The Tennessee Titans (3-4) and Pittsburgh Steelers (4-3) are just hours away from kicking off Week 9 of the 2023 NFL season at Acrisure Stadium on Thursday night.
The Titans enter this game looking to snap a few skids. Not only are they winless away from Nissan Stadium (0-4) in 2023, but Tennessee is also 0-4 in its last four contests against the Steelers.
However, in order to snap those skids, the Titans will have to win a game in a hostile environment with a rookie quarterback in Will Levis who is making his second career start in prime time.
If the Titans want to leave Pittsburgh with a win, they must do these three things:
Get the run game going
The Steelers sport the sixth-worst run defense in the NFL entering this game but are set to get a major reinforcement in defensive lineman Cameron Heyward, who hasn’t played since Week 1.
After seeing Will Levis bombing the ball all over the field in Week 8, the Steelers may not sell out to stop the run as much as they normally would, especially now that Heyward is back.
If so, that’s something the Titans must try and exploit, but regardless, they need to get the ground game going.
Doing so will slow down the pass-rush and force the Steelers to bring extra help from the secondary upfront. In addition, it’ll set up the play-action, where Levis thrived last week.
The Titans dialed up play action on 52% of Will Levis's dropbacks in Week 8. Two of his four scores came on these plays. He averaged 9.1 yards per attempt and threw for 118 yards.
— Kyle Dvorchak (@kyletweetshere) November 1, 2023
Play-action and deep shots might be a bit tougher this week considering the Steelers’ talented pass-rush, but the Titans are still going to try. When they don’t or if the offensive line proves incapable of holding up its end of the bargain, our second key becomes crucial.
Get rid of the ball quickly
While the Titans will still try to take shots down the field like they did last week, that could be a very risky proposition this week thanks to a Steelers pass-rush that is tied for the 11th-most sacks in the NFL.
We already know the Steelers have a generational talent in T.J. Watt and an elite interior lineman in Heyward, but across from Watt is a talented pass-rusher in Alex Highsmith, and Markus Golden is a formidable EDGE, as well.
It’s going to be a tall order for Tennessee’s offensive line to keep all those guys in check (and especially Watt), but offensive coordinator Tim Kelly can make things easier on everyone by getting the ball out of Levis’ hand quickly.
A relentless pass-rush
Because of a suspect secondary, the Titans’ defense typically lives and dies with the pass-rush, something we saw last week against the Falcons.
In the first half, Tennessee’s group upfront dominated and tallied five of its six sacks en route to giving up just three points. In the second half, the pass-rush wasn’t nearly as good and the Falcons started moving the ball at will, with the end result being a 20-point half and a very close game.
The Titans’ pass-rush needs to put together a full 60 minutes this time around in order to avoid leaving this game in the hands of the secondary, which will make life much easier on the Steelers’ 29th-ranked scoring offense.
