Cowboys at Titans: Top 10 Predictions - Here Come 'The Ball-Hunters!'
The Dallas Cowboys are in Nashville tonight for "Thursday Night Football,'' and the Tennessee Titans will be present, too, and chasing the same.
But there, it could be argued, the similarities end.
Fish's Top 10 Predictions for a game that has meaning to only one of the combatants ...
10) Dallas still harbors hope of a second straight NFC East title. How does that happen? With the 11-4 Cowboys winning their final two games while 13-2 Philadelphia (which hosts the Saints and Giants to close the regular season) does the same.
“It’s fun,” said Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott said of the chase - and the road wins likely needed. "With the way this team is built, we’re fine if it’s on the road, if it’s in different elements. Our communication is great. It’s not daunting at all. It’s fun.”
Meanwhile, the only way the Titans (7-8) can win a third consecutive AFC South title is by beating the Jaguars in Jacksonville in Week 18. ... rendering this game meaningless to them.
So ...
9) There is wisdom in coach Mike Vrabel opting to rest as many of his Titans as possible ... and they ought to be accustomed to using different bodies, given that the Titans lead the NFL for a second straight year having used 82 different players, including 27 different starters on defense and last week, a season-high 10 rookies.
Quarterback Ryan Tannehill is hurt and will not play; that's not a coach's decision, as rookie Malik Willis - with his throwing woes - was to be getting his second consecutive start and fourth this season.
Not that Tennessee wants to forfeit, but as Prescott said, “If they want to roll us the ball a couple of times and let us go from there, I’m all for that. We’ll take it however they want to do it.”
8) Is there a case for playing Derrick Henry?
"I'll do whatever coach wants,'' the rushing star said, and he's been in this situation before, oddly, and Vrabel sat him (in late 2019).
Anything different here?
It's worth noting that Henry (who does have a sore hip and is listed as "doubtful'') needs only 71 yards and two TDs rushing to become the first player in NFL history with at least 1,500 yards rushing and 15 rushing TDs in three different seasons over the course of a career.
But obviously, as with Dallas running back Tony Pollard (out with his sore thigh), who is 12 yards away from his first-ever 1,000-yard campaign ...
The big picture matters more.
So Dallas is reading UDFA rookie Malik Davis to help behind Ezekiel Elliott. And the Titans will use guys named "Hassan Haskins'' and "Julius Chestnut.''
7) Don't look now, but who's hot? Dallas, for all the hand-wringing and teeth-gnashing around here, has won five of six, including of course the 10-point comeback last week for a 40-34 win to keep Philadelphia from clinching home-field advantage throughout the postseason in the NFC. ... and to keep the Cowboys in that conversation.
The hottest individual in the bunch? That might be CeeDee Lamb, who enters Week 17 with 100-plus yards and/or a touchdown in six of Dallas’ last eight games.
We predicted at the start of the year that Lamb might lead the planet in targets and now? He's top-four in catches (91) and top-six in receiving yards (1,207) and ... Tennessee's secondary allows the second-most catches (215), third-most yards (2,846) and second-most touchdowns (19) to receivers.
Oh, and Tennessee can't cover tight ends, either.
6) Who's not hot? The "contending'' Titans are on a five-game skid.
5) Who's clutch? Led by Prescott and a takeaway-mad defense, the Cowboys are now are outscoring opponents 127-61 in the fourth quarter.
Early or late, as long as Dak doesn't throw a pick-6 (ha ha) Prescott is facing a vulnerable Titans defense that has allowed the second-most passing TDs (26) in the NFL.
4) Who's not clutch? The Titans are averaging a ridiculously low 2.4 points in fourth quarters this season as they've been outscored 71-37.
And last week in the fourth in a loss to lowly Houston? They were shut out.
3) Turnover differential is everything. Any coach will tell you that. How does that apply here? Last week, the Titans turned the ball over on three of their final four possessions. ... and now comes the Dallas buzzsaw, which leads the NFL with 30 takeaways.
“We've got some guys on this team that are just ball-hunters,” team leader DeMarcus Lawrence said.
2) Sack time? Much has been made of the Dallas drought here. And while it's true that the Cowboys have but one sack in the past three games ... the Cowboys are still top-three in the NFL in that department.
There are in part game-plan reasons for the drop-off, as noted by Defensive Player of the Year candidate Micah Parsons, who is fifth in the league with his 13.
Said Micah, getting a bit defensive: “I promise you, sacking the quarterback’s not that easy, especially when they’re game-planning against it and they don’t want you to get going ... But if anybody wants to take my job and step in my shoes, you’re more than welcome. I’ll hand it over and see how you do.”
No thanks. Here's a better idea: Solve the problem against a Tennessee team that with have-nots at QB is unlikely to be able to figure out the quick-release QB formula that teams have been using to survive Dallas pressure ... and victimize the Titans, who have allowed 18 sacks over the past four games.
1) Fish Score Prediction: Cowboys 27, Titans 10.
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