Ty Sambrailo and MyCole Pruitt: Titans’ Week 2 Unsung Heroes

The Tennessee Titans won an absolute thriller on Sunday. There’s a lot of credit to go around. Derrick Henry will receive a ton of that praise, and rightfully so after he put the offense on his back in the second half while scoring three touchdowns and accounting for more than 150 yards in the final three quarters.

But we all need to make sure that two under-the-radar players get their roses throughout the week: Tight end MyCole Pruitt and offensive tackle Sambrailo.

Starting with Pruitt, he was promoted to the active roster just a few days ago. He received a lot of playing time with Anthony Firkser sitting out with an injury. Pruitt was an absolute warrior on Sunday. He led by example while catching three balls for 43 yards. Pruitt played with a physical mindset and the team began rallying around him in the second half. Pruitt got into a scuffle with Seahawks safety Jamal Adams in the third quarter. A few plays later, he moved the chains on second-and-12 and was also the target of a 15 yard penalty. Pruitt got under Seattle’s skin en route to a big day.

“It’s all part of the game,” Pruitt said in relation to his scuffle with Adams. “You get into the flow of the game and emotions get high, tensions get high. I felt like we needed a spark at that point. Whatever I could do to provide that spark, to help my team do that, I’m here to do that. If I have to get into it and take it to that edge, without getting a penalty, that’s what I’ll try to do.”

Pruitt did just that.

Onto Sambrailo. The former Colorado State standout found out he was starting at left tackle about an hour before the game when Taylor Lewan tweaked his knee during pregame warmups. Sambrailo spent time at left tackle before tearing his ACL last season, but it’s worth noting that he spent most of the 2021 summer preparing to win the open competition at right tackle. For Sambrailo to slot back in at left tackle in a tough road game environment and play as good of a game as he did, it speaks volumes about the type of professional he is. I don’t recall hearing Sambrailo’s name during the broadcast, and that’s usually a great sign for an offensive lineman.

The 2021 Titans have a lot of star power, but they won Sunday’s game as a team, with many contributions from some of their unheralded players.