What the Tennessee Titans must do
As hard as it may be for some Tennessee Titans fans to believe, the Cincinnati Bengals do present a real challenge this weekend.
Sure, for the better part of two decades the Cincinnati Bengals have been the little brother in the AFC North behind the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens, but all of those top-10 picks they earned are starting to turn this team around.
Joe Burrow is a favorite to win the Comeback Player of the Year award after the quarterback stepped up following his ACL tear in his rookie year. With a trio of immensely talented receivers, his life has become a lot easier in his second year.
While the image of the Houston Texans second-half surge is still fresh in the minds of fans, Tennessee Titans fans need to realize that the skill position players for the Cincinnati Bengals are much more dangerous.
Historically though, the more dangerous the opposing team is the better the Tennessee Titans play. This is a Titans team that has lived on rising to the occasion vs playoff-caliber teams and despite their seven losses on the season, the Bengals are a team that earned their playoff spot.
So what do the Titans have to do to make sure that they don’t allow an upset at home?
1. Tennessee Titans pass rush must get home
There is no bigger mismatch in this game than the Tennessee Titans defensive front playing against the Cincinnati Bengals offensive line.
When you think of the Titans front four — Harold Landry, Jeffery Simmons, Denico Autry, and Bud Dupree — there is not a guy who does not scare you. Contrast that to the Bengals, whose offensive line has given up the third-most sacks in the league at 55.
Interesting note, the Cincinnati Bengals are really lucky that Joe Burrow made it to the postseason healthy. It can be touch and go following an ACL tear and that offensive line allowed Burrow to be sacked 51 times, more than any other quarterback in the league (the other offensive lines that allowed more sacks distributed those sacks to multiple quarterbacks either because of injury or benching).
It is easy to see just how much that could benefit the Titans. In order to win this game, they will need to take advantage of that mismatch. Keep an eye on the right tackle and right guard for the Bengals who were a catastrophe on four legs against the Las Vegas Raiders last week.
2. Ground game must be successful, and then some
Everyone knows that Derrick Henry is making his return this Saturday, so let’s not beat a dead horse there. What arguably should be talked about more is one of the latest developments for the Bengals, and one that might prove to be extremely costly.
Larry Ogunjobi, one of their starting defensive tackles, got injured and is out for the remainder of the NFL playoffs. I am in no way trying to advocate for cheering opposing players getting injured, but if you are the Titans, you must be licking your chops at this matchup advantage.
It must be mentioned that the Bengals had the fourth-best run defense in the league coming into the playoffs, but without Ogunjobi, that is a huge hole that is extremely difficult to fill at this point. We could see that last week, as Josh Jacobs averaged 6.4 yards per carry last Saturday against the Bengals.
While the Bengals are feeling the damage from last week’s playoff game, the Tennessee Titans haven’t been this rested at any point this season. They are even healthier than they were in Week 1.
Against Henry and D’Onta Foreman — who yes, should still get a few carries — it might be an even tougher task, to put it lightly. There is always going to be the question of whether Henry will be able to play at full speed after so many months off, but if he is on, he is going to be a very big problem.
It has been proven that the success of the Titans offense runs through Henry more times than not, and this Saturday is going to be no different. He is the heart and soul of this team, and they will need him to show up, especially with the opposition being vulnerable.
3. Tennessee Titans defense must not break, even if they bend
How often does the phrase “bend but don’t break” get thrown around these days? Too much? Well you might keep hearing it because it is a hallmark of the Titans defense.
The Titans’ defense tends to give up a lot of yards to the opposing offense, but one of the NFL’s biggest secrets is that “yards” joins “tackles” as one of the least reliable stats that gets thrown around. At the end of the day, it isn’t about which team allows the most yards, it is about which team scores the most points.
To that end, the Titans were the 5th best defense in the NFL in points allowed.
That is due to the fact that they oftentimes make the opposing offense settle for three, or come up completely empty. There are several examples of the Titans standing up in the redzone or on 4th downs to leave opposing offenses frustrated and empty-handed.
We have seen that the Bengals aren’t the most courageous bunch in the redzone, just look at what the Bengals did last week. They were forced to kick four field goals against the Raiders, and one of their touchdowns was the controversial play when the whistle was blown before the pass was completed.
And given that the Titans have the second-best run defense — which could be another underrated issue for the Bengals — it is easy to see why they are so good with their backs to the wall.
Anytime you can keep the offense out of the end zone, you are playing winning football, and if the Titans do that on Saturday, they have a good chance to win.