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Finding Hope and Concern for Titans in Week 8 vs Bengals

By Brady Akins

NASHVILLE, TN - NOVEMBER 12: Derrick Henry #22 of the Tennessee Titans is hit by Vincent Rey #57 of the Cincinnati Bengals at Nissan Stadium on November 12, 2017 in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans defeated the Bengals 24-20. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TN - NOVEMBER 12: Derrick Henry #22 of the Tennessee Titans is hit by Vincent Rey #57 of the Cincinnati Bengals at Nissan Stadium on November 12, 2017 in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans defeated the Bengals 24-20. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) /
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NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE – OCTOBER 25: Derrick Henry #22 of the Tennessee Titans is tackled in the backfield by T.J. Watt #90 of the Pittsburgh Steelers during the first half at Nissan Stadium on October 25, 2020 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Frederick Breedon/Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE – OCTOBER 25: Derrick Henry #22 of the Tennessee Titans is tackled in the backfield by T.J. Watt #90 of the Pittsburgh Steelers during the first half at Nissan Stadium on October 25, 2020 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Frederick Breedon/Getty Images) /

Hope

The Unstoppable Force

Last week I wrote about how the Titans’ running game and how it matched up against an elite Pittsburgh Steelers run defense– calling it a classic case of ‘unstoppable force vs. immovable object.’ This week is a little bit different. This week, the Titans running game will be an unstoppable force against a highly moveable object.

Week 7 against the Steelers brought about an average day at the office for the Titans’ franchise running back, where strong runs and big plays collided with a fair amount of plays ending at the line of scrimmage, coming together for a 20 carry, 75 yard, one touchdown showing for Derrick Henry against the best run defense in the NFL.

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The Bengals defense isn’t quite as formidable a foe. The Bengals defense, in contrast to their second-ranked division counterpart in Pittsburgh, ranks in the bottom five in the NFL in both yards allowed per run and rushing yards per game. And when you get your hands dirty with the research and break it down game by game, things start to look even better for the Titans.

In seven games played by Cincinnati in 2020, the Bengals have given up more games of over 150 rushing yards than they’ve held teams below 100 yards on the ground. Only in one of those games did the Bengals face an offense that ran the ball at a higher volume than Tennessee does.

Now, the Tennessee Titans will be taking their AFC Offensive Player of the Month in Derrick Henry into Cincinnati to face a defense that has been torched game after game on the ground. It’s the exact clash in strengths and weaknesses that the Titans need to get back on track– look for them to exploit this matchup throughout the game.

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