Washington Redskins Prepare for Tough Test Against Chris Johnson and the Titans

The Washington Redskins got their everything handed to them on Monday night. Michael Vick lit them up through the air and on the ground, the offense sputtered, the defense was nothing short of porous and a winning record was put even further out of reach.

Now, they get to face the tough Tennessee Titans, who have a few players the Redskins may have trouble with.

The Redskins have given up a ton of yards on the ground and through the air, and Chris Johnson and Randy Moss happen to be Titans.

Even though Washington's defense has been giving up yards all season, but they've been pulling their weight by creating turnovers. The offense has been awful and has wasted more opportunities than the defense can create. Donovan McNabb's play has left a lot to be desired, and coming of a two touchdown and three interception game puts even more pressure on him to perform.

With an inconsistent rushing attack, key injuries in the backfield, and an undistinguished offensive line, the Redskins will have to bite and claw for every yard and every point.

One storyline to watch is the status of Ryan Torain heading into Sunday. He was supposed to be ready against Philadelphia, but an aggravated hamstring injury kept him out of the game. Clinton Portis is still coming back from his groin injury, which means the work load will fall on the youth of Keiland Williams, who leads the team with five total touchdowns, and Darrel Young.

The offense would do well to exploit the Tennessee defense with tight ends Chris Cooley and Fred Davis.

The Titans defense is coming off a loss to Miami where they allowed tight end Anthony Fasano to catch five passes for 107 yards and a touchdown. The week before, Chargers tight end Antonio Gates caught five passes for 123 yards and a touchdown. Kevin Boss and Jason Witten of the Giants and Cowboys caught three passes for 88 yards and five passes for 84 yards and a touchdown respectively.

If the Redskins don't use Cooley and Davis, they will find difficulty on the outside trying to force to Anthony Armstrong or Santana Moss.

The best chance to win that the Redskins have is if the defense shuts down Johnson and puts the game in Vince Young's hands.

Young is no stranger to pressure, lest I refer you to the 2006 Rose Bowl, but he has yet to show himself to be a consistent NFL quarterback. He has thrown just three interceptions this season, but will be without Kenny Britt this Sunday. Without Britt, the Titans can only hope that Moss shows up and has one of his better games.

Shutting down Johnson is easier said than done, especially since the Redskins gave up 109 yards to Jerome Harrison in the Monday night game.

Johnson has rushed for over 100 yards in five games this season, and the Titans are 4-1 in those games. In games he rushes for less than 100 yards, they are 1-3. The Redskins defense has allowed over 100 yards in seven of their games this season, and allowed three individual players to top the century mark in Harrison, Joseph Addai and Brandon Jackson.

Not exactly a who's who of elite running backs, which goes to show the inconsistency the defense has exhibited throughout the season.

It is definitely easy to highlight the defense and their complete lack of stopping power, but that goes hand in hand with the offense and their inability sustain drives and give the defense a rest. The Redskins are allowing 25.4 points and an average of 415.3 yards per game and the defense has been on the field for 628 plays. Those totals are worst and second worst in the NFL respectively.

The offense, as mentioned, is just as much to blame for the inconsistency the team has displayed.

Offensively, the Redskins have run 542 plays and averaged 331 yards per game, both in the bottom third of the league. The offense is scoring just 20.3 points and producing 17.1 first downs per game. One truly startling number is the league-worst 21.6-percent of third downs converted by the offense.

Luckily, the Titans are not much for superior offensive or defensive production despite the playmakers they have on both sides of the ball.

Aside from Johnson's nine rushing touchdowns, there aren't any big play threats that Redskins have to worry about. Kenny Britt would have been a threat, but is not projected to healthy for Sunday's game. Moss is the next logical player in line to be a big threat, but since becoming a Titan, Moss has just one catch for 26 yards.

The Titans defense has some playmakers in Jason Babin and Michael Griffin, who lead the team in sacks and interceptions respectively.

Looking at numbers alone, the Titans should run away with this game, almost literally as Washington is 25th in the NFL in rushing defense, giving up 128.8 yards per game. Despite the yardage, the Redskins have allowed just six rushing touchdowns on the year. A middle of the league total, but proof that they're at least a little tough in the red zone.

With no consistent threats in the passing game, the Titans may have to rely on Johnson to win them the game.

If the Redskins can force the offense to run through Young, they will have more than just a chance to win. It will fall on the offense to make the most of the opportunities the defense should be able to create with blitzes and pressure off the edge on Young. Even as a mobile quarterback, Young is not the type of threat Vick was for the Eagles and may be the exact match-up the Redskins pass rush needs to regain some composure.

It could be an ugly affair between the 4-5 Redskins and 5-4 Titans. Tennessee has a statistical advantage, but have just one more win than Washington. We could see a Johnson field day or one of those rare games where McNabb decides to show up for the Redskins. It may come down to the wire in typical Redskins fashion, but it is not so typical for them to come out on top in those affairs.