A lot has changed in the last week for the Tennessee Titans.
Not only did A.J. Brown have a big game against the Tennessee Titans, but Amy Adams Strunk also fired GM Jon Robinson, and Mike Vrabel had a press conference where he said that he wasn’t involved in any of the decision-making that led to the regime change.
Time will tell whether that last part is completely true, but something that no one seems to be talking about is the trainwreck that might take place on Sunday.
Todd Downing has got to figure out how to score points, and fans should have less and less confidence in him every week based on the results. That hasn’t been a major issue for most of the season because the Tennessee Titans’ defense has been able to keep the team afloat, but that hasn’t been the case recently.
Let’s talk about why this might be the week where the injuries just become too difficult for the Titans to overcome.
Tennessee Titans are in trouble of losing a key game
While Todd Downing continues to stay committed to running the ball on first down and then making life hard for everyone on second and third down, the Titans’ defense has paid the price.
Bud Dupree is back, but Jeffery Simmons, Teair Tart, David Long, Kristian Fulton, Denico Autry, and Tre Avery have had to pay the price.
As it stands on Wednesday, it looks like Autry, Elijah Molden (I.R.), Avery (concussion), and Fulton (groin) will all miss the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Meanwhile, Jeffery Simmons, David Long, and Teair Tart will probably continue to play at less than full strength.
What makes life even more difficult for the Titans is that Treylon Burks will miss this game with a concussion, and Kyle Philips seems to have suffered a setback thanks to the Titans’ exceptional training staff.
Throw in Ryan Tannehill who confirmed that he hurt his other ankle on one of many missed blocks by Dennis Daley, and that means that the Tennessee Titans hopes of moving the ball on offense are going to fall on Derrick Henry’s shoulders.
If it were any other December game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Tennessee Titans’ history, I would like those odds. However, over the last month, Henry has had 75 rushes for 208 yards (2.8 yards per carry).
Whether you want to blame that on the obvious playcalling/tendencies of Todd Downing, the offensive line that is struggling to cover guys up, or a lack of burst in the hole by Henry, the fact is that the run game isn’t working.
Cutting right to the heart of the matter, the Tennessee Titans scored 27 points against Green Bay and it was their best performance of the year. However, the Jaguars have scored 27 or more points in one-third of their games this season.
With the key injuries on the Titans’ offense and the sheer number of injuries on defense, it is going to be very hard to catch up if this game starts out poorly.