Cowboys vs. Titans: Breaking Down Tennessee's Game Plan

The circus that is the Dallas Cowboys is coming to town to take on the Tennessee Titans for their home-opener.

An impressive road win over the Kansas City Chiefs got the Ken Whisenhunt era off to a great start for the Titans, who won the game in convincing fashion.

The Titans find themselves with an excellent opportunity to really get some national attention if they can get the win over a team that they should beat.

According to OddsShark.com, the Titans are hovering between 3.5-point favorites over the Cowboys.

This game has the potential to be a major shootout, despite the nice defensive effort the Titans brought against the Chiefs.

The Cowboys offense features many more weapons than what the Chiefs were able to bring in the passing game, and I don't expect Tony Romo to have nearly as bad of a game as he did in Week 1. In fact, I could see Romo following up that terrible performance with a gem. He's going to get his numbers and keep the Cowboys alive on the scoreboard.

A major X-factor of this game will be how the new duo of Coty Sensabaugh and Blidi Wreh-Wilson can match up against some talented wide receivers, led by Dez Bryant. 

Here's what Jordan Churchill of Music City Miracles had to say about this:

"

#Titans corners @wrehblidi and @CotySense face big challenge in week 2 vs #Cowboys WR corps, and #TonyRomo. Upgrade over Smith/Avery combo

— Jordan Churchill (@JLloydChurchill) September 9, 2014"

The Titans also have to do some shifting with their linebackers as Jim Wyatt of The Tennessean reports that Zach Brown is out for the rest of the season:

"

#Titans LB Zach Brown expected to miss remainder of season with torn pectoral muscle http://t.co/Ng0lj6qyND

— Jim Wyatt (@jwyattsports) September 8, 2014"

Luckily, the Titans are deep at this position. It could open the door for Zaviar Gooden to make an impact on the inside, per Paul Kuharskey of ESPN.com.

However, the Titans will have their opportunities to put up plenty of points as well. This is not the same vanilla Titans offense that we've become accustomed to over the past several years. It's got weapons on the outside and an arsenal of running backs who looked great against a formidable Chiefs defense.

The Titans need to establish the running game early and keep the Cowboys offense off the field. If the Cowboys are going to ultimately win this game, it's going to be due to scoring 30-plus points. Keep the ball out of Romo's hands, and I believe the Titans score enough to win this game.

I would be calling this a two-touchdown win in favor of the Cowboys if this were the 2013 version of the Titans who couldn't be counted on to hang in shootouts.

Ed Zurga/Associated Press/Associated Press

Jake Locker showed vast improvement and picked up where he left off in his solid start last season. The game seemed to slow down for him against the Chiefs, and his decision-making was as good as I've ever seen it. He should be primed for another great day against a Cowboys defense that's expected to be historically bad.

With that said, the Cowboys defense actually held its own against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 1. A strong defensive showing from the Cowboys could turn this into a big win for them.

The Titans defense has to take away the big play from the Cowboys. DeMarco Murray is going to get his yards, but limiting the vertical threats will keep this score low enough for the Titans to win this game.

In the end, I see the Titans as very slight favorites. It should make for a really competitive game with enough scoring to make this exciting. 

Prediction: Titans 31, Cowboys 28