Rodgers, Henry Power Offensive Juggernauts
GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Tennessee Titans are No. 1 in the NFL in scoring with 436 points. The Green Bay Packers are No. 3 with 434 points.
The Titans have the best running back on the planet in Derrick Henry, who is running away with the rushing title. Henry has more rushing yards after contact than all but Minnesota’s Dalvin Cook have rushing yards period. Not just a one-man show, quarterback Ryan Tannehill is fourth in passer rating.
The Packers have one of the best quarterbacks in the history of football in Aaron Rodgers, who is having a blast-from-the-past season and ranks No. 1 in passer rating, touchdown passes, touchdown percentage and interception percentage. Not just a one-man show, Aaron Jones is fourth in the NFL in rushing.
That makes Sunday night’s game at Lambeau Field not just a battle of heavyweights but a battle between a pair of knockout artists.
Tennessee’s been throwing haymakers the past five weeks with a ridiculous 37.4 points per game. That includes 45 points at Indianapolis and 46 points at home against Detroit. That’s better production than the Packers posted in recent matchups against those teams.
“They’re the No. 1 scoring offense in the league for a reason,” coach Matt LaFleur said of the Titans’ offense he coordinated in 2018. “They’re up there in every statistical category. It’s a very cohesive unit and they all play well off each other. The run game marries with the pass game. So, if you take one away, then you’ve got to worry about the other one. It’s going to be a great challenge for our defense. It’s going to test us and we’ll see where we’re at.”
Green Bay’s four-game streak of 31-plus points came to a crashing halt during a lackluster second half last week against Carolina.
“We trust our defense, but we really want to score every time we get it,” Rodgers said. “I think there’s been games where we’ve been close to that. We’ve really gotten on a roll. It just comes down to us, our performance. A lot of times we’re our own biggest enemy.”
With Rodgers’ eight-game streak of 100-plus passer ratings snapped last week, the longest current streak belongs to Tannehill. He’s got 11 touchdowns vs. two interceptions the past five games.
With Tannehill streaking to give the Titans a truly diverse attack, the Packers’ prime playmakers know they’re going to have to return to peak efficiency.
“There’s a little bit of added pressure as far as just knowing what a team is about, but the way we approach it is to go out and put points on the board and score every single drive,” receiver Davante Adams said. “Obviously, you can have a little bit of heightened awareness, but I think the way we play this game, the standard we hold ourselves to as an offense and, really, as a team, we know we’ve got to hold our own and try to make it easier for the other side of the ball when they’re out there. We don’t want to put the defense in a position where they have to have a stop every single time. Games like last week won’t be able to fly as far as production.”
Both high-flying offenses will be facing mediocre defenses. Henry will be running against a Packers defense that is No. 14 in points allowed, though it’s yielded just 20.3 points the last four games. Rodgers will be throwing against a defense that is No. 21 in points allowed but has taken away the football.
“Like Mike Sherman said my rookie year, that side of the ball gets paid, too, and there’s some great players on that side of the ball this week,” Rodgers said. “It’s nothing against those guys. It just comes down to execution on our side to get ourselves in position to be efficient. If we just tighten up some things, I think we should be back to normal what we need to do. We know we’re playing against their defense, but we know how talented their offense is. We’ve got to start fast.”
