Preseason preview: Titans vs Denver Broncos in Week One
By Brady Akins
Special Teams
This game will be played in Denver, Colorado, and even if fans aren’t allowed in the building, the location will make a huge difference in regards to special teams.
Quick history lesson: Of the seven made field goals in NFL history of 63-yards or more, three of them while playing at the mile-high altitude of the Broncos’ home field.
This could be a massive benefit to the Titans, who spent the 2019 season on shaky ground in the kicking game. The good news is that Tennessee brought back Greg Joseph, who didn’t miss a single field goal in the regular season for the Titans. The bad news, on the other hand, is that Joseph didn’t make a regular-season field goal either.
Tennessee won’t know quite to expect from Joseph, but the Broncos should be in steady hands with Brandon McManus– their kicker since 2014. The punting situation, on the other hand, is about the opposite.
Denver will most likely be in the hands of Sam Martin for 2020 when it comes to punting, the former Lions punter and a former fifth-round pick in 2013. Martin is decent, but he’s not Brett Kern— the Titans All-Pro game-changing punter.
Yes, literally game-changing. Ideally, for both sides, this game won’t come down to a few well-placed punts. But if it does, Kern has been there done that, most recently in the NFL Playoffs. And he can do it again.