The Tennessee Titans and Tampa Bay Buccaneers enter their Week 10 contest in the same boat, with both teams on the outside looking in for the playoffs and sporting a 3-5 record.
Tennessee once again failed to string together back-to-back wins in Week 9 with a 20-16 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Meanwhile, the Bucs dropped their fourth straight game with a 39-37 defeat at the hands of the Houston Texans and a historic performance by quarterback C.J. Stroud.
If either team is going to turn its season around in the second half, a win in Week 10 is crucial — and that’s especially true for Tennessee, a team that is in a worse position, both in terms of its standing in the playoff picture (14th) and division (three games back of the Jacksonville Jaguars).
Ahead of the contest, the Titans have no shortage of questions marks on both sides of the ball. Here’s a look at seven of them:
Will Chris Hubbard play?
The update on Hubbard, who missed the Week 9 game due to a concussion suffered in Week 8, was positive on Tuesday, as head coach Mike Vrabel said the veteran right tackle would practice this week, although he remains in the concussion protocol for now.
That puts him on track to be cleared ahead of Sunday, although concussions can be very tricky, so don’t fully pencil him in just yet.
If Hubbard can’t play, the Titans will have voids at both tackle spots, as Nicholas Petit-Frere won’t be suiting up due to a shoulder injury that will likely knock him out for the rest of the season.
Dillon Radunz, who has played well in 2023, would definitely fill one of those spots. Tennessee’s choice to fill the other will come down to Andre Dillard, who was a disaster once again in Week 9, or Jaelyn Duncan, who played the first offensive snaps of his career last week.
Quite frankly, give me Duncan at right tackle with Radunz at left in that scenario, and it isn’t particularly close.
Who starts at left tackle?
Assuming Hubbard plays, that leaves the Titans with one spot to fill along the offensive line, which comes at left tackle now that NPF is on the shelf.
The Titans will have four options to deploy in Skoronski, Radunz, Dillard or Duncan, although it doesn’t appear the Titans intend on moving Skoronski right now.
Vrabel doubles down on Peter Skoronski being a guard for the #Titans . That remains the plan for the foreseeable future
— Ben Arthur (@benyarthur) November 7, 2023
With Skoronski seemingly out of the picture, the choice from there is simple: Radunz should get the nod.
The versatile lineman has been good when called upon at multiple spots this season and has earned the right to get a look on the left side, even though he only has 77 career snaps there.
If that doesn’t work out, Duncan should get a shot next. As far as Dillard is concerned, he shouldn’t see another snap, barring desperation because of injury.
Can the Titans protect Will Levis?
The most impressive thing about Levis’ showing in Week 9 was his ability to hang in the pocket and make plays despite constant duress, with the Steelers tallying a whopping 26 pressures.
If the Titans can protect their rookie quarterback, he’ll have a great chance to put up big numbers just like he did in Week 8, as the Bucs sport the second-worst pass defense in the NFL.
However, good pass protection is never a given with this group, even in a matchup against a Bucs pass-rush that isn’t anywhere near as potent as the Steelers’. Tampa bay has tallied just 21 sacks over eight games.
Getting Hubbard back would be a huge boost, as would benching the liability that is Dillard for Radunz, who has earned the right to get the start with solid play throughout the season.
Will Sean Murphy-Bunting play?
With the way the secondary has played overall this season, the Titans can ill-afford to not have Murphy-Bunting, who exited the Week 9 game after just one series due to a thumb injury he was battling prior to the contest.
While Kristian Fulton has been coming on strong of late, Murphy-Bunting has easily been one of the team’s best cornerbacks this season, along with Roger McCreary, who is on track to return after a two-game absence.
#Titans Mike Vrabel on Roger McCreary and Sean Murphy-Bunting:
Roger should be good to go. Sean won’t be out there today but we’ll see how it goes.
— Easton Freeze (@eastonfreeze) November 7, 2023
Not having SMB will force the Titans to go to Tre Avery, which is less than ideal.
But if SMB can suit up and play at a high level, Tennessee’s secondary has a chance to be much better moving forward, assuming Fulton can continue on his current trajectory and McCreary can maintain his level of play.
Which version of the pass-rush will show up?
The Titans’ pass-rush has been downright dominant at times, with the game against the Cincinnati Bengals and first half against the Atlanta Falcons as shining examples.
However, there have been far too many instances of the group being non-existent, which is something we saw again in Week 9. When that happens, opposing quarterbacks usually have their way with Tennessee’s suspect secondary.
The Buccaneers have some impressive weapons in their passing game, with Chris Godwin and Mike Evans headlining the team’s list of pass-catchers. It might be a long day for Tennessee’s pass defense if the pass-rush doesn’t get home and the secondary is forced to cover them for extended periods.
Tampa Bay has done a great job protecting the quarterback this year, with the offensive line surrendering just 13 sacks over eight games. The pass-rush will have its work cut out for it on Sunday.
Will Tennessee's run defense get back on track?
After sporting an elite run defense the past two seasons, and for the first four games of this year, Tennessee’s group upfront has struggled mightily over the last four contests.
And, believe it or not, the Titans’ pass defense (16th) now ranks better than the run defense (19th) in terms of yards allowed per game, something that was unthinkable earlier this year.
While the Bucs sport the third-worst rushing attack in the NFL, we’ve seen the Titans make poor ground games look good. They cannot allow that to happen again in Week 10.
Can the Titans get a road win?
With the Week 9 loss, the Titans are now 0-5 away from Nissan Stadium this season when you factor in the loss to the Baltimore Ravens in London.
If the Titans want to turn their season around in the second half, they must start winning games on the road. The Bucs have not been good at home in 2023, as they sport a 1-3 record at Raymond James Stadium.
