The Tennessee Titans (2-3) will play their second international game in five years when they head to London to take on the Baltimore Ravens (3-2) in Week 6.
Tennessee is looking to bounce back with a win going into the bye after another disappointing performance in Week 5, this time against the Indianapolis Colts.
Buy Titans TicketsJust when the Titans seem to be figuring things out like they did against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 4, they throw up a stinker against a division rival, once again showing how inconsistent they can be.
On the other sideline, the Ravens are coming off a loss and have been losers in two of their last three after starting off 2-0. Baltimore will hope to get a better showing from its receivers, who dropped seven passes last week.
With all the issues the Titans had last week, there are no shortage of burning questions going into this matchup in London. Here are eight of them.
Are Titans making the right travel decision?
The Titans and Ravens chose different approaches to traveling to London, as Baltimore is already across the pond after leaving on Monday morning, giving themselves more time to get acclimated to the time change.
Meanwhile the Titans won’t set off until Thursday night. Head coach Mike Vrabel explained why on Monday.
“Get over there, get adjusted, have a Friday practice, clean up a lot of the stuff that we did,” Vrabel said, per Jim Wyatt. “And then have our normal preparation for the game.
“I’ve talked to a lot of people who have done it both ways, and that’s how we did it the last time and I felt we were ready to go, it just didn’t end the way we wanted it to.”
The game Vrabel references, of course, is the 2018 contest against the Los Angeles Chargers in which Tennessee lost 20-19 after missing a two-point conversion is the closing minute.
If you ask the Buffalo Bills, who traveled to London in the same fashion as the Titans last week, they’d probably do it different after looking completely off in a loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Hopefully Tennessee doesn’t suffer the same fate, otherwise it might be time to take a different approach to international games moving forward.
Will Kristian Fulton get benched?
Vrabel didn’t rule out changes to the secondary, and more specifically when it comes to his No. 1 (or supposed No. 1) cornerback, Kristian Fulton, who has struggled mightily this season and is coming off yet another bad game.
“That’s why everybody is here, and (sitting Fulton is) something that could happen,” Vrabel said, per Jim Wyatt. “We’ll see where things go the rest of the day in our meetings as we work toward Baltimore.”
If Fulton isn’t benched, his leash will be short.
“(Fulton’s issues) better be correctable quickly,” Vrabel said. “Would hope that we wouldn’t be having these conversations about putting our eyes in the backfield and grabbing guys down the field.”
If the Titans do decide to make a change, they could move Roger McCreary to the outside and either try Fulton in the slot or give safety Amani Hooker or defensive back Elijah Molden a look there. Tre Avery on the boundary is yet another option if the Titans don’t want to move McCreary to the perimeter.
Will Treylon Burks return?
While it was nice to see DeAndre Hopkins go off en route to his best game as a Titan in Week 5, it wasn’t so nice to see no other receivers contribute, with Nick Westbrook-Ikhine’s one catch for nine yards being the total sum of Tennessee’s receiver production outside of Hopkins.
Sure, Burks hasn’t been anything close to consistent this season with just 99 yards in three games, 70 of which came on one catch, but the Titans could use as many options in the passing game as possible.
When asked about Burks earlier in the week, Vrabel said “we’ll see” and said he hopes to see the second-year wideout running around at practice this week. If I was a betting man, I’d say he’s on the field in Week 6.
Will Teair Tart play?
I don’t think it’s a big coincidence that the Titans’ run defense was at its worst in quite some time against the Colts in the same week defensive lineman Teair Tart was absent.
After all, Tart is a big piece (literally and physically) of what the Titans do upfront with his ability to plug interior gaps. There’s no doubt his stock increased last week without even playing.
“I hope so,” Vrabel said of the possibility Tart returns. “But it’s early in the week, I don’t know.”
Can the red zone offense rebound?
One of the more frustrating things about the Titans’ loss last week was that the passing attack was actually good between the 20s, yet Tennessee couldn’t finish their drives.
The Titans were 1-for-4 in the red zone in Week 5 and are now 1-for-9 in that area in their three losses this season.
Tennessee has been in the top 10 in red zone success rate in each of the last four years. In 2023, the offense is near the bottom of the league, ranking 29th, according to Team Rankings.
That must get better, and not just for this week, but for the rest of the season.
Will the defense bounce back?
Not only was Tennessee’s secondary and run defense atrocious last week, but the pass-rush provided no pressure upfront, allowing Gardner Minshew and Co. to do practically whatever they wanted.
The run defense will be fine, especially after Tart gets back, but we can’t say the same for the secondary. That’s why the pass-rush has to be at its best for 60 minutes every week, otherwise the secondary gets exposed.
Will Nicholas Petit-Frere suit up?
After being a hot topic last week following his coming off suspension, tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere was inactive. And, it doesn’t sound like he’ll be getting his starting job back when he’s ready to play.
“(Petit-Frere) has been out a while, so he’ll have to earn a spot back onto the offensive line and what we’re trying to do,” Vrabel said, per Wyatt. “So, he had a little bit of practice last week, and he’ll have more this week.”
While he’s unlikely to start if he dresses, Petit-Frere would give Tennessee more depth upfront.
Will the rushing attack find its footing?
The Titans’ normally dominant rushing attack ranks 18th in the NFL. It has been especially tough sledding for Derrick Henry, who is averaging just 3.8 yards per carry and has realistically had one good game in five.
A lot of that has to do with both the blocking upfront and the play-calling, which has been predictable far too often, leading to Henry running into stacked boxes the offensive line isn’t good enough to overcome.
Sure, the Titans could give rookie Tyjae Spears more looks in the hopes that he can make more things happen, but he’ll likely suffer the same fate as Henry unless the run-blocking upfront improves.
