Titans vs Bengals Tale of the Tape: Defense
Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans are extremely old school in their approach to football. In today’s day and age, teams are content with placing most of their focus on offense as opposed to stopping the opposition on the other side of the ball.
The Titans, however, are a throwback squad. When it comes to passing the ball, their defense leaves a bit to be desired. Overall, teams were able to carve them up whenever they wanted, as they ranked 25th in the league, allowing 245.2 yards per game. But while opposing QBs were allowed to torch them, the Titans were arguably the best run-stuffing team in the league. They did rank second overall but considering that they were just .1 yards behind the Ravens, allowing just 84.6 yards per game on the ground, we feel comfortable in calling them the best run defense in the league.
Cincinnati Bengals
Much like the Titans, the Cincinnati Bengals have no idea what they’re doing when it comes to stopping opposing QBs in the passing game. The Bengals ranked near the bottom of the league in that department, allowing 248.4 yards per game.
On the flip side of being such a poor passing defense, the Bengals focused their resources on stopping the run, finishing the year ranked fifth in the league with 102.5 rushing yards per game. Also, the Bengals were ranked in the top 12 in total sacks this season as well.
Verdict: Bengals
The Titans and Bengals are almost mirror images of one another on the defensive side of the ball. The Titans rank 10th in sacks, the Bengals came in at 12th, the Titans are the second best run stopping team statically, the Bengals checked in at fifth. Their passing defenses were also about the same, the Titans rank 25th while the Bengals were right behind them at 26.
It’s a toss between these two defenses, as they share many of the same strengths and weaknesses but with Joe Burrow becoming one of the best QBs in the league, he should be able to rip the Titans apart through the air. Tannehill and the Titans can’t say the same.