Titans vs. Patriots: Full Tennessee Game Preview
After coming off one of their ugliest losses of the season, the Tennessee Titans will get no break on the schedule as they now have to prepare for the New England Patriots.
To make matters worse, the Patriots are still in a battle for the No. 1 overall seed in the AFC for the playoffs. They will have plenty to play for and have no reason to overlook the 3-10 Titans.
The obvious concern is how Tennessee's lackluster secondary will stop arguably one of the NFL's best quarterbacks of all time. Tom Brady is having another great season, and he will have a moderately healthy Rob Gronkowski to throw to.
You would have to be delirious to think that Tennessee will keep this game within three scores, assuming the Patriots treat this one like any other game.
Avoiding another lopsided loss will be a moral victory in itself for a Titans team that is grossly outmatched by the Patriots. However, crazier upsets have happened in the rich history of the NFL. A win by the Titans this week would certainly go down as one of the biggest upsets of this season.
Where: Gillette Stadium, Foxboro, Massachusetts
When: 12:00 PM CDT
TV: Channel 5 WTVF (Local)
Week 14 Results and Recap
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Despite their 3-10 record, the Titans have been competitive in nearly all of their losses. This most recent loss to the Jets was their second-largest margin of defeat this season, losing by 22 points.
It's easy to figure out why the Titans were handled in easy fashion by a Jets team that is balanced at nearly every position. The Jets avoided falling victim to the dreaded "trap game" and won a game that they should have won.
The disappointing thing about last week from the Titans' perspective wasn't that they lost but that they showed little fight from start to finish. It was a lackluster effort on both sides of the ball, and the team can't duplicate that this week against New England.
The Tennessee secondary once again had no answer for the opponent's passing game. Ryan Fitzpatrick looked like a Pro Bowl quarterback, and Brandon Marshall was virtually unstoppable.
Eric Decker also had his way with whomever Tennessee threw at him.
It was a bad day at the office for Marcus Mariota, and understandably so. He looked baffled at times as he was up against one of the better defenses in the NFL, and his weapons around him struggled as well.
This team isn't talented enough to lack in the energy department, and the energy was certainly lacking last week against a much better Jets team.
It's still a two-horse race between the Indianapolis Colts and the Houston Texans for the division crown in the AFC South, with both teams having losing records.
AFC South Standings
- Colts (6-7)
- Texans (6-7)
- Jaguars (5-8)
- Titans (3-10)
News and Notes
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How Will the Titans Defend Tom Brady?
The Titans benefited earlier in the season from facing average quarterback competition. It somewhat helped pad the stats of the secondary in terms of yardage allowed and allowed the Titans to take advantage of their pass rush.
Now, the Titans have to figure out a way to defend Tom Brady, one of the best the NFL has ever seen. The first thought is to aggressively blitz Brady, but the better idea is to limit Rob Gronkowski at all costs. That's obviously no easy task, but they have to try.
Blitzing Brady will most likely backfire in a big way by leaving Gronkowski open in the middle of the field. Brady isn't going to be fazed by pressure in his face and will make the necessary throws before the pressure will get to him.
It will take a mammoth effort from Tennessee's linebackers and safeties to limit Gronkowski from completely taking over the game.
Forcing Brady to look elsewhere will at least slightly increase the chances that the Titans can keep this game somewhat close. However, Brady has plenty of other viable weapons at his disposal, including Julian Edelman, if he's able to play.
It's worth noting that Brady has been sacked 32 times, but the Titans have to be smart about when they choose to blitz.
Edelman has been battling back from a broken foot, but it's possible he'll return this week in time to play against the Titans. He reportedly looked "sharp" in practice this week, per Jim McBride of the Boston Globe.
More Bishop Sankey Could Be Ahead
Running the football is how the Titans have to primarily win games, but they haven't been able to find any consistency in this area. It's a major reason why they have just three wins.
Bishop Sankey came into the 2015 season as the lead back after being drafted in the second round in 2014 to take over that role. Antonio Andrews replaced him after a few games, and Sankey has seen just two carries in the last five weeks.
With the loss of Dexter McCluster to a wrist injury, Sankey is expected to see more playing time this week, per Jason Wolf of the Tennessean.
Sankey has the opportunity to redeem himself and show that he was worthy of his high draft pick. Look for him to play a role in the passing game on third down, with Andrews retaining his role as the early-down runner.
Titans in the Running for No. 1 Overall Pick
It's hard to believe that the Titans are battling for the No. 1 overall draft pick for the second year in a row.
The Titans came close to getting the first pick in the draft last season, but a late-game collapse by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 17 helped Tennessee avoid that feat.
The two other teams that are in the driver's seat for the No. 1 overall pick are the Cleveland Browns and the San Diego Chargers. It's conceivable that the Chargers will scratch out another win on their remaining schedule, but both the Browns and the Titans look to be heading toward three losses to round out the season.
If the Titans do get the No. 1 overall pick, look for defensive end Joey Bosa out of Ohio State to be a likely target.
Injury Update
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Injuries are common this time of year, and it doesn't help matters that the Titans had their bye week all the way back in early October.
The Titans haven't had nearly the same amount of success in rushing the passer since Derrick Morgan went down with a shoulder injury. His sack numbers were surging over the first quarter of the season, and he was continuing to apply a lot of pressure up until his injury.
Morgan will now miss the rest of the 2015 season, according to David Boclair of the Nashville Post.
This is a huge blow to a defense that lives off getting to the quarterback. If the Titans can't do that, then we'll keep seeing similar scores to what we've seen the last two weeks. Brian Orakpo's production has also suffered since the loss of Morgan.
Kendall Wright is another player whom the Titans desperately need back. They're decimated at wide receiver, and Wright provides the ability to create yardage after the catch and opens things up for Dorial Green-Beckham.
It's unclear if Wright will return this week, but he hasn't officially been ruled out just yet.
The secondary took another hit by losing Da'Norris Searcy at safety. The roster move in response to the loss of Searcy was practice squad safety Josh Aubrey.
Aubrey has two seasons of NFL experience and may get a chance to play of Searcy is unable to go. He commented on this opportunity, per Jim Wyatt of TitansOnline.com: “I am truly grateful for the opportunity, man. Now I am ready to make the most of it.”
Sammie Hill and Mike Martin round out the injury report for the Titans, via TitansOnline.com:
- Kendall Wright, WR, Ribs
- Derrick Morgan, LB, Shoulder
- Da'Norris Searcy, S, Hamstring
- Mike Martin, DT, Knee
- Sammie Hill, NT, Knee
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Key Matchups
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Titans Linebackers vs. Tom Brady
There's a reason why the Titans are heavy underdogs in this game—they have to stop Tom Brady to even think about achieving the major upset.
Brady has the ability to dissect blitzes and still find open receivers. He's spectacular at making the receivers around him better than what they would be on other teams.
This will be major test for the entire defense, but he will test the linebackers in particular. That means that Avery Williamson will have to be close to perfect in pass coverage, and the outside linebackers will have the fun task of covering Rob Gronkowski.
If the linebackers can figure out a way to force Brady to lean more on Brandon LaFell and Danny Amendola, then they can at least keep this game from being a complete embarrassment.
Titans Running Backs vs. Patriots Rush Defense
The Titans simply can't win games without a reliable running game that takes control early. This unit had just 10 carries against the Jets' No. 1 rush defense last week. Tennessee is up against a New England rush defense that is nothing to scoff at, but the Titans have to challenge them.
Loyalty to the run game is critical. The coaching staff can't get gun-shy early in the game and resort to Marcus Mariota throwing every down. The Patriots will eat that up, and it will lead to a lot of offensive possessions for Brady to put up a lot of points.
At this point in the season, it's worth exploring what David Cobb can do. He needs more carries on early downs, with Andrews seeing more of a role on third down. Andrews is a versatile player who does everything pretty well, including catching balls out of the backfield.
The Titans need to make some hay by making this game physical at the line of scrimmage, but Andrews and company will have to be successful on first and second down to stick to this strategy past the first quarter.
Matchup X-Factors
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Defensive X-Factor: Perrish Cox
Cox has to be the glue that holds everything together on a secondary that's falling apart. The playoffs may be out of the question, but there's still a lot to play for in Tennessee when it comes to regaining some confidence for 2016.
A respectable performance against one of the NFL's best in Tom Brady would do wonders for the confidence for the secondary, and it starts with Cox. He's the leader of a secondary that has no answers. When he plays poorly, the rest of the unit follows. If he can hold up his end of the bargain, perhaps the rest of the unit will follow suit.
One of the areas that the Titans will most likely overhaul in the offseason is at cornerback, and you have to wonder where Cox will fit into that. He's had his ups and downs in his first season in Tennessee. He's one of three players who have the most to gain in the remainder of the season, per Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com.
Offensive X-Factor: Antonio Andrews
Andrews has been at least a minor X-factor in nearly every game, but it's magnified with the absence of Kendall Wright.
All of the confidence in the world is owed to Marcus Mariota, but he's fighting an uphill battle with the lack of weapons he has to throw to.
This offense has to grind out wins by controlling time of possession, and that's done on the ground. The Titans have had little success in this department, with some of that being due to limited opportunities.
If Andrews eats up some chunks of yardage on the first couple of drives, it will be hard for interim head coach Mike Mularkey to turn away from him like he has in recent weeks. A successful Andrews will keep the ball in the hands of the offense and will keep Brady on the sideline where he's least dangerous.
Prediction: Patriots 34, Titans 13
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The Titans have reached the difficult part of their schedule where many thought they would struggle coming into the season. It's just harder to swallow because the Titans failed to take advantage of the softer portion of the schedule in the first half of the season.
This week's contest with the Patriots features two teams on completely different ends of the spectrum. They're not even in the same universe when it comes to player development, coaching and the front office.
However, the Titans can recapture some pride by putting forth a respectable effort and making the Patriots sweat this one out more so than the New York Jets had to last week.
The Titans will respond with a much better effort than they did in last week's 22-point loss that took a trick play to keep from getting shut out.
However, the Patriots still have a lot to play for when it comes to playoff seeding. They will take this game seriously and in return take care of business in easy fashion. The talent gap is too wide, even if the Titans put forth a better effort.
The Patriots will exploit the weaknesses in the secondary by spreading the ball around. It won't be a one-man show with Rob Gronkowski. Look for Brandon LaFell, Danny Amendola and possibly Julian Edelman to all get their piece of the pie.
As for Mariota, he has to figure out a way to weather this storm that many rookie quarterbacks face. He can't let it damage his confidence going into next season, and he has to realize that a major overhaul needs to happen in the offseason. His development over the last three games is critical, and he needs to avoid the catastrophic turnover that makes it even easier for the Patriots to run up the score.
Prediction: Patriots 34, Titans 13
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