Tennessee Titans sophomore offensive tackle JC Latham had a day to forget in Sunday’s 16-13 Week 11 loss to the Houston Texans. Latham was whistled for four total penalties. It was another concerning performance
in a disappointing season for the second-year blocker.
Latham was whistled for three false start penalties. Rookie quarterback Cam Ward blamed himself for having cadence and hard count issues. That’s typical of Ward to take accountability. The Titans decided to utilize a hard-count strategy against an aggressive Texans front. Nobody struggled with that quite like Latham did. That’s his fault.
Latham did not sound particularly bothered by his showing postgame. It took the former Alabama standout a while to admit that playing penalty-free football is always the goal. Duh.
What was interesting about Latham’s performance is that he was actually stellar in pass protection. He allowed zero quarterback pressures against premier pass rushers Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson Jr. Unfortunately, that good work goes underdiscussed when you commit three false starts and a holding penalty.
The Titans expected Latham to take a sizable step forward this year as a sophomore. A training camp hip injury that was initially downplayed by former head coach Brian Callahan. It ended up proving pretty serious, as Latham reinjured the hip in Week 1, leading to a stint on the sidelines.
Since returning, Latham has been inconsistent. He allowed four pressures against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 6, and another four versus the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 11, per Pro Football Focus. Latham was credited with allowing three of his six sacks in that Raiders game that got Callahan fired.
Latham hasn’t established himself as a dominant tackle in his sophomore season. That was the lofty expectation heading into a promising 2025. Hopefully Sunday’s penalty-riddled showing was an anomaly.
