The Tennessee Titans hit the road this week and head to the West Coast to face the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium on Sunday. The game features two teams that prefer to run the ball than throw it, but also have capable passers who can launch it down the field. It also features two teams with strong defenses.
The Titans are coming off of a thrilling overtime win, but the Chargers get to wake up in their own beds this week and travel can be a momentum killer. The 5-3 Chargers are favored over the 2-6 Titans for good reason. If the Titans want a shot at winning, there are six things they must do on Sunday.
Efficient quarterback play
We still don’t know if Will Levis will suit up on Sunday or not. Indications are that he might play given his increase in practice this week, but that decision has not been made yet. The quarterback play has been much better in recent weeks, and while Nick Holz wants to say it’s not all about the quarterback, a large part of it is. Wide receivers should catch a pass that touches their hands, yes, but if the ball is a wounded duck coming at them, it’s not easy to catch. This can result in drops just as much as receiving mistakes.
Whoever plays quarterback on Sunday, they have to make sure their passes aren’t just accurate, but they are catchable passes. Against a stout Chargers defense, the Titans’ offense can’t afford to make mistakes.
Effective play calling
The play calling by Brian Callahan has been better in recent weeks, allowing Tony Pollard to carry the offense and using Mason Rudolph’s experience to get the ball to Calvin Ridley and Nick Wesbrook-Ikhine. That type of play calling has to continue even if Will Levis is the starter on Sunday. Callahan has to remember that Levis is not Rudolph and the plays need to change based on their differences. Levis is more mobile, but he’s less accurate and more prone to turnovers. That has to play a factor in his strategy on Sunday.
Control the clock
The Titans and Chargers both take over 31 seconds in between plays, the most in the NFL. Both also have a run-first mentality, which should keep the clock moving quickly. The Titans have the advantage on defense in this area because those guys are used to playing a LOT of snaps due to all of the injuries this season. Being given that kind of time between plays will give them rest they aren’t used to having.
On offense, it might behoove them to move a little bit faster to throw off the Chargers who will expect more time between snaps.
However they decide to do it, the Titans need to control the clock on Sunday and win the time of possession battle.
Create mismatches on defense
Dennard Wilson has his defense coming together nicely this season. It’s hard to miss the impact he has on a defense. Look at the Baltimore Ravens this year, their defense ranks last. That wasn’t the case when Wilson was there last year. Now the Titans have the top defense in the NFL under Wilson and no one can ignore that. Wilson will look for the mismatches on the field and exploit them, it’s what he does best and why his defenses create takeaways, as we saw last week with Amani Hooker.
The Titans’ defense is strong enough to carry this team to victory against the Chargers, so long as the offense doesn’t do anything like throw a pick-six (just saying).
Keep Nick Westbrook-Ikhine invovled
Nick Westbrook-Ikhine is in his fifth season in the NFL, and it’s like a switch flipped for him the last two weeks. Westbrook-Ikhine has the most receiving touchdowns on the Titans’ offense this season with four. The last couple of weeks have seen him used more on the field, and he has made the most of those targets since the departure of DeAndre Hopkins. He has become a top target for Mason Rudolph, after Calvin Ridley of course, with Tyler Boyd battling a nagging shoulder injury and Treylon Burks landing on IR. Keeping him involved, no matter who is throwing the ball, is now an integral part of the Titans’ offense.
Be smart with tight end play
Over the last few weeks, at least three passes that have gone toward Chig Okonkwo have been picked off. Last week, Josh Whyle committed a foul that negated a Tony Pollard touchdown. Nick Vannett has four touchdowns and is the most reliable tight end the Titans have in regard to catching the ball. He is a capable blocker as well, but Okonkwo and Whyle can make an impact there too. Brian Callahan has to be smart about how he uses these three players. The offense can’t afford mistakes if they want to win this week.
