Broncos vs. Titans: 5 Things to Expect on Sunday

In a battle between two mediocre, 1-1 teams, the Broncos finally play an away game as they visit Tennessee to play the Titans in Week 3.

The Broncos are coming off a win against the Bengals, in which their roster was depleted with injuries. Before the end of the first half, Denver only had two healthy receivers. This pressed Tim Tebow into receiver duties.

To demonstrate just how injured the Broncos were on Sunday, they ran the majority of their offensive plays in the I-Formation.

The Broncos were also playing without their best defensive starters. Champ Bailey, Elvis Dumervil and DJ Williams were sidelined due to injury.

Meanwhile, the Titans are coming off an upset victory against Baltimore, in which they dominated the game from start to finish.

The key to this game, amongst many, is how will the Broncos run defense stack up against Chris Johnson?

These are five things to expect on Sunday.

The Broncos Will Limit Chris Johnson Enough

When I say "enough," I mean that the Broncos will contain him "enough" to have a chance at winning this game. I can't see this game being a blowout in favor of either team.

Chris Johnson has had a terrible start to the season after receiving his contract extension. He has rushed for 77 yards in two games. It's safe to say he won't be eclipsing 2,000 yards in 2011.

However, despite his first two games, Johnson still remains one of the top two or three running backs in the NFL.

The Broncos are still terrible at stopping the run. They rank 28th in the NFL this year, allowing 131 yards per game.

Dumervil and Williams are questionable, but both practiced on Thursday. Expect both to play through injuries.

The Broncos D should be able to restrain Johnson from having a huge game. Will he likely approach 100 yards? Yes. But Denver should be able to stop the big runs that killed them so much in 2010.

Cedric Benson is no Johnson, but the Broncos held Benson to under 4.0 yards a carry without three of their best defensive players.

Clearly, the Broncos run defense is not the Steelers run defense. However, it is improved from last year, and they should be able to limit Johnson enough to keep this a relatively low-scoring game.

Matt Hasselbeck Will Throw the Ball...A Lot

Hasselbeck has thrown the ball at least 34 times in his first two starts with the Titans. He threw the ball 42 times in the Titans' upset victory over the Baltimore Ravens.

It has been impressive that Hasselbeck has had a "resurgence" of sorts with Tennessee, but don't expect that to continue as the season wears on.

Eventually, the 36-year-old Hasselbeck, who threw for more INTs than TDs last year, will surface. Especially if Chris Johnson can't get it going in the run game.

The NFL has shifted into a vertical passing league, where you now often see mediocre QBs such as Hasselbeck, throw the ball more than the team runs it.

Unless you have QBs such as Brady and Brees, that is not a recipe for success.

Expect the Titans to get pass-heavy with Hasselbeck versus the Broncos on Sunday.

Denver's pass defense was pitiful last week against Andy Dalton, giving up over 300 yards in passing. Do I expect that to happen again on Sunday with Hasselbeck? Yes.

But as I said last week about Dalton, I'd prefer the Broncos to give up yardage through the air with a mediocre QB such as Hasselbeck, rather than being gashed through the ground game with Johnson.

When a team gives up passing yardage through the air, yet remains strong enough in the red zone to hold teams to field goals, it's more of a positive for the defense than getting worn down by a bruising running game.

Denver was abused by Dalton through the air, shut down Benson, and won the game.

Denver shut down Jason Campbell in Week 1, holding him to 105 yards passing yet was gashed through the run game for 190 yards and lost.

Denver also won the time of possession battle in Week 2 against the Bengals. They did not in Week 1 against the Raiders.

Denver shouldn't give up any more than one or two TDs to Hasselbeck. That would be a victory for the Broncos.

Denver Will Rely on the Run Game Early

Knowshon Moreno is questionable. Let's be honest here. Even if he can play, Willis McGahee will get the start.

McGahee had over 100 yards rushing in Week 2 against the Bengals. Although he only averaged 3.6 yards a carry, he kept the chains moving. He wore down the Bengals defense by consistently breaking tackles and using a power-style running game.

The Broncos will do the same on Sunday against the Titans.

John Fox is notorious for his heavy reliance upon the running game.

The Broncos ran the ball more times than they threw it against the Bengals.

They will do the same against the Titans if this is a close game. The only way Denver goes into "Josh McDaniels attack mode," where they run the ball on first down and predictably throw the football on second and third down, is if Tennessee gets off to a huge lead.

The Titans Defense Will Limit Denver's Offense

Lost in the Titans' 1-1 start to the season has been their stout defense. Tennessee is giving up only 14.5 points per game.

Ray Rice only had 43 yards rushing, while Joe Flacco struggled with 197 yards passing on 32 attempts for one score and two INTs.

Kyle Orton had a solid game against the Raiders, and had a very good game against the Bengals.

Orton should struggle to find it as easy against a much better defense such as the Titans. With Orton missing Eddie Royal, Julius Thomas, Demaryius Thomas and potentially Brandon Lloyd, Denver will not have an easy time moving the chains in the passing game. Especially if the running game falters.

Expect Tebow to be in for a lot of plays on Sunday, as the Broncos try to establish a vertical passing attack any way they can.

The Broncos Will Lose to the Titans

I do expect this game to be close. I do expect the Broncos to limit Johnson. I do expect Hasselbeck to have a mediocre game.

However, this game won't be pretty on either side.

I like McGahee running the football for the Broncos a lot better than when Moreno runs the football for the Broncos, but he's not an explosive runner. McGahee won't have a "huge" game to be able to take control of this game for Denver.

Orton will struggle. Is it likely he throws for a lot of passing yards? Yes. But if he's throwing for 300 yards on 40 passing attempts, you know Denver is likely to lose that game.

I can't see either of these teams scoring more than 21-24 points each. This game will come down to who plays worse. Both offenses won't look pretty, and I do believe the Titans defense will play better than the Broncos defense.

Denver should commit one more turnover than the Titans, which should be the deciding factor in this game.

As much as it pains me to say it, Tennessee Titans over Denver Broncos, 24-17.