Something is not right if the 49ers fail to do this against the Titans

This will determine the winner.

Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images

The Tennessee Titans' defense is one of the worst in football. However, there is a specific way to beat them. If you cannot throw the ball, you may struggle with this group. However, if your passing attack is in sync, you will blow out the Titans. Week 15 will be a good test of how good the San Francisco 49ers' passing attack looks. 

The San Francisco 49ers must pass to beat the Tennessee Titans

The Titans' front is strong. Jeffery Simmons is clearly their best player, and he may be an All-Pro this season. T’Vondre Sweat was a high draft pick who is panning out, and Sebastian Joseph-Day is a situational run defender who is good at his job. With linebacker Cedric Gray taking a step forward, they are tough when it comes to run defense. 

The issue is that none of this carries over to the pass defense. Gray is much worse against the pass than the run. Meanwhile, at cornerback, they expected to play Jarvis Brownlee, Roger McCreary, and L’Jarius Sneed as their top three options. 

Brownlee is now on the New York Jets, McCreary is on the Los Angeles Rams, and Sneed is on the Injured Reserve. Now, they are leaning on Darrell Baker, who has mainly been depth, Jaylen Armour-Davis, who was cut by the Baltimore Ravens, and a rookie, Kevin Winston, who was a safety at Penn State.

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When you break down who is up front and who is in the back end, it makes sense why they are better in one area than the other. Since Week 5, the Titans are 30th in expected points allowed and 27th in success rate against the pass. Meanwhile, they are 9th in EPA and 5th in success rate when facing the run. 

The 49ers can run the ball, but it is not their strong suit this season. You can expect Christian McCaffrey to have another low yards per attempt metric this week. However, they should be able to do whatever they want through the air. 

The 49ers need Brock Purdy to get back to his best football, and this may be the best possible opponent to face after the bye week. Ricky Pearsall has not looked the same, and it may be fair to say if he does not have a big game this week, then something is wrong. If the passing attack does not go off, you have to wonder what the ceiling will be for this offense.