Titans 31 Vikings 30: Reasons for optimism

The Titans are 3-0 for the first time since 2008. Here are some reasons for optimism after a 31-30 win over the Vikings in Minnesota:

• 3-0, baby! - It hasn’t always been pretty, but wins are wins. The Titans find themselves with a 1-game lead over the Colts in the AFC South after 3 games. How many times have we been able to say that over the years.
• Stephen Gostkowski - Have you ever seen a guy go from a question mark to a solid point like Gostkowski has this seaosn? John Glennon and I talked a little about it here, but Gostkowski might be the thing I am the most confident in about this team right now. How crazy is that after the 0-3 start in Denver?
• Kalif Raymond stretching defenses - A.J. Brown being out is a huge loss for this offense on a lot of fronts. One of the biggest is because he is the biggest downfield threat they have. Raymond, after struggling in Denver and not being targeted against the Jaguars, made 2 huge catches on Sunday. They were good for 44 and 61 respectively. Having that threat on the field will either free some things up for Derrick Henry or will continue to result in big passing plays.
• Being clutch on both sides of the ball - Some people don’t believe in “clutch” in today’s analytics world. That’s fine, but the Titans have been clutch in all three phases so far this season. Ryan Tannehill has led three game winning drives that have resulted in Gostkowski hitting big kicks. While the defense has struggled overall, they have gotten a big stop at the end of the game in each of the first three. Hopefully they can build on that to find success throughout the entire game.