The Tennessee Titans are set to play in just their second AFC South showdown of the 2023 season Sunday afternoon when they travel to Jacksonville to take on the Jaguars.
The Titans are still trying to win a game on the road for the first time in over a year at this point. More importantly, getting a division win against a hated rival will go a long way toward boosting Tennessee’s overall morale.
It’s hard to imagine this Titans team going on a run to the playoffs, but getting a convincing win over a team of this caliber is something that could at least give hope going forward.
Most of the focus nationally will be on the two young quarterbacks for each team, but I chose to spend the majority of this article breaking down some of the other matchups that will undoubtedly play a large role in this game.
Let’s not waste any more time and dive right into this week’s four key matchups to watch.
WR DeAndre Hopkins vs. CB Darious Williams
With cornerback Tyson Campbell out for the Jags and wide receiver Treylon Burks out for the Titans, it’s probably a safe bet that DeAndre Hopkins and Darious Williams will face each other a ton on Sunday.
The two of them are some of the highest-graded players at their respective positions, per Pro Football Focus. So far this season, Hopkins has received an overall grade of 78.5, tallying 38 catches, 591 yards, and three touchdowns.
Williams has a career-high mark of 81.7, recording 15 pass break-ups and three interceptions — one of which was returned for a touchdown — while allowing just 61.8 percent of his targets to be completed (34-of-55).
Without question, this is one of the few premiere individual battles going on tomorrow. These are two of the very best once the ball is in the air and both do a fantastic job of winning in their own way when it comes to contested situations.
Whenever you see No. 10 and No. 31 lined across from one another, I highly suggest you keep your eyes on them.
Titans RBs vs. Jags’ front-seven
The Titans’ ground game has been one of the few aspects of the offense that has consistently done well.
Derrick Henry is second in the NFL in rushing and has graded out near the top of his position in every category, per PFF. Aside from him, Tennessee also has one of the top rookie running backs in Tyjae Spears, who has been a fantastic complementary Prince to the King.
Despite his limited role, Spears ranks fifth in rushing yards (234), third in receiving yards (166) and fourth in scrimmage yards (400) among all rookie ball-carriers.
However, this week Henry and Spears are set to face one of the more stingier front-sevens in all of football. The Jaguars are only allowing 86.4 rushing yards per game, which is the fifth-fewest in the NFL.
One of the main reasons for this level of success is Jacksonville having one of the best linebacker tandems in the league.
The duo of Foye Oluokun (85.8) and Devin Lloyd (72.6) have an average overall grade of 79.2 between the two of them. In total, they’ve combined for 154 tackles, one interception, and one forced fumble.
If the Titans are going to leave Jacksonville with their first road victory in over a year, they must find a way to get Henry and Spears going against the Jags’ formidable front. That starts with better run-blocking upfront.
OLB Josh Allen vs. Titans OTs
This could be the matchup that ends up dooming the Titans’ chances.
Dillon Radunz is expected to start at left tackle after severely struggling in relief of Andre Dillard a week ago.
To be fair, Radunz spent the entire week practicing at right guard and was thrown into the left tackle role out of necessity. This week, he’ll at least have the opportunity to prepare, so we’ll see if that makes a noticeable difference. Radunz believes it will.
On the other side, the Titans have Chris Hubbard, who, outside of last week, has done well for the most part in pass protection.
According to ESPN analytics, Hubbard has won approximately 90 percent of his pass-block snaps. However, he’s had some truly disastrous moments against the run.
The two of them have a massive task at hand with trying to limit Josh Allen, who is in the midst of a career year along the edge for the Jags. Allen has an overall grade of 88.9, recording an impressive nine sacks in nine games, which is just 1.5 shy of his career-high.
The Kentucky product is capable of lining up on either side of the line, so he’ll likely get his chance to take advantage of either matchup.
Whether it’s through chips, double teams, etc., the Titans have to figure out a way to prevent No. 41 from wreaking havoc. Otherwise, we could be in for another long afternoon of Titans football.
Over the last three seasons, Allen has produced an average overall grade of 83.4, tallying a total of 23 sacks in the process. He’s also amassed an impressive 90 pressures (27 in 2023) and 53 quarterback hits (17 in 2023) over that span, per Pro Football Reference.
Titans' pass-rush vs. Jaguars' offensive line
The Jaguars have no shortage of talented pass-catchers for the Titans to worry about, a list that includes Calvin Ridley, Christian Kirk and Evan Engram.
Making matters worse for Tennessee’s struggling secondary, the unit will be without Sean Murphy-Bunting, who has been arguably the team’s best cornerback in 2023.
The only way the Titans are going to keep those three in check is if the pass-rush dominates. We know Tennessee’s front is certainly capable of that, but it’s also capable of disappearing, something that has happened far too often this season.
If the Titans don’t want to see Trevor Lawrence sling it all over the field, the pass-rush has to bring the heat for a full 60 minutes.
