The Tennessee Titans are set to face the Los Angeles Chargers in a massive AFC showdown between two playoff hopefuls.
Buy Titans TicketsThese two teams enter Sunday’s contest with identical 7-6 records, yet those records couldn’t feel further apart at the moment.
Los Angeles is heating up at the right time of year, winning two out of its last three outings. Meanwhile, Tennessee is on the cusp of the first four-game losing streak of the Mike Vrabel era.
Unfortunately for the Titans, the adversity continues to mount up and doesn’t seem to be slowing down any time soon.
Tennessee is slated to be without seven defensive starters on Sunday, while the offense continues to play without its best offensive lineman (Taylor Lewan) and wide receiver (Treylon Burks).
A loss later on today would officially drop the Titans back to .500 with a 7-7 record, which would obviously be a disappointing reality after starting the year with such promise at 7-3.
The odds may be stacked against them, but Tennessee has to find a way to end its three-game losing streak in the worst possible way.
With all that said, let’s take a closer look at three things the Titans have to accomplish if they want to fly back to Nashville with an 8-6 mark.
Avoid self-inflicted wounds
This was arguably the main reason the Titans lost in such a disastrous fashion last weekend.
Despite creating positive momentum early on, Tennessee turned the ball over four times against Jacksonville, three of which came in the first half alone. The Titans aren’t the type of team that’s going to overcome something like that very often.
This Mike Vrabel-led squad places a strong emphasis on protecting the rock and playing strong complementary football in all three phases.
On top of halting any positive momentum, turnovers give the opposing team extra possessions and/or shorter fields, which places a lot of unnecessary pressure on a banged-up Titans defense that is reliant on backups right now.
The Chargers are a talented football team that’s hard enough to beat as it is without the extra assistance from self-inflicted wounds.
In order for Tennessee to give itself a chance in this one, the team must play smart, sound, and cohesive football for four quarters.
If the Titans’ afternoon is once again riddled with penalties and/or turnovers, it could be another long afternoon for those wearing two-tone blue.
Give Ryan Tannehill adequate time to operate
Pass protection has become a massive issue for this Titans team as the season wears on. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill has largely been a sitting duck as of late.
Tannehill has been sacked a total of 29 times through 11 games, 14 of which have come over the last four outings.
The blindside in particular has visibly been a weak spot for the team ever since Dennis Daley took over as the full-time starter back in Week 2 following Taylor Lewan’s season-ending knee injury.
Taylor Lewan had allowed 2 *pressures* (0 sacks) in his last five games. Just a massive drop off at one of the offense’s most critical positions. https://t.co/IyhUxWaxk8
— Mike Herndon (@MikeHerndonNFL) December 15, 2022
Of those 14 sacks that have been allowed since Week 11, Daley is responsible for exactly half of them.
To put his struggles into perspective, according to Pro Football Focus, Daley currently leads the league in sacks allowed (11) and pressures allowed (40) despite logging fewer snaps than over 100 different offensive linemen.
The Titans’ lineman is also well on pace to set the highest sack percentage by any offensive tackle since the start of the 2014 season (2.93 percent). On top of all this, the South Carolina product also has an underwhelming PFF grade of 49.2.
The issues along the offensive line go far beyond just Daley’s struggles. He may be the weakest link in the group, but he’s definitely not alone when it comes to shouldering the blame upfront.
Only one of Tennessee’s starting offensive linemen has a PFF grade of at least 70.0 on the year (Ben Jones, 71.8).
Aside from Jones, the team only has one lineman in the 60s (Nate Davis, 69.2), with the other two starters both grading out in the 50s (Aaron Brewer, 57.4 / Nicholas Petit-Frere, 54.6).
This weekend, the Titans face a formidable Chargers defense led by Khalil Mack. The Buffalo product possesses legitimate game-wrecking talent that’s capable of single-handedly taking over at a moment’s instance.
There are several other players on the Chargers’ defense capable of making plays, but L.A.’s pass rush will undoubtedly feed off No. 52’s presence and production.
If the Titans’ offensive line can neutralize Mack and Co. throughout the game, Tannehill should be able to do enough to get this passing offense going again.
A jolt of life in the passing attack will also help to back opposing defenses up, inevitably creating more room for Derrick Henry to work with.
But for any of that to happen, the offensive line must do its part upfront against a formidable opponent.
Should the Titans accomplish this feat, they’ll have a strong chance of leaving SoFi Stadium with their eighth victory of the year.
Pressure Justin Herbert, create turnovers
From Weeks 4-10, the Titans’ pass-rush accounted for a whopping 22 sacks, leading to a 5-1 record over those six games.
Even more impressive is the fact that their frequent pressure was often leading to game-changing takeaways. Over that same six-game span, the Titans created a total of 10 turnovers (seven interceptions, three fumbles).
Since then, a once-tenacious and greedy defense hasn’t created a single turnover, only producing four sacks in the process, ultimately resulting in a 1-3 record over those four games.
Tennessee’s defense prides itself on being a smart, tenacious, and opportunistic bunch. When that unit isn’t doing any of those things, it’s very difficult for the Titans to find a way to win ball games.
This week, they face an explosive Chargers offense that has talent all over the field. Quarterback Justin Herbert is a budding superstar who has the potential to carve them up if they don’t make him uncomfortable.
Los Angeles presently ranks in the middle of the pack when it comes to allowing sacks, giving up an average of approximately 2.4 per game, per Team Rankings.
The Titans have to find a way to exceed that average if they want to give themselves a realistic shot of pulling off the massive road upset.
To do so, they will once again have to find a way to get after the opposing quarterback without Denico Autry, who is missing his fourth-straight game with a knee injury.
It will be up to Jeffery Simmons and Bud Dupree, among others, to make their presence felt in this one in order to end the three-game skid.
If the Titans aren’t able to consistently pressure Herbert, it could very well be a very long day for a banged-up Titans defense.
