Three Keys to a Titans Victory at Denver
Tennessee Titans players and coaches have said repeatedly throughout the offseason that the past does not matter. They have gone out of their way to downplay last season’s run to the playoffs and through the first two weeks of the postseason as any sort of harbinger for 2020.
Except when it comes to facing the Denver Broncos.
Those same players and coaches unfailingly – and often – have acknowledged last season’s failure, a 16-0 loss at Denver, and the fact that it has played on their minds as they prepare for Monday’s season-opener against the Broncos (9:20 p.m., CDT, ESPN).
The contradiction between not looking back on last season but focusing on one game from that campaign has created an undeniable Week 1 focus.
“It's cliché. Call me simple-minded, but I'm thinking about it one week at a time,” quarterback Ryan Tannehill said last week. “How do I win one game? How do we as a team go out and find a way to execute, and walk away from Denver with a win? So, if we're able to do that we’ll be in good shape, won’t have to worry about what's happening down the line if we're able to take it week by week and stack wins together.”
With that in mind, here are three keys to a Titans victory against the Broncos:
Run, Derrick Run: Derrick Henry has 40 rushing attempts in Week 1 games through the first four years of his career, and nearly half of those (19) came in last season’s victory at Cleveland. He has just one 100-yard game in his career during September and in that one – last year at Atlanta – he ran 27 times for exactly 100 yards. In last season’s game at Denver, he had just 28 yards on 15 carries. In other words, he has not exactly been a fast starter and he did not do well the last time he faced the Broncos. If the Titans are to get this season off on the right foot, Henry’s legs are going to have to be a significant factor.
First-time Secondary: Adoreé Jackson was a full participant in Thursday’s workout, limited on Friday by a knee issue and ruled out on Saturday. This is supposed to be the season that the 2017 first-round draft pick becomes a significant contributor to the defense. With Jackson out, much responsibility will fall to free agent Johnathan Joseph and rookie Kristian Fulton, two cornerbacks who will make their Titans’ debut in this game. Fulton missed some time during the preseason with an injury of his own. There is much to like about both, but it is asking a lot for the secondary to function at a high level without Jackson.
Don’t wait: Even when things went well last season, the Titans typically started slowly. They had the lead at the end of the first quarter of just three games in 2019 and the first was their lowest-scoring quarter with an average of 4.9 points per game. Denver quarterback Drew Lock went 4-1 as a starter late last season, and typically was at his best in the first quarter, when he completed 67.7 percent of his passes, averaged 9.12 yards per attempt and had a 118.5 passer rating. If the offense can’t put points on the board early and if the defense can’t slow down Lock and the Broncos’ offense right out of the gate, the Titans could find themselves in a daunting hole a mere 15 minutes after kickoff.
