Titans Provide Interesting Challenge For Seahawks
The Seahawks are 1-0 and head home to play their first regular season game with 12s present in 20 months. Their opponents will be the presumed AFC South favorites: the Titans. However, in one of the more shocking final tallies of Week 1, the Titans got their doors blown off at home by the Cardinals. The 38-13 score didn't even tell the whole story. The Titans were absolutely putrid on Sunday.
Cardinals edge rusher Chandler Jones sacked Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill an unheard-of 5.0 times. Kyler Murray threw for four touchdowns and ran for another. The Tennessee rush defense didn't fare any better, giving up 136 yards on the ground. On the flip side of that, Derrick Henry was held to just 58 yards rushing. The dynamic receiving duo of A.J. Brown and Julio Jones combined for a measly seven catches for 78 yards. Tannehill's QBR on the day was 17.5. It was bad.
Yet, despite this obvious beatdown, the Titans remain a dangerous team, particularly to the Seahawks. While the cornerbacks played an encouraging game against the Colts, the weaponry of these two teams cannot be compared. Jones and Brown live on a different planet than Zach Pascal and Michael Pittman Jr. This will present a unique challenge for Seattle and defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr.
The Titans will attempt to run the football on Sunday and while early returns on the defensive line rotation are nothing but promising, dealing with Henry promises to be a different animal. Expect Tennessee to be overly aggressive in establishing its run game, in order to set up Tannehill for what he does best: play-action passing and moving in the pocket.
Defensively, the Titans made serious attempts to upgrade a unit that finished 28th in 2020 but based on Week 1, it appears they still have a ways to go. With Seattle's offense humming, expect Tennessee to try and limit possessions in hopes of securing an ugly win.
The Titans have one of the most dynamic receiving duos in the league, the most physical running game in football and a quarterback who can keep the trains on schedule and extend plays with his legs. These factors alone make the Titans a dangerous team. Now, desperate to cleanse their palate of the disgusting taste of a home blowout loss, the Titans will come to Seattle more dangerous than ever. The Seahawks need to be prepared for a physical, violent matchup on Sunday, or they very well may get caught napping.
