The Tennessee Titans and Carolina Panthers will meet at Nissan Stadium in Week 12 in a matchup between two teams that have a few things in common.
Outside of the use of the color blue in their uniforms, the Titans and Panthers are both in the cellars of their respective divisions, with Tennessee sporting a 3-7 mark and Carolina sitting at 1-9, the league’s worst record.
But both teams also have rookie signal-callers who they hope will be the long-term solution under center.
Levis is only four starts into his career but has shown plenty of promise. His biggest issue is a lackluster supporting cast, with a group of receivers that are struggling to get open and an offensive line that has been a sieve.
If you’re a Panthers fan reading this, you can relate to having a young quarterback who has a lackluster group around him.
Granted, Bryce Young certainly hasn’t done himself any favors, but you can’t tell his story without mentioning poor pass protection and issues with receiver separation.
The struggles of both teams’ offensive lines are just one of the six things to know going into this Week 12 matchup.
Titans are favored
It has been awhile since we’ve been able to say this, but the Titans are favored over the Panthers for Week 12.
According to BetMGM, Tennessee is a 3.5-point favorite over Carolina, with the over/under set at 36.5, which is unsurprisingly tied for the third-lowest total of this week’s slate.
Per Team Rankings, the Titans have covered the spread in four of 10 games and have hit the over just three times. Meanwhile, the Panthers are 1-7-2 against the spread and have hit the over three times, also.
A rare matchup
Of the other 31 teams in the NFL, the Titans have the fewest games played against the Panthers, with just six in total since 1996. Carolina and Tennessee have split those contests, but the Panthers have won each of the last two, including one at Nissan Stadium. The last meeting came in 2019.
Home sweet home
The Titans just finished up a three-game road trip and have still failed to win a single game away from Nissan Stadium this season. The Titans are 0-6 on the road, and 0-7 if you count the loss in London. Adding to that, the Titans haven’t won a road game in over a full calendar year (Week 11, 2022).
Carolina has been equally bad away from home, with the Panthers sporting an 0-5 mark.
Thankfully for the Titans, this game takes place at Tennessee’s home stadium, where the team is a perfect 3-0 this season. The Titans are scoring a healthy 27.3 points per contest at Nissan Stadium, as compared to just 12.3 away from it.
Pass protection issues
We already touched on the poor pass protection both teams have seen this season, but now for the numbers:
The Titans have given up 35 sacks in 2023, the fifth-most in the NFL. Levis has taken 12 of those over four games and has been pressured a whopping 57 times over the last three weeks.
The Panthers have actually been slightly worse, with their signal-callers getting sacked 39 times, the fourth-worst mark in the league. Young has taken 36 of those.
As you’d expect, neither offense has had much success this season. The Titans are averaging 16.8 points per contest (tied for sixth-lowest), and Carolina has been worse, averaging 16.3 (fourth-lowest).
Perhaps both quarterbacks will get a reprieve this week, though. The Titans have 25 sacks and have seen their pass-rush disappear on the regular, while Carolina has just 17 sacks, the second-fewest in the NFL.
Where's the turnovers?
Another area both teams have been lacking in is turnovers. Tennessee and Carolina have forced just seven apiece this season, which ranks dead-last in the NFL.
Comparing the defenses
The Panthers actually sport the No. 6 pass defense in the NFL, but some of that has to do with the fact that opponents have had a ton of success on the ground against them.
Carolina’s run defense is ceding a robust 129.4 rushing yards per game, the ninth-most in the NFL.
Tennessee’s defense has been a disaster through the air. The Titans are giving up 230.8 passing yards per contest, the 13th-most, but that ranking doesn’t do justice for how badly this unit has played.
The Titans have been better against the run, but not by much. Tennessee went from sporting an elite run defense the past two seasons and early this season to ranking 17th (112.3) in 2023.
