Tennessee Titans’ keys to victory vs. San Francisco 49ers in Week 16
The Tennessee Titans will have a hard time pissing off the San Francisco 49ers in Week 16 on Thursday Night Football.
While at home for this competition, the Titans are underdogs, which is not surprising given the different levels of play these two teams have shown lately.
The Titans have struggled mightily on the offensive for the past four weeks, which resulted in the team losing three of the last four. Meanwhile, during their last five wins in their last six games, the Niners have been red hot on both sides of the ball, and especially on offense.
To make matters worse for Tennessee is the fact that they have neither left security guard Rodger Saffold nor left Taylor Lewan, nor Lewan’s replacement, Kendall Lamm, who announced he had COVID-19.
The good news for the Titans is that they are reportedly getting wide receiver AJ Brown back, but there is no guarantee he will add much in his first contest, especially given the current state of the offensive line.
If the Titans want a win on Thursday night, they must tick at least a majority of the following boxes.
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It is all well and good that Tannehill will have his two best weapons in passing in the same field with AJ Brown and Julio Jones, but he will not be able to use them if the offensive line in passing protection does not hold.
To expect that the group that didn’t play well at full strength would somehow play better without Saffold, Lewan and Lewan’s replacement Lamm is too much.
In addition, the Niners have the 10th most sacks in the NFL and one of the best pass-rushers in the league in Nick Bosa, who has 15 himself.
To remedy this problem, offensive coordinator Todd Downing needs to design passing games that quickly get the ball out of Tannehill’s hands and into the waiting arms of his receivers, who can hopefully create yards after being caught.
This is not the game to increase passing games on the field unless the offensive line is somehow characterized by pass protection. We don’t hold our breath for that.
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In their five losses this season, the Titans have averaged 3.6 sales per player, and they are currently on the second most giveaways in the NFL at 25. Last week Tennessee coughed football four times.
The Titans have problems offensively like without the sales, but those mistakes only make their problems worse. Tennessee has to stop beating itself before it can beat its opponent, and that will hopefully start in week 16 against a Niners defense that is forcing average sales.
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Another way the Titans can take the strain off Tannehill is to establish yourself as you run and give yourself strong support. Tennessee has successfully moved the ball on the ground in Derrick Henry’s absence and has played in the last three two 200-yard competitions.
Getting the floor game going will not only build up game action, it will also slow the 49ers’ pass rush that will no doubt put its ears back as Tennessee knows the injury problems ahead of time. Plus, the Titans will be able to control the clock and keep the 49ers’ fiery offensive off the field.
Granted, the Titans still have offensive issues despite successfully leading football, but it still remains an important part of their offensive and can help make things at least a bit easier for Tannehill.
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The Titans will have a very difficult time covering tight end George Kittle and wide receiver Deebo Samuel when quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo has time to throw the soccer ball.
Tennessee can help its high school with these difficult matchups by putting pressure on Garoppolo, and ideally, that pressure will force the San Francisco quarterback to make mistakes.
The Titans defense has played very well lately, but if we have one gripe it is the fact that the unit have lost sales in two of their last three games, both of which have been losses.
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This is the definition of a strength-on-strength matchup as the Niners have the sixth best rushing attack and face a Titans defense that has the second best run defense.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan is brilliant at planning his stormy attack and while the Niners have had a lot of success lately this is undoubtedly still a first-turn team.
Tennessee must maintain its elite running defense in this case, forcing Garoppolo to win the game with his arm, which isn’t the 49ers’ recipe for success for most weeks.
