Tennessee Titans 3 Keys to Victory Against Atlanta Falcons in Week 8
The Tennessee Titans have a very difficult task ahead of them. They face a must-win game that feels like it could be not only the end of the 2023 playoff hopes, but the end of an era for the Titans. If they want to avoid that fate, there will be certain things the Titans must do in Week 8 to defeat the Atlanta Falcons.
Win the Turnover Battle
The Falcons have three losses this season and in those game combined they lost the turnover battle seven to one. Last week, the Falcons made multiple mistakes that led to red zone turnovers. This is a team with young players on offense that will give the ball away.
The Titans have to take it. Pressure young quarterback Desmond Ridder and play zone coverage in the backend to create mistakes. On the other side of the ball though, the Titans need a young quarterback behind a bad offensive line to protect the ball as well. A sack is better than a turnover.
Protect Will Levis
I don't mean pass blocking alone either. Yes, of course, it would be nice for the offensive line to give the rookie quarterback some time, but more with the overall plan on offense. This will include having a smart gameplan and utilizing the resources they do have.
Run the football, use quick passes and screens to help Levis get the ball out quick and gain rhythm. Levis is much more mobile than Ryan Tannehill, use that. Use bootlegs, sprint outs and rollouts to get Levis out of the pocket more. This can limit the rush and may not have been as possible with Tannehill back there.
The Titans also need to let Levis run the ball. There was a time, back in his Penn State days, where some thought Levis would be more of a running quarterback. That didn't turn out to be the case be he is more than capable of running some simple designed quarterback runs to win in the red zone.
Also, throw the kitchen sink at the Falcons from a play-call standpoint. Flea flickers, reverse, fake reverses, jet sweeps, misdirections. The Titans can't hold anything back.
Be the Cleaner Team
Penalties, time mismanagement, muffed punts, dropped passes. These are the type of things that can doom a team even if they do everything else right. Every week and in every game, mistakes are made and a lot of the time teams win by not beating themselves.
The Titans cannot beat themselves against a Falcons team that has a better roster on paper. The Titans need a smart gameplan on both sides of the ball for Levis, as discussed above, and a defensive plan built on zone blitzes and disguised coverage.
If the Titans are the cleaner team and accomplish all three of these keys to victory, they may very well stave off the end of their season, move to 3-4 and begin a tough stretch back to contention.
Related Titans stories
- WEEK 8 THURS INJURY REPORT: The Tennessee Titans once again have a lengthy injury report ahead of their game against the Atlanta Falcons, but there is some good news with Thursday's injury report as well. CLICK HERE
- TITANS TRADE RUMORS: The Tennessee Titans shipped off veteran safety Kevin Byard this week and could make more deals before next week's deadline. Here are the latest rumors on the Titans' trade front. CLICK HERE
- VRABEL GIVES BIZARRE PRESSER: The Tennessee Titans are facing a difficult situation as a team and in the face of that adversity head coach Mike Vrabel has given some bizarre answers to the media this week. CLICK HERE
- LEVIS REPORTED AS STARTER: The Tennessee Titans will be starting rookie Will Levis against the Atlanta Falcons according to a report from NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. CLICK HERE
