The Tennessee Titans get a chance to get back in the win column on Sunday, as they travel to play the Cincinnati Bengals at high noon. The weather is currently projected to be around 51 degrees and mostly sunny – should be a fine day for some football.
The Bengals aren’t nearly as bad as their 1-5-1 record would indicate. If you look at the four losses that don’t include that dud against the Ravens, this is a team that’s only losing games by an average of 3.75 points. They’ve scored 30+ four times this season, and they’ve hung in there with quality teams like the Browns and the Colts. The way Joe Burrow is developing as a rookie quarterback is phenomenal – he’s thrown for 300+ yards five times this season, including last week’s game during which he went 35/47 for 406 yards, three passing touchdowns, a pick, and a rushing touchdown to boot.
It’s hard to look at the records and say these teams are similar….but they really aren’t that far off. The Bengals have a capable offense, with a defense that has been killing them. The difference is that the Titans have been able to create some turnovers, where the Bengals just seem to be getting steamrolled in all facets of the defense.
ESPN’s match-up predictor gives the Titans a 63.8% chance of winning this game. The spread is currently sitting at Titans -5.5, with an over/under of 53.5. Now, before we get into the keys to victory for the Titans, don’t forget that you can head to Manscaped and use promo code ‘SOBROSTITANS’ to get 20% off your order and free shipping. Your balls will thank you.
So, what do the Titans have to do to leave Cincy with the W?
Titans Keys to Victory @ Bengals
Tune up the pass rush
It hasn’t been great all season, but at times, it’s been adequate enough to have an effect on opposing quarterbacks (lookin’ at you, Josh Allen). But, if they want to transcend to a championship level football team, they have to get better.
This is an opportunity for a “get right” game. The defense HAS to improve and keep this from turning into a shootout, because this Bengals offense is no joke, and they’ve been a lot more competitive than people think. If it does turn into a shootout, I don’t think that benefits the Titans. That would make it a more interesting game than it needs to be.
So, with the Bengals offensive line struggling, the Titans have to take advantage of the opportunity to create mismatches, win battles, and get sacks. Plain and simple.
Create turnovers
At its most successful points in the season, the Titans defense has been predicated on adequate pressure and opportunistic takeaways. The only reason the low sack numbers haven’t been even more of an issue this season is because the secondary is getting takeaways – they had 11 passes deflected against the Steelers, ffs.
Part of ‘getting right’ on defense is continuing to win the turnover battle. That’s how this defense works to its fullest potential. We saw it against the Bills. Make the quarterback uncomfortable, take the ball away, and let your offense handle business.
Also, I wrote a bit about the trickle down effect earlier this week – getting a more consistent pass rush helps the secondary, which helps the defense get off the field on third downs. That Titans defense has to be chompin’ at the bit to get out there and correct the issues that plagued them in the first half against the Steelers.
Punish the Bengals defense
This is absolutely an “impose your will” type of game. The Titans need that attitude on offense. At all levels of the Bengals defense, it looks like a good match-up for the Titans. Derrick Henry should be able to run at will. I like the Titans receiving corps against the Bengals defensive backs, and if Jonnu Smith is healthy, he should be a mismatch for those Cincy linebackers. This should be a quintessential 4th quarter Titans win, in which they just come out late in the game and assert their dominance.
A week after being worked by the Steelers, I want to see this Titans team respond with a statement. If they do that, they’ll be back on track.
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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