The Tennessee Titans are coming off a debilitating loss to the Buffalo Bills and are in desperation mode. Their anemic offense will now be without wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, who was traded away earlier in the week.
Even their top-ranked defense will have a massive hole, as the team traded starting linebacker Ernest Jones as well. None of this sets up well for a game against one of the most complete and explosive teams in the NFL: The Detroit Lions.
It’s hard for fans to remain optimistic right now. The team is losing, appears headed toward a rebuild, and questions about the coaching staff continue to arise.
Still, for Titans fans, there are some slight reasons for optimism in Week 8, and here are three of them.
Series dominance
The Titans have history on their side as they travel north to face the Lions. The Titans are undefeated against the Lions since the team relocated to Tennessee in 1997. During that span, they are 6-0, last beating the Lions in 2020. The last time the Titans had history on their side was against the Miami Dolphins, where they continued their undefeated Monday Night Football streak for their lone win of the season. It’s not much, but it’s something.
Trap game emotions
Looking at the schedule, this game may be set up perfectly for the Titans. The Lions are coming off a huge divisional win, knocking off the undefeated Minnesota Vikings, and next week will be facing division rival Green Bay in a critical NFC North battle. Trap games are more prevalent in the NCAA, but they do happen in the NFL and this game sets up as a prime example. Football is an emotional game and the NFL does live up to the “any given Sunday” mantra every week. Titans fans hope that happens this week.
Time of possession
It’s a subtle thing that in the grand scheme of things is often misleading, but in this case, it may be one facet of the game for the Titans to focus on. Even with all of the offensive struggles, the Titans have done a good job of maintaining a time-of-possession advantage. Even in their Week 7 debacle against the Bills, they held a six-minute advantage.
With likely starter quarterback Mason Rudolph having a full week of first-team reps, the offense could continue that trend this week. When you couple that with a stout Titans defense taking on a Lions offense down a significant playmaker with wide receiver Jameson Williams being suspended, it could come into play.
