Aiming to redeem themselves after a 19-17 home loss to the Indianapolis Colts, the Tennessee Titans (1-1) will look to record their second road win of the season as they take on the Jacksonville Jaguars (0-2) at TIAA Bank Field.
But in order to do that, they’ll need to hold the Jaguars offense from making plays and allow Tennessee’s offense ample time on the field to increase point production — which hasn’t been good for the team this year.
Here are three defensive keys for Titans to get the job done Thursday.
1. Keep the pressure on QB Gardner Minshew.
The Titans didn’t have trouble getting to the quarterback last week, but they did struggle to bring him down. That can’t happen again on Thursday.
Minshew may be a rookie, but he’s looked confident replacing Nick Foles after the starter went down with an injury in Week 1. The Titans will need to bring pressure to keep Minshew and the offense from making key plays.
2. Create turnovers.
This game has been a close on in past meetings, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see it come down to the wire again. The Titans have forced four interceptions this season, and are one of only three teams in the NFL to have four or more picks.
Generating turnovers this week could make all the difference in the final outcome.
3. Contain RB Leonard Fournette.
The Titans have struggled with tackling so far this season, and the Jaguars’s run game with Fournette at the forefront could take advantage of that.
Tennessee has struggled to stop the run in 2019, allowing 134.5 rushing yards per game, and ranks 26th in the NFL against the ground game. Fournette hasn’t exactly impressed this year, but this is his perfect opportunity to get rolling if the Titans don’t clean up this problem.
