whatever the coach asks you to
do. Every single player on the team deserves to be here and you never know when
your number is called.”

The Broncos got standout performances from second-stringers Willis McGahee(notes)
(101 rushing yards) and Eric Decker(notes) (113 receiving) – one of just two wideouts
left standing by game’s end – but the team is eager to welcome back its leading
receiver, rusher, tackler and sack threat.

“I hope we don’t have to repeat yesterday’s depth chart,” Fox said Monday,
one day after the former Carolina coach got his 74th regular-season win and
first with Denver.

He’s looking forward to his matchup against the new Titans coach.

“I know Mike pretty well, I know a lot of guys on their staff,” Fox said.
“It’s a small fraternity of people and you kind of know their M.O. and they know
yours. It’s what makes the games fun.”

As Denver takes to the road for the first time this season, it will be
looking for the 400th win in franchise history.

One of them came in Nashville last Oct. 3, when Williams and company limited
Johnson to 53 yards on 19 carries en route to a 26-20 win. Conversely, Broncos
running backs were held to eight yards as Kyle Orton(notes) was forced to air it out
for 341 – 115 of them to Lloyd on a career-high 11 receptions.

But those were two different teams under two different coaches. On Sunday, a
new era continues for both as each coach tries to build off his first win with
his current team.

“Hopefully, it helps build confidence in our players in a lot of different
areas,” Munchak said after his inaugural win against the Ravens. “… And kind
of carries over into next week and the rest of the season.”

In a lackluster end to the preseason, the Tennessee Titans dominated the New Orleans Saints 32-9 Thursday night before a half-empty Superdome.

The Titans finish the preseason at 3-1 while the Saints dropped to 2-2. New Orleans will kick off the real season Sept. 8 at the Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers.

On a night when nothing went right for the Saints, the most discouraging news was the performance of veteran kicker John Kasay, who was signed earlier this week to replace Garrett Hartley, who is expected to be out for almost two months with a hip flexor. Kasay, a longtime member of the Carolina Panthers who has kicked in the Dome numerous times, missed a 39-yard field-goal attempt wide left and also missed an extra-point attempt wide left. He did make a 38-yarder with 35 seconds to play. After the game, Saints Coach Sean Payton said the reports on Hartley’s injury were “inaccurate.”

Third-stringer Sean Canfield played quarterback all night for the Saints and had an inconsistent performance. Two of his passes were picked off; the Saints also lost three fumbles and gave up a punt return for a touchdown.

Titans backup quarterback Jake Locker was the most impressive player on the field. The rookie from Washington was 15 of 17 passing for 132 yards and one touchdown and rushed the ball three times for 39 yards and a touchdown.

Canfield was 29 of 39 passing for 249 yards, one touchdown and the two picks. Joique Bell led the Saints with 80 rushing yards on 16 carries and also was the team’s top receiver with six catches for 44 yards.

Payton rested every offensive starter except left guard Carl Nicks who was taken out of the game after the first series. Many defensive starters – with middle linebacker Jon Vilma and free safety Malcolm Jenkins being notable exceptions – saw some playing time in the first half.

New Orleans finally got into the end zone in the fourth quarter when Canfield hit Montez Billings with a 2-yard touchdown pass before the missed extra point.

The rest of the play-by-play was painful for the Saints.

Their first nine drives resulted in a punt, a safety, a fumble, an interception, an interception, a failed fourth-down attempt and a missed field goal, a fumble and a fumble.

The Titans scored their first touchdown on a 22-yard run by Locker in the second quarter. They added another touchdown on a 12-yard pass from Locker to receiver Lavelle Hawkins in the second quarter. Then they scored their final touchdown on the punt return in the fourth quarter.

The Saints finished with 341 yards of offense and 20 first downs. They were 3 of 10 on third downs. The Titans led in time of possession 31:06 to 28:54.