Football is finally back and the Tennessee Titans will open their 2022 season against the New York Giants at home in Nashville, with kickoff set for 3:25 p.m CT.
Check out our post with all the relevant information you need before the game, including the television schedule, how to stream, injuries, betting odds, and more right here.
This is the first meeting between these two teams since 2018. Since then, both have moved in opposite directions.
The Titans have become a perennial winner, securing six straight seasons above .500, including four trips to the playoffs, one trip to the AFC Championship Game, and back-to-back division titles.
Meanwhile, the Giants have been a disaster since 2016, putting together five consecutive losing seasons, including three last-place finishes. New head coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen are in Year 1 of attempting to dig out of the hole New York has been in.
If the Titans want to start their season off right, they’ll have to do the following three things.
Feed The King
Leaning on Henry would be nothing new for the Titans, but doing so has never been more important than it is in Week 1.
The Titans are introducing several new pieces in the passing attack, and after not getting any time together in the preseason with quarterback Ryan Tannehill, a slow start through the air is very possible.
Potentially making things more difficult for the Titans’ passing attack is the fact that rain is in the forecast for Sunday.
Getting Henry going will make things much easier for Tannehill and Co. than it otherwise would be. The Giants will be forced to bring extra help upfront, opening things up down the field and setting up the play-action.
New York sported a bottom-10 run defense in 2021, and that doesn’t figure to change much, if at all. Henry should eat and carry this offense, which will allow the passing offense more time to find its footing.
Attack Giants' outside CBs
One area of the Giants’ defense we’d like to see Tannehill attack is the outside cornerback spots, where the Giants lost their No. 1 from 2021, James Bradberry.
Former Titans cornerback Adoree’ Jackson is taking over the top cornerback spot on New York’s defense, and while he has impressed with Big Blue since joining the team last season, Titans fans know how inconsistent he can be.
Adding to that, there’s a major question mark on the other side in fellow starter Aaron Robinson. There’s no question the Jackson-Robinson duo is a downgrade from last year’s Bradberry-Jackson duo.
Two areas of the secondary where the Giants are strong are at safety with Xavier McKinney, and at slot cornerback with Darnay Holmes, who Dan Benton of Giants Wire raved about in our behind enemy lines Q&A.
Like Adoree’ Jackson, [Holmes] had a stellar summer and appears poised to make a significant leap in his development and potentially establish himself as one of the better inside corners in football. And I’m not overstating that — Holmes has legitimate superstar potential.
Tennessee might find yards hard to come by over the middle and deep down the field, but they should be attacking Jackson, and to a greater extent, Robinson, as much as possible.
Contain Saquon Barkley and Daniel Jones
If the Titans are going to be successful on defense, they must force quarterback Daniel Jones to win this game with his arm. They won’t be able to do that if he and running back Saquon Barkley are running all over the field.
Yes, Barkley has been on a downslide since his incredible rookie season thanks to injuries and overall inconsistency, but he’s still a major threat whenever the ball is in his hands.
Barkley seems to be extra motivated going into 2022, also.
“[Expletive] everybody. I’m ready to go crazy,” Barkley said in response to the people who are doubting him.
The good news for the Titans is they sported the No. 2 run defense in the NFL last season and are returning all but one member of their 2021 front-seven (Harold Landry is out for the season with a torn ACL).
Even without Landry, Tennessee’s front should still be very stout, led by run-stuffers like defensive linemen Jeffery Simmons and Denico Autry, and linebackers Zach Cunningham and David Long.
However, keeping Barkley in check also involves work in pass coverage and not allowing him to be a dump-off option for Jones, which is where Long likely comes into play.
Barkley will get his receptions, but the Titans have to make sure they aren’t game-breaking plays when he does.
While he did a much better job of taking care of the football in 2021, Jones has been susceptible to turnovers during his career, which is another reason to want to keep him in the pocket.
Getting to Jones will be difficult with New York’s beefed-up offensive line and Jones’ ability to escape. The Titans have to make sure they don’t over-pursue in the pass-rush and keep Jones in front of them.
