When comparing the Tennessee Titans’ defense to their offense, the two are polar opposites.
On one side, you have the defense, which is elite and playing like a well-oiled machine. Players get hurt, mistakes are made, yet this unit remains Tennessee’s rock and keeps them in games.
On the other side (outside of Derrick Henry, of course) is the offense: dysfunction, mayhem and overall ineptitude.
If Denver Broncos fans are reading this, you know this situation all too well, as the Broncos have a very similar deal going on right now, making this a matchup made in heaven for both teams.
Looking ahead to Week 10, the Titans have several questions to answer, most of which come from the offensive side of the ball. As we do every week, let’s take a look at six burning questions for the Titans ahead of their upcoming contest against the Broncos at Nissan Stadium.
Will Ryan Tannehill play?
Tannehill appeared at least somewhat close to playing in Week 9, so one would assume he’ll finally make his return in Week 10 — and it couldn’t come soon enough.
As bad as Tennessee’s passing attack was with Tannehill under center, it was even worse with Malik Willis, who completed just 11 passes over two starts.
Of course, some of that had to do with Willis’ limitations as a passer, which reminds us why Tannehill still gives Tennessee the best chance to win.
However, the same old issues that Tannehill has had to overcome this year were very prevalent with Willis, who actually showed improvement in his second start and did enough to win.
Tennessee’s receivers dropped two key passes that would have changed the game and likely led to a win, they couldn’t get any separation, and not one of them caught a pass, which is just the fourth time that has happened to an NFL team since 2000.
The offensive line’s lackluster performance was overshadowed by that inept showing by the wide receivers, and offensive coordinator Todd Downing basically sabotaged the offense in the second half.
These problems will persist when Tannehill returns to his starting spot, but there’s no doubt he’s better equipped to handle them than Willis is.
Will Treylon Burks play?
As we mentioned above, separation has been a huge issue for the Titans this season, and we saw that again in Week 9 when not a single receiver on the team had an average separation of a yard. In fact, only tight ends Austin Hooper and Chigoziem Okonkwo did.
This is where Burks matters: before his injury, he posted above the league average 2.92 yards of separation in every game he played in and finished. Not one other receiver on the Titans can say that.
More: Robert Woods has only topped that average one time this season, while NWI has yet to eclipse that average at all.
In fact, they both have more games where they’ve had less than 2 yards of separation than they’ve had games in which they topped the league average.
— Shaun Calderon (@ShaunMichaels31) October 28, 2022
Burks, who has been on the shelf for the last four weeks with turf toe, is eligible to come off injured reserve this week. According to Jim Wyatt of Titans Online, there’s a good chance that happens.
The receiver the Titans are looking [to] give them a boost in the second half of the season is Treylon Burks, the team’s first-round draft pick. He’s eligible to come back on November 13 against the Broncos and I’m expecting that to happen.
Considering what we saw from him early in the season, Burks isn’t going to be some savior who fixes Tennessee’s woeful passing attack on his own, but his presence gives the Titans someone who can actually get open, and someone who will force defenses to think a bit more.
Will other injured players return?
On top of Burks and Tannehill, we’ll also be keeping an eye on safety Amani Hooker, outside linebacker Bud Dupree, and cornerback Elijah Molden.
Molden was designated to return from injured reserve last week but wasn’t activated, Hooker was ruled out, and Dupree exited the game early with another hip issue.
The hip injury has nagged Dupree for much of the season, which is a shame because he has been a real difference-maker when on the field. There was a noticeable drop-off in the pass-rush and containment of Patrick Mahomes after he went out on Sunday.
This goes without being said, but the best version of the Titans’ secondary has both Hooker and Molden in it.
With Molden out, Hooker has been deployed in the slot the last few games, which has worked well when Hooker has been on the field. Ideally, the Titans want Molden in the slot and Hooker in his normal spot on the back-end.
The good news is, if one of the two doesn’t play, Andrew Adams has been a revelation wherever he’s been deployed, but the absence of both means more snaps for Terrance Mitchell and others. Molden in particular will likely be on a snap count if he returns, which makes Hooker playing even more vital.
Can Titans' defense, Derrick Henry continue to carry the load?
Whether it’s Tannehill or Willis under center, this Titans offense is unlikely to start lighting up the scoreboard anytime soon, and that’s especially true in Week 10 against an elite Broncos defense.
As if things couldn’t be worse for the Titans’ passing attack, the Broncos sport the No. 1 pass defense in the NFL, and No. 2 scoring defense.
However, Denver’s weakness on defense is Tennessee’s strength on offense: the Broncos own the No. 21 run defense in the NFL, so there’s hope yet for this offense.
Outside of Henry, the defense is the other reason the Titans are 5-3 right now. Tennessee’s group is elite against the run (No. 2) and is ceding 19.8 points per game, tied for 10th in the NFL. If you take out the 41-point drubbing courtesy of the Buffalo Bills, it’s 16.7, which would rank fourth.
Another positive for Tennessee is that the Broncos have been just as bad on offense, with their 15.6 points per game being even worse than Tennessee’s.
The showings of Tannehill and Wilson have been similar, but the Broncos are throwing for more yards per game. However, Tennessee has an edge when it comes to ground attacks.
If what we’ve seen from these teams through nine weeks holds up, this is going to be an ugly game — and that’s just what the doctor ordered for Tennessee in its current state.
Will Todd Downing, WRs wake up?
While the wide receivers themselves are certainly to blame for the overall horrific showing from the group this season, Downing needs to share responsibility for poor separation, also.
If his receivers can’t get open, Downing has to do a better job of drawing up plays that will help them to do so. Until now, there’s no evidence that he’s capable of doing that at all.
No, we can’t blame Downing for the drops, but we can be upset about him calling a tight end screen to Geoff Swaim (which he botched) on the most important play of the game, one of many boneheaded play calls in 2022.
DUDE!!!! It was a TE Screen and Swaim FORGOT THE PLAY!!!
Watch as the OL gets out to prepare for the screen and Swaim is still blocking Dunlap!!
Malik is clearly pissed after the play. Like WTF is that??
Now it's 3rd & 24. The game is effing over. #Titans pic.twitter.com/JM8HSTWm6g
— TicTacTitans (@TicTacTitans) November 8, 2022
Downing’s mere presence is as much of an issue as the receivers, pass protection, and anything else that plagues this offense.
As far as this group improving, it’s Burks (and maybe Kyle Philips) or bust.
Will Titans involve Chig and Hooper more?
While not one Titans wide receiver averaged at least a yard of separation in Week 9, Hooper and Chig did. Okonkwo had the best mark at 2.24 yards, with Hooper coming in behind him at two yards even.
And, no surprise, they led the team in receiving, with Chig needing just one 48-yard catch to do so. Hooper finished with two catches for 34 yards.
Relative to what we’ve seen from the receivers, Hooper has actually been coming on strong lately, with two decent games in three weeks. Okonkwo has a few decent games under his belt this season and ran through several defenders in Week 9 for his 48-yard gain, showing his playmaking ability.
Yet, both were still out-snapped by the so-called “best blocking tight end” the Titans have in Swaim, who hasn’t been very good at all as a blocker this season.
Now, the simple answer to all of this is to just get Chig and Hooper more snaps and targets, right?
Well, Downing is allergic to the simple answers, so we’ll surely see another heavy dose of the Swaim Train in Week 10 while Okonkwo and Hooper are wasted.
