In the two weeks since opening the season with a thumping of Cleveland, the Titans have gone backwards, sometimes all too literally.

Through three games, the same situation that plagued the Titans last season — quarterback sacks — is once again threatening to become a huge factor if it’s not soon corrected, or at least improved upon.

The Titans, who’ve played one more game than every team besides Jacksonville, lead the NFL in three categories they’d prefer not to — quarterbacks sacks (17), average quarterback sacks per game (5.7) and quarterback hits (26).

But in order to fix the issue, the Titans have to figure out the primary cause of the problem.

Is it a shaky offensive line allowing too much pressure on Mariota? Is it Mariota waiting too long before he throws or scrambles? Is it Titans receivers failing to give Mariota adequate downfield targets?

We took a deep dive into some Pro Football Focus and NFL Next Gen numbers and came up with significant issues on all three fronts — the offensive line, the quarterbacks and the receivers.

Take a look at the findings, and see which set of facts and figures you think are the Titans’ biggest concerns when it comes to surrendering sacks.

There are admittedly plenty of numbers ahead, so remember to breathe deeply as you peruse:

It’s the offensive line’s fault

Constant pressure

If it seems like Mariota is scrambling for his life, time and time again, that’s understandable.

Per Pro Football Focus, Mariota has been under pressure on 36.4 percent of his snaps, which is the ninth-highest rate among quarterbacks with at least 50 dropbacks. When he hasn’t been sacked, Mariota has posted good numbers when under pressure — completing more than 65 percent of his passes, averaging more than 18 yards per completion and producing a quarterback rating of 120.6.

Swift sacks

The only thing worse on a quarterback than pressure is fast pressure.

The average time from snap to Mariota sack this season has been 3.19 seconds, per PFF, which is the ninth-worst figure in the league.

The Titans have surrendered three of their 17 sacks this season in less than 2.5 seconds, tied for third-most in the league. Keep in mind, of course, the Titans have played three games, compared to two for every team except Jacksonville.

In the clip above, Mariota has virtually no time to get the ball away during a fourth-and-6 situation early in the third quarter before he’s buried by Jacksonville’s Calais Campbell.

Individual failures

We expected the offensive line to have some issues going into the season without two starters — suspended left tackle Taylor Lewan and injured right guard Kevin Pamphile.

Sure enough, there have been a number of individual failures.

PFF uses a stat called “pressures” to encompass three different categories: sacks allowed, quarterback hits allowed and pressures allowed. Among guards, the Titans’ Rodger Saffold and Jamil Douglas have both allowed seven pressures, tied for the fifth-most in the league. Remember again that the Titans have played three games, compared to two for every other team besides Jacksonville.

As for sacks alone, PFF attributes three to Jack Conklin (tied for second among all tackles) and three to Saffold (most among guards).

Interestingly enough, the player who merited the most concern going into the season, backup left tackle Dennis Kelly, has only allowed one sack and five pressures while going up against opponent’s top rushers.

I asked Titans coach Mike Vrabel on Friday if it was more difficult to help out interior blockers — such as Douglas — than it is to help out tackles, who play in more space on the outside.

“There’s different ways to help different guys along parts of the offense,” Vrabel said. “You can slide the line, you can move pieces around. You only have 11 guys, but I think that you have to be able to mix things up and figure out where the matchups are in this league and understand who you have to help, and how you have to go about doing it.”

It’s on Mariota

Dropped by pressure

Every quarterback faces pressure, but some manage to avoid sacks better than others. In his first three games, Mariota hasn’t fared well in that regard.

Per PFF, Mariota has been sacked on 39.5 percent of his pressured dropbacks. Among quarterbacks with at least 50 dropbacks, Mariota’s figure ranks second only to Seattle’s Russell Wilson (40 percent) in that department. Mariota and Wilson are the only two quarterbacks in the NFL (again among those with more than 50 dropbacks) that who been sacked on more than 30 percent of their pressured dropbacks.

It should be pointed out, too, that Mariota has thrown the ball away on average just once per game, which ranks 17th in the league among QBs with at least 50 dropbacks.

He who hesitates …

One of the criticisms of Mariota is that he isn’t decisive enough.

PFF’s stats lend some credence to that argument.

Mariota has averaged 2.8 seconds before throwing the ball this season, the third-longest time in the league — trailing only Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers and Tampa Bay’s Ryan Fitzpatrick among quarterbacks with 50 or more dropbacks.

In the clip above, Mariota takes too long in the pocket. He feels pressure on his right side, steps up, pumps once, then moves left and is finally buried by Campbell. Mariota appears to have Dion Lewis open to the left as a safety-valve receiver.

Mariota was asked last week if he thought he was having trouble working through his progressions. Here’s how he responded:

“I don’t think so,” Mariota said. “That’s probably an opinion better for the coaches, but I feel like I’m seeing it. When the time comes and the journey’s ending in the pocket, (I’ve got to) just the get the ball out.”

Mariota may be waiting too long to scramble as well, despite the fact mobility is one of his strengths.

Per PFF, the average amount of time before Mariota has run/scrambled this year is 5.27 seconds, tied for the sixth-highest in the league among quarterbacks with 50 or more dropbacks. One could argue this is a plus for Mariota, who is perhaps doing all he can to throw the ball before finally deciding to run. But other mobile quarterbacks have taken off quicker and suffered fewer sacks.

Pressure point

PFF uses a stat called “pressures” to encompass sacks, pressures and hurries. The analytics site puts the blame on Mariota for eight of his own pressures through three games, the most among any of the league’s quarterbacks.

The three sacks PFF attributes directly to Mariota are also tied for a league high.

It’s on the receivers

Quick hits rare

Per PFF, Mariota has thrown the football in 2.5 seconds or less on just 31 percent of his dropbacks. That’s the second-lowest percentage in the league among QBs with at least 50 dropbacks. Sure, it’s possible the 31 percent figure reflects some indecision on Mariota’s part. But it seems more likely there aren’t a lot of open targets in the early stages of Mariota’s dropbacks.

When Mariota has gotten rid of the ball in less than 2.5 seconds, he’s been successful, completing 61 percent of his passes, throwing for three touchdowns and posting a 110.5 quarterback rating.

Separation anxiety

The NFL’s Next Gen stats measure the amount of separation every receiver has — from the nearest defender — when a pass to him is either caught or falls incomplete.

The Titans’ top receiver in that department is Adam Humphries (3.6 yards average separation), but that figure only ranks 23rd in the league among players who’ve been targeted at least eight times. Behind Humphries, the Titans stack up like this in terms of average amount of separation:

Tight end Delanie Walker is 42 nd in the league (3.1 yards average separation).

in the league (3.1 yards average separation). Wide receiver Corey Davis is 45 th (3.0 yards).

(3.0 yards). Wide receiver A.J. Brown is 65 th (2.5 yards).

(2.5 yards). Wide receiver Tajae Sharpe isn’t listed because he’s only been targeted seven times.

The more well-covered a receiver has been, the less likely Mariota has been to throw the ball. Only 13 percent of Mariota’s throws have gone into tight windows — where there’s a defender within one yard at the time of catch or incompletion. That’s probably one of the reasons Mariota has yet to throw an interception in three games, but it could also lead to holding the ball longer — and sacks.

The clip above isn’t a sack, obviously, but it offers an example of Brown not getting any separation from Jags cornerback A.J. Buoye during an incomplete pass on third down.

“I think (a lack of open receivers) always plays a part (in sacks),” Vrabel said. “I think that you have to be able to protect, I think you have to be able to get open and deliver the football. There’s times when guys were open, there’s times where guys aren’t open, there’s times where there’s breakdown in protection and there’s times where we’ve got to get rid of the football.”

Route-running issues

How successful have Titans receivers been running their routes, compared to their peers around the league?

Not especially, per PFF numbers.

Walker is among the league’s best at tight end with a pass-route grade of 77.5 (seventh at his position).

But the Titans’ wide receivers are well down the list among players targeted at least seven times: Sharpe grades out at 67.4 (45th at the wide-receiver position), Humphries at 61.9 (63rd), Davis at 60.8 (67th) and Brown at 58.6 (72nd).

Poorer than expected route running can lead to a lack of chemistry and a lack of trust between a quarterback and his targets, which again could mean more hesitation in the pocket on Mariota’s part.

(Top photo of Mariota: Mike Ehrmann / Getty Images)