The Tennessee Titans and Los Angeles Chargers will both be looking to avoid a dreaded 0-2 start on Sunday when they meet at Nissan Stadium.
Both teams have a loss in common but went about dropping their respective season-openers in different ways.
Buy Titans TicketsThe Titans’ defense was stellar, outside of the secondary giving up some big plays. But the offense struggled mightily, mostly because of quarterback Ryan Tannehill.
Meanwhile, the Chargers were on point offensively, dropping 34 points on the Miami Dolphins, but their defense didn’t hold up its end of the bargain, surrendering 36 points in the losing effort.
If the Titans get another performance like the one they saw from Tannehill in Week 1, they’ll have no shot to win this game unless the defense can pitch a shutout, which is too much to ask against a good Chargers offense.
But while Tannehill is a major concern going into this one, there’s also reason for optimism with him. Here’s a look at that and more going into Week 2.
Optimism and concern: QB Ryan Tannehill
On one hand, things couldn’t get much worse for Tannehill after a three-pick, zero-touchdown performance in Week 1, which just so happened to be one of the worst games of his entire career.
On the other hand, Tannehill could match or come close to playing that badly again, which would be an utter disaster, not only for Tennessee’s Week 2 chances, but for the outlook of the entire season.
Tannehill has a pretty good bounce-back spot this Sunday against a Chargers defense that is coming off surrendering 466 passing yards and 20 plays of 15-plus yards.
The opportunity is there, but can Tannehill actually seize it?
Concern: The secondary
There’s a few reasons for concern in the secondary.
For starters, Tennessee is dealing with injuries to two starters in Kristian Fulton and Amani Hooker, both of whom are on the injury report this week. Fulton has been limited the first two days with a hamstring issue, while Hooker hasn’t practiced and is in the concussion protocol.
Even if one or both play, Tennessee’s inability to prevent explosive plays is once again an issue, as has been the case for years now.
The Titans gave up nine plays of 15-plus yards in Week 1, and things won’t get any easier on the back end in Week 2 against a potent Chargers passing attack led by quarterback Justin Herbert and wide receivers Keenan Allen and Mike Williams. Los Angeles had 10 plays of 15-plus yards in Week 1.
Optimism: Titans' pass-rush
While things weren’t good on the back end last Sunday, the Titans’ defensive front was quite the opposite, putting pressure on quarterback Derek Carr for most of the game.
Tennessee will need an even better effort this week in order to avoid getting into a shootout the offense is unlikely to win and help out a secondary that has difficult matchups all over and is susceptible to letting up big plays.
We know the run defense is going to be there, but the pass-rush has to get in Herbert’s face and finish more often than not without letting up for a full 60 minutes.
Doing so will help neutralize Los Angeles’ high-powered attack while also hopefully creating turnovers to give Tennessee’s struggling offense some short fields.
Concern: Chargers' edge rushers
The Chargers sport two of the better edge rushers in the NFL in Khalil Mack and Joey Bosa, although it remains to be seen if Bosa will even play considering he hasn’t practice the first two days of the week.
Assuming he plays, this duo has the potential to wreak absolute havoc on the Titans’ offense. It will be up to left tackle Andre Dillard and right tackle Chris Hubbard to keep them at bay.
Hubbard did a great job in Week 1 against Cameron Jordan, but Dillard’s performance against Carl Granderson on the other side left a lot to be desired. Thankfully, Dillard settled in as the game progressed, but he still surrendered six pressures.
If Hubbard and/or Dillard fail in their respective matchups, it’s going to be a long, miserable day for Tannehill and the Titans’ offense.
