LANDOVER, Md – The Titans lost 42-19 to the Commanders here at Northwest Stadium on Sunday.

Here’s a look at six things that stood out in the competition:

As I watched the first quarter on Sunday, I remembered 15 years ago: October 18, 2009. That was the day the Titans lost 59-0 to the Patriots. The Titans fell behind 35-0 at halftime in this game and were never competitive. The Titans got off to a miserable start against the Commanders, and unlike the game in Foxboro, the team came off the mat on Sunday and showed some life in the second half. But two turnovers, penalties and a poor defensive performance at the start against the Commanders caused the Titans to fail early on. It proved too much to overcome.

Two early fumbles also put the Titans behind the 8-ball, but let’s face it, things were already going in the wrong direction. It was 14-0 when running back Tony Pollard recovered a fumble, and the Commanders converted it into a touchdown to make the score 21-0. On the ensuing kickoff, Titans returner Jha’Quan Jackson lost the football and the Commanders pounced on it again. And the Commanders conceded it again for a touchdown. The 28-0 deficit put the Titans in a position where they had to play perfectly the rest of the game, and that didn’t happen.

Titans receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine has been one of the team’s most consistent players. Westbrook Ikhine scored two more touchdowns on Sunday with catches of 17 and 27 yards. Westbrook-Ikhine now has eight touchdowns this season. NWI joins Ja’Marr Chase (13), Terry McLaurin (nine), Amon-Ra St. Brown (nine) and George Kittle (eight) as the only players in the NFL with eight or more touchdown receptions in early afternoon games in December . 1. Westbrook-Ikhine had three catches for 61 yards against the Commanders. He smiled when asked about his touchdown streak, but not before being self-critical for a drop.

The Titans pride themselves on being able to stop the run, but they certainly didn’t do that particularly well against the Commanders. On Sunday, the Commanders ran for 267 yards. Running back Brian Robinson had 103 yards on the ground and running back Chris Rodriguez added 94 more. On the day, the Commanders averaged 5.9 yards per carry. The commanders set the tone early with their success, leaving the Titans angry, frustrated and probably embarrassed.

The Titans have been one of the most penalized teams in the NFL this season, and they continued that way Sunday. Against the Commanders, the Titans were penalized 12 times for 93 yards. The violations started early with false starts by JC Latham and Nicholas Petit-Frere on the first possession and continued throughout the game on both sides of the ball and on special teams. With a record of 3-9, this is a team that has difficulty winning football games. The penalties don’t help.

Every time the Titans lose, I usually get a ton of feedback on quarterback Will Levis. Often the feedback is quite harsh. Levis did not play on Sunday as he completed 18 of 37 passes for 212 yards and two touchdowns. He missed a few throws and with him at the helm, the Titans failed to get into the red zone on two big occasions with touchdowns rather than field goals. But on Sunday, this team’s biggest problems weren’t the quarterback position.