The Offenses of Tennessee and Jacksonville Share a Weakness, It Could Lead to a Titans' Victory
The Tennessee Titans are having issues upfront. Anyone who has watched this team while also intaking other NFL games each week can see the offensive line is one of the worst in the league. Injuries and a lack of talent have made it a rough week-to-week adventure no matter who is throwing the ball or running it.
The Titans' issue cannot be understated, but if you head south to Jacksonville, you will hear similar complaints. The Jaguars' trench group has been the biggest weakness for their offense. Because of that, even though these teams are in different tax brackets in terms of talent, based on each team's expectations, both groups have been a disappointment
Looking into some offensive line data, it is easy to see why the Jacksonville faithful may be concerned.
According to ESPN's Analytics, the Jaguars are ranked 31st in their pass-block win rate(PBWR), only winning 46% of their pass blocking snaps collectively and 30th in run-blocking win rate(RBWR) only winning 68% of the time.
If you look to the grades at Pro Football Focus, you will see a similar story. Jacksonville's group is graded as the second-worst run blocking team in the league and 18th in pass-blocking grade.
If data isn't your thing and you prefer the raw numbers, step into the box score and you will see 24 sacks on Trevor Lawrence this season. That's tied for the seventh-most in the NFL. By any measure, the group has been struggling.
Now, as stated before, the obvious thing is these teams have different expectations, so disappointment has levels. The Jaguars are still 6-3 and in control of the division, but when you look at the Titans in these areas, they actually have performed better.
The Titans are actually ranked rather high, which is a surprise, in ESPN's data. Tenth in RBWR and one spot outside the top ten in PBWR. The rankings are explainable though.
The Titans have been plagued by the left tackle position, so with the way the numbers are compiled, four guys winning while one gets beat repeatedly is more winning than losing in terms of individual blocking success.
Even in the Pro Football Focus grades, the Titans are only five spots behind the Jaguars in pass-blocking grade and rank ahead of them in run blocking. Surprising yes, but it emphasizes how much of a struggle it has been for Jacksonville with the offensive line this year.
That brings us to where the Titans could potentially steal this game. They must hope for the great equalizer that is the essence of the phrase, "Any Given Sunday."
Turnovers.
The Titans' defense is overmatched by the offensive firepower the Jaguars have outside of their offensive line. The Titans' offense has been lifeless on the road all season. They will need to turn the Jaguars over multiple times to equal things out.
The best way to do that is to pressure the quarterback. Hit him, sack him, force him to make quick, uncomfortable decisions that will lead to mistakes. We haven't seen that consistently on the road in quite sometime, but the first half against the Buccaneers in Week 10 gave us a small glimpse of what people thought the Titans' defense could be.
If the defense can feast on the biggest weakness of the Jacksonville Jaguars and create multiple turnovers, that may be enough to drive this lifeless offense to enough production to win. It may energize the team enough to pull the upset and it is possible.
It isn't likely, that is why it is called an upset, but the Titans first road victory can come in Jacksonville and it has to start with exposing their struggling offensive line.
Related stories on Titans-Bucs
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- PLAY DUNCAN AT LT: The Tennessee Titans offensive line has been so poor to this point that the head coach is worried most for the health of his players, namely rookie quarterback Will Levis. However, Mike Vrabel is confident they can correct the issues upfront. CLICK HERE
- WEEK 10 LEVIS FILM STUDY: The Tennessee Titans lost once again in Week 10 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers while giving an embarrassing performance on offense. Rookie Will Levis will get the attention for an underwhelming stat line, but looking at the film shows how the rest of the offense let the quarterback down. CLICK HERE
- WEEK 10 WINNERS & LOSERS: The Tennessee Titans dropped another road game, falling to 3-6 on the season and while it was mostly a dreadful performance, there were some winners mixed in with the losers from Week 10. CLICK HERE
- VRABEL SHOWS CONCERN: The Tennessee Titans offensive line has been so poor to this point that the head coach is worried most for the health of his players, namely rookie quarterback Will Levis. However, Mike Vrabel is confident they can correct the issues upfront. CLICK HERE
