Tennessee Titans Week 1 matchup against the New York Giants is interesting
As the NFL released the finalized schedules for the league on May 12, the Tennessee Titans’ schedule has distinct ups and downs.
It is still early and this isn’t going to be a preview of the entire season. Still, the Titans are going to see the New York Giants with a new head coach and a roster full of players trying to make sure that they start off on the right foot with the new management.
Since the Giants are an NFC team and they aren’t someone that the Tennessee Titans cross paths with often, it feels like a good time to bring up how these two teams match up and address any concerns that Tennessee might have to start an important season.
When The Tennessee Titans are on Defense
The season opener for the Titans sees the boys in blue from New York trying to start their season on the right foot by coming to Nashville and winning a tough game on the road.
When you talk about the New York Giants, the biggest question that comes to mind is “Is Daniel Jones good enough to win games?”
In the past, Jones has had considerable trouble with turning the ball over, especially when he is pressured. However, this past season he did make considerable strides only tallying only three fumbles and seven interceptions (though he did miss six games last year).
With this being said, the Titans defense looks to be even better than its stellar 2021 campaign with the return of the dominant defensive line as well as second round pick Roger McCreary and Caleb Farley joining the secondary.
This defense legitimately has no holes and should give the Giants fits throughout the whole game. Assisting this is the lack of offense that the Giants boast outside of Daniel Jones. The Giants were 31st in the league last season in total offense and they averaged 15.2 points per game.
Both stats should improve under first-year head coach Brian Daboll, but right now that is all theoretical and going on the road to play the Titans isn’t exactly an easy way to stress test your new offense.
When The Tennessee Titans are on Offense
Moving to when the Titans are on offense, the Giants ranked 21st in total defense and allowed almost 130 yards per game rushing.
Against a fully healthy and rested Derrick Henry, this alone could spell trouble for the Giants. This along with the release of cornerbacks Logan Ryan and James Bradberry leave question marks in the secondary.
This is likely to be exploited with Tim Kelly coming in and (hopefully) simplifying the Titans’ passing game, and I find it hard to believe that the Titans do not put up ludicrous numbers.
The weakness in the Titans’ offense is the youth on the offensive line, which could spell trouble with first-round pick Kayvon Thibodeaux and Leonard Williams wreaking havoc. We have all seen how good pass rushers can change the narrative of a game quickly, so it will be paramount for our offensive line to step up to the challenge and give Ryan Tannehill time to throw.
I believe that there will most likely be hiccups and Tannehill gets sacked a few times based on the lack of experience at both left guard and right tackle, but I do not believe that stops the Titans from succeeding on this side of the ball.
Overall, I believe that this is a game that the Titans should win easily. While this is a rough start for the New York Giants, it gives Tennessee a chance to check out their new offensive line against a talented, but not overwhelming defensive line.
Wide receivers like Treylon Burks, Robert Woods, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, and maybe some young surprises, will get a chance to compete against a group of defensive backs that don’t scare you all that much.
Defensively the Titans get to try to stop a moderately mobile quarterback who rewards defenders for hitting him by turning the ball over. With a young but extremely talented group of defensive backs behind an aggressive front, it is going to be a tough day for a Giants offense that is still looking to iron out the kinks in a new offense lacking talent at the skill positions.