The Tennessee Titans (1-2) travel to Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sunday to take on the Atlanta Falcons (1-2) looking to bounce back in a Week 4 matchup.
Both of these teams are more talented than their records reflect. While they have had their early struggles, this should be a close and exciting contest neither team can afford to lose.
Here are three defensive keys to victory for the Tennessee Titans.
1. Create turnovers.
The Titans currently have four interceptions as a team with cornerback Logan Ryan leading the way with two. Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan has consistently thrown the ball to the opposite team this season, totaling interceptions this year.
The Titans need to keep this trend alive on Sunday by forcing Ryan to throw hurried passes. The defensive backs will need to play aggressively, but not recklessly.
2. Force 3-and-outs.
Opposing teams only have a 28.6% success rate on third downs against this Titans defense, which ties for the the fifth-best in the NFL.
That will need to be the case on Sunday. The defense will need to start faster than it has in the first three weeks, but also stop Ryan and the rest of the Falcons offense from ever finding its rhythm.
3. Take Julio Jones away.
One thing that has contributed to the Falcons’ problems is Matt Ryan forcing Jones the ball. Jones has seen 30 targets this season, but has only caught 14 of those targets.
The next closest wide receiver in talks of targets is Mohamed Sanu, who has seen 19. However, the trend has been Ryan throwing short dump off passes to his tight end Austin Hooper, who has seen 22 targets.
Jones has gained a first down on over 78% of his receptions, while Hooper has only managed a first down on just over 47% of his receptions.
Jones is the type of talent who can completely take over a game if given the opportunity. The Titans need to know where Jones is on every play and keep him double-teamed.
