Tennessee Titans vs. Oakland Raiders… 3 Things to Watch

Three Things to Watch in Week 3 – Titans vs. Raiders

Tennessee Titans vs. Oakland Raiders

The Tennessee Titans welcome the Oakland Raiders into town this weekend for a rematch of the week 3 preseason game. While the week, venue, and game importance has changed the Titans will hope for similar results.

The Titans will have a lot of work to do this week to keep their winning streak (1 game is a winning streak in Tennessee) alive. The Raiders have one of the top offenses in the league with weapons like Amari Cooper, Michael Crabtree, and their big bruiser Latavius Murray.

First Thing to Watch

Titans Run Game

– through the first two games of the season the Titans have been okay in the running game. The Vikings have one of the best defenses front sevens in the league, while the Lions pushed the Titans around for the first three quarters of the game. DeMarco Murray did show his big-play ability on a nice 67-yard run down the right sideline. However, he only averaged 1.83 YPC on his other 12 touches.

August 27, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry (2) runs with the football against Oakland Raiders cornerback Keith McGill (39) during the second quarter at Oakland Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /

I expect to see a lot more Derrick Henry this week as the Titans continue to increase the rookie’s workload. Henry has run with a ton of power and seems to be making defenders miss with ease. Additionally, both of the Titans running backs have shown an ability to catches passes out of the backfield.

The Raiders run defense has been less than impressive as they currently sit ranked #12th worst in the NFL. Even if the Titans miss their starting RG, Chance Warmack as he decides whether to have surgery or play through his torn tendon in his finger, it may be to their advantage as they finally have depth at the offensive line position. Additionally, Warmack has been worse than terrible through the first two games. I fully expect the Titans to dominate the line of scrimmage this week and finally show the “smash-mouth” portion of Mike Mularkey’s termed “exotic smash-mouth” offense.

Second Thing to Watch

Titans

Corner Backs

– the Raiders are going to be walking into Nissan stadium with one the best duo WR’s in the NFL with Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree… the Titans have to find a better way to defend against them if they want a chance to win. Through the first two games, the Titans rank 14th in total yards given up through the air. While it may seem like they’ve done well this early… they played Shaun Hill for the Vikings and the Lions WR’s had 6 drops that I counted. Perrish Cox made the big play when it mattered most last week, but the Titans are going to need a lot more from the 6th year pro.The nickel back position is the position that could get exploited this week when Derek Carr steps under center. Carr has been one of the most underrated QB’s in the NFL through his first two seasons. The Raiders do a good job of disguising where both Crabtree and Cooper lineup on the field. I fully expect them to try and get the mismatch with Brice McCain.

Third Thing to Watch

Aug 27, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) looks towards the sideline during a break in the action against the Oakland Raiders in the second quarter at Oakland Alameda Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports /

Marcus Mariota – the former Heisman trophy winner must be thinking playing the Raiders defense is like Christmas morning. The Raiders currently rank dead last in passing defense through the first two games of the season. They’ve given up an average of 409.5 yards per game. If the Titans are able to get an additional blocker to assist against Khalil Mack then Mariota should be able to pass for well over 300 yards on the day.More than anything else, I want to see how Marcus responds to last weeks come from behind win against the Lions. He was able to make throws only a few QB’s can make in the NFL in the final two drives but struggled mightily the previous three quarters. The Titans as a whole need to do better starting earlier offensively. History shows the next week after a win doesn’t provide a lot of optimism. In the previous 2 seasons following a win the Titans have been less than competitive in the next game losing by double digits in all but one of their next five games.

Next: Takeaways From Week Two

Home/Titans News