Titans vs. Jaguars preview: Civil war over Marcus Mariota, Jalen Ramsey’s farewell
Titans players to watch
Marcus Mariota
So far, it’s one good game, one bad game for Mariota. Even if he does come out and play well on Thursday night, Mariota has to string together multiple solid performances in order to quiet down the detractors, because it’s consistency that is that group’s biggest complaint.
It’ll be a tall task, though. Mariota goes up against a very good defense in Jacksonville that kept Deshaun Watson in check last week, has excellent talent in the secondary and a pass-rush that should give Tennessee’s lackluster offensive line fits all game.
The offensive line
One of the keys to success for Mariota and the Titans offense as a whole will be how good the O-line performs in this game.
Not only does the group upfront have to contend with guys like Josh Allen, Calais Campbell and Yannick Ngakoue, but it also has to open up running lanes for Derrick Henry to help take some pressure off Mariota and help him take advantage of the play action.
If the O-line performs like it did last week, the Titans won’t be able to do much offensively.
The receivers
Through two games, the Titans have gotten just 15 catches for 202 yards and no touchdowns from their wide receivers. In fact, offensive lineman David Quessenberry has more touchdowns than the entire group of receivers combined.
With the struggles the Titans have had on third downs, it’s imperative that offensive coordinator Arthur Smith find a way to get Adam Humphries more involved. We’d expect Corey Davis to have another down game because he’ll be covered by Ramsey, but that should open things up for A.J. Brown to produce.
No matter who it is, the Titans need more production from their receivers because Delanie Walker can’t do this all by himself.
Cameron Wake and Harold Landry
The Titans defense is licking its chops with the prospect of having a rookie quarterback to face in Week 3. On top of that, the Jags have issues along their offensive line that could lead to the Titans getting constant pressure on Gardner Minshew.
If Cameron Wake and Harold Landry can both be menaces and break through for pressure and sacks, it could lead to turnovers, and those turnovers will be huge in setting up short fields for a Titans offense that struggled mightily last week.
Wake, Landry, and the rest of the Titans defense can make things a lot easier for Mariota and Co. in Week 3.