The Tennessee Titans have their second road game in a row in Week 8 when they travel to Michigan to take on the Detroit Lions at Ford Field.
Last week at Buffalo, the Titans showed us that it doesn’t actually matter who lines up under center because Brian Callahan doesn’t know how to make adjustments in the middle of a game. Allowing a team to score 34 unanswered points after taking an initial lead is mind-blowing, and the frustrations have boiled over to the media. Several players have expressed frustration, and while this doesn’t help ease that frustration, the Titans are clearly focused on rebuilding at this point.
After trading away one of the top veteran receivers in the league, DeAndre Hopkins, to the Kansas City Chiefs and sending Ernest Jones IV to the Seattle Seahawks, the Titans have a new look this week. It won’t be easy, but there are six things the Titans must do to secure a win over the Lions on Sunday.
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Lions quarterback Jared Goff has been sacked 13 times this season for 106 yards lost, that’s an average of over eight yards lost per sack. He’s only thrown four interceptions, which does indicate his accuracy, but it also says that he’s more willing to take a sack than throw a bad pass. If the Titans can get pressure on Goff, they may be able to force him into making a mistake one way or another.
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The Titans’ offense has struggled horribly this season. The right tackle position is a problem, sacks are a problem, the ground game isn’t what it should be, and neither quarterback has had much luck finding receivers down the field. Against the Lions, on the road, after a tough loss to the Bills, Callahan needs to keep it simple on Sunday. He has to call plays he knows, without a shadow of a doubt, that his team can execute.
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The Titans god a good deal with Jones when they traded him for more than they paid for him, but they also lost a lot of defensive production. Jones was second in tackles behind Kenneth Murray Jr. with 44 (29 solo). Murray has 46 tackles (29 solo), but the next person behind Jones is safety Quandre Diggs with 32 tackles (28 solo). Someone else on the line or part of the linebacking corps has to step up and fill the hole left by Jones. His loss is going to hurt the defense more than the loss of Hopkins hurts the offense, and we’re going to see that firsthand on Sunday unless Harold Landry III, Arden Key, or newly acquired linebacker Jerome Baker fills in that gap.
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Tennessee drafted Jha’Quan Jackson in the sixth round of the 2024 NFL draft. So far in 2024 the Titans have used Jackson solely as a kick and punt returner, and it’s something he has done very well. In fact, he’s at the top of the league as a kick returner. But with the Titans trading DeAndre Hopkins combined with the injuries to Treylon Burks and Calvin Ridley, we are likely to see Jackson on the field as an actual wide receiver this week.
Brian Callahan and Nick Holz have to take advantage of the fact that no NFL team has seen how the Titans plan to use Jackson on the field as a receiver. This is a benefit, something the Titans can use to their advantage until the Lions adjust and figure out how to defend him. But until then, the Titans need to utilize Jackson as much as possible.
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The Titans’ defensive line and linebackers are going to be very focused on Jared Goff and the ground game on Sunday, which means the secondary has to be ready for anything else. This means looking for David Montgomery to catch passes, Amon-Ra St. Brown to run the ball or even throw it as he has a touchdown pass this season, and Jahmyr Gibbs will be very active as well.
With the suspension of Jameson Williams, receiver Tim Patrick and tight end Sam LaPorta will get more touches this week, too. The secondary has to be ready to pop forward to stop the run or lock down the receivers, whichever reaction the play calls for.
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It hasn’t mattered much who lines up under center, turnovers are a problem every week and it’s not getting better. The Titans have to do a better job of securing the ball when their offense is on the field. Giving it to the guys who can keep it is a good first step. But the offensive line also has to do their job in protecting the quarterback and making a hole for Tony Pollard to run through. Everyone on the offensive side of the ball has to make better decisions on the field, and their primary goal has to be keeping the ball in their hands.
