Four things to ponder

Here are four things to watch out for heading in today's game between the Titans and Panthers at Bank of America Stadium (1 p.m. ET / CBS, Panthers -3.5):

The ground game: Carolina's rush defense is surrendering 5.0 yards per carry (31st in the NFL) and 135.1 yards per game (27th). Part of that could be because of the wild day San Francisco enjoyed last week when the Panthers surrendered 6.1 yars per carry en route to a plus-200-yard day for the 49ers. The biggest challenge for Carolina? Stopping running back Derrick Henry of the Titans, who had 16 carries for 75 yards and 4.7 YPC last week against Tampa Bay’s then-top-rated run defense. Henry is averaging 72.6 yards per game.

Momentum: Or rather who will have momentum? The Titans have won two straight, while Carolina is coming off that lopsided defeat in San Francisco that snapped its four-game win streak. But the Panthers will be at home for their third home game this season and the first since beat Jacksonville, 34-27, on October 6. Since then, Carolina traveled to London for a game and had a week off before last week's jaunt to the West Coast. We'll see today if the loss to the undefeated 49ers was more of a speedbump and the Panthers get back on track. Or will it be more like last year's 52-21 loss at Pittsburgh that derailed a 6-2 start and began a seven-game losing streak?

Protection: The Titans' modest surge has coincided with the insertion of Ryan Tannehill as the starting quarterback. Tannehill went 21-33, for 193 yards and 3 TDs last week with a 109.8 QB rating – giving him back-to-back weeks with a QB rating higher than 100 while completing 73.1 percent of his passes. However, he was sacked three times last week and the Titans have surrendered and NFL-worst 34 so far. The Panthers are hardly better, having allowed its quarterback to be taken down 23 times (T-23) -- including seven sacks surrendered last week. The flip side is that both teams are good at getting to the quarterback on defense. Carolina is second in the NFL with 30 sacks, while Tennessee's 22 sacks are tied for ninth.

Another weapon: Today could mark Greg Dortch's NFL debut, as the rookie from Wake Forest is active for the first time since Carolina signed him off of the Jets' practice squad up last month. Dortch was picked up to handle punt return and kickoff return duties that where vacated when Carolina cut Ray-Ray McCloud during the off week. McCloud averaged 21.8 return yards per kick return and 8.2 per punt return. But he fumbled twice (and lost one) during a Week 2 loss to Tampa Bay and he then fumbled during their rematch in London. The 5-foot-9, 178-pound Dortch was weapon for Wake Forest, earning All-America honors as a special teams player. As a receiver, he caught 89 passes for 1,078 yards and eight touchdowns as a redshirt sophomore in 2018 before turning pro -- something that must have offensive coordinator Norv Turner's wheels turning.