Titans' Week 2 Matchup With Eagles: 2 Realistic Best and Worst Case Outcomes

The Tennessee Titans' Week 1 loss to the New York Jets feels like it was just yesterday. Is that because it's been replaying freshly in our heads since last Sunday? Maybe, but that's what you deal with when a team that spent all offseason rebuilding loses in a 23-10 blowout out of the gate.

It didn't help morale that the Philadelphia Eagles, just two seasons removed from a Super Bowl, would be knocking on the door in Nashville just seven days later. Yet it still isn't worth writing off Saleh's first-year Titans team yet. A win over the Eagles, I'd wager, would change most minds entirely.

Ahead of tomorrow's game, I'm outlining two best and worst case scenarios for Tennessee. The former sees the Titans improve to 1-1 in a tight-knit, defining win for Coach Saleh. The latter, put softly, certainly does not.

Best: 20-17 win

We'll start with the good reality. If we're trying to stay somewhat realistic, the Titans are extremely unlikely to blow the Eagles out. A victory would come in the margins for Tennessee. Limiting explosive plays and outgaining Philadelphia on the page is the best chance the Titans have.

A few things would have to go right that went wrong last week. No turnovers on kickoffs (less touchbacks on that note, too), not completely falling apart in the second half, and forcing the opposing offense to get creative.

One drive in Week 1 saw the New York Jets run the ball 10 times straight on their way to a field goal. Allowing that against a back like Saquon Barkley will get you beat in record time.

A 20-17 win would also mean the Titans double their 10-point tally from last week's debut. That sounds like a reach, but it will take a few unexpected twists for Tennessee to pull off a recovery like this. In the best outcome, fans could expect huge turns from Cam Ward and his band of pass-catchers.

Worst: 35-14 defeat

Unfortunately, an even worse blowout than the one Tennessee suffered against New York seems possible. The Titans last played a Jalen Hurts-led Eagles team in December of 2022, coming up brutally short in a 35-10 defeat on the road.

This reality is four points better than that one, and I can't imagine Hurts throwing for 380 yards again. Short A.J. Brown and arguably removed from Hurts' peak as a multi-faceted QB, Tennessee likely only loses in this fashion if the Eagles are allowed to run all over them just as the Jets did.

It truly is the run game that could cause this matchup to swing either way. Philadelphia relied as heavily on a Barkley-Hurts duo as New York did on Breece Hall in their own opener. The pair combined for 129 of the Eagles' 136 yards on the ground.

LB Cedric Gray returning to the field is as good an omen as fans could as for in this regard. But if Saleh's defense puts up with another zero-sack performance, fans may as well chalk this one in the losing column.

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