The Tennessee Titans and Green Bay Packers will kick off Week 11 of the 2022 NFL season when they meet at Lambeau Field on “Thursday Night Football”.
The Titans come into this game off a 17-10 win over the Denver Broncos and currently sit in first place in the AFC South with a comfortable lead. Also, the Titans own the No. 3 seed in the conference.
It’s pretty astounding where the Titans are at the moment after all the injuries and issues this team has had on offense, but overcoming adversity is nothing new for the Mike Vrabel-led Titans.
The Packers, on the other hand, haven’t able to overcome their ills like the Titans have and sport a 4-6 record after 10 games, but they are coming off their best offensive performance after a 31-28 win over the Dallas Cowboys.
Green Bay is second in the NFC North by a wide margin and are No. 9 in the NFC. That means the Packers have little to no room for error the rest of the way, making every contest a must-win game.
Now, a look at six more things to know about this Week 11 contest.
Packers are favored
According to Tipico Sportsbook, the Packers are three-point favorites over the visiting Titans, with the over/under set at 41.5.
Per Team Rankings, the Titans are 7-2 against the spread but have only hit the over twice. Meanwhile, the Packers are 4-5 against the spread and have hit the over four times.
| Team | Spread | Moneyline | Over/Under |
| TEN | +3 | +145 | O 41.5 (-112) |
| GB | -3 | -170 | U 41.5 (-108) |
Titans' lack of success at Lambeau
The franchise has had one hell of a time trying to win at Lambeau Field since moving to Tennessee. In fact, the Titans/Oilers have just one win in four tries at the historic stadium since 1998.
The Titans’ last win in Green Bay came in 2004, when Steven McNair and Co. notched a 48-27 win on the strength of 148 rushing yards and two touchdowns from running back Chris Brown.
However, the Packers have gotten the better of the Titans by a wide margin in the last two games between these teams at Lambeau Field, with Green Bay winning by a combined score of 95-21, including a 40-14 win in 2020.
Overall, the Titans/Oilers have the all-time advantage, 7-6. Tennessee last beat Green Bay in 2016 in Nashville, 47-25.
Injuries galore
If there’s one thing these two teams have in common, it’s injuries. Both teams sport a whopping 17 players on their respective injury reports this week, and of those 34 players only two (Derrick Henry, Denico Autry) are listed as not injury related.
The Titans in particular have been very snake-bitten by injuries since 2021. The Titans broke the NFL record for most players fielded last season (91), and are currently up to 70 players through nine games in 2022.
Tennessee was missing half of its starting defense in Week 10, yet still managed to put the clamps on Denver.
The good news for Tennessee is that guys like Jeffery Simmons, Amani Hooker and Kristian Fulton are all trending towards playing this week, but Bud Dupree remains a question mark after not practicing the first two days.
The two biggest injury concerns right now for Green Bay are offensive linemen David Bakhtiari and Elgton Jenkins, neither of whom practiced Monday or Tuesday.
With both teams dealing with so many injuries, the last thing either needed was a game with a quick turnaround, but here we are.
Struggling offenses
Before the Packers went off and had their best scoring performance of the 2022 campaign, Aaron Rodgers and Co. were struggling to do much.
After 10 games, the Packers rank 26th in scoring (18.5), 13th in total yards, 16th in passing yards and 12th in rushing yards. Green Bay has also been sloppy with the football, with its 15 giveaways ranking tied for fifth.
Aaron Rodgers has had a lot to do with that, as he’s tossed seven picks and lost four of seven fumbles this season. To put in perspective how rare that is, Rodgers had just seven fumbles combined the last two seasons, and his seven interceptions are the most he’s had in an entire season since 2016.
The Titans are just one spot behind the Packers in scoring (18.4) despite having far worse rankings it total yards (32nd) and passing yards (31st); however, the Titans do have the better rushing attack (9th).
Another issue both teams have is their receiving corps. Rodgers’ struggles with his wideouts have been well-documented, and the Titans are probably even worse off than the Packers.
Titans gunning for Packers record
One thing the Titans have been elite at on offense is scoring touchdowns in the red zone when they actually get there.
The Titans own the highest success rate in the NFL in that category, scoring a touchdown on 76.19 percent of red-zone trips. Interestingly enough, the NFL record is 80 percent, which was achieved by the 2020 Packers.
The Packers aren’t having anywhere near that kind of success when they get in the red zone this season, as Green Bay is finding pay dirt on 51.72 percent of its trips, ranking 23rd in the NFL.
Titans have the edge on defense
The Titans come into this game with one of the best defenses in the NFL that is giving up just 18.7 points per contest, ranking eighth in the league.
Tennessee also sports the No. 2 run defense, but the unit has been giving in terms of total yards (23rd) and passing yards (32nd) allowed per contest.
The Packers, on the other hand, have been a middle-of-the-road unit in terms of points allowed (16th), but have been elite against the pass (3rd). One area Green Bay has struggled is with its run defense, which ranks 26th. That is bad news with Derrick Henry coming to town.
Tennessee’s defensive front is one of the very best in the NFL and is adept at getting after the quarterback. The Packers are going to need their best effort upfront if they want to keep Rodgers clean on Thursday night.
