The Tennessee Titans have one of the NFL's best one-two punches at running back in Tony Pollard and Tyjae Spears, though they've yet to truly establish them. Given the struggles in pass protection, particularly with Nicholas Petit-Frere at right tackle, the Titans need a game where they remind everyone that they can't just pin their ears back against this offensive line.
Pollard has been a quality addition. His production should continue increasing as the season goes along and the offensive line develops more chemistry.
Pollard has gotten more than twice as many touches as Spears through three games, but Spears has been more efficient with his touches. In fact, over the last two weeks, Spears has been slightly more productive as a rusher, too.
Brian Callahan praised the running backs all offseason, and he knows that he needs to get Spears the ball more often. He said as much after the Week 2 loss:
Callahan doubles-down on his desire to get Tyjae Spears a more even split… https://t.co/97sj6hq0dX
— Easton Freeze (@eastonfreeze) September 18, 2024
Heading into the Week 3 game against the Green Bay Packers, it felt like the Titans would lean on the run game vs a suspect run defense. Unfortunately, Will Levis made his trademark one bonehead play per game, and Callahan went into panic mode and completely abandoned the run despite only being down 10 points in a game where they were going to get the ball back after halftime.
The Titans called just eight running plays against the Packers, and Callahan has had to talk about that at every press conference, interview, and appearance this week.
Callahan will probably try to course-correct that versus the Dolphins on Monday, maybe even to a Mike Vrabel-like frustrating degree. While Pollard will probably see his usual number of touches, Spears could be evne more involved, making the Titans a run-heavier offense than we've seen.
First and foremost, the Titans offensive line is much better at run-blocking than pass-blocking. Using ESPN's metrics for pass block win rate (PBWR) and run block win rate (RBWR), the Titans have the 19th-best offensive line when running the ball and the 29th-best offensive line when passing the ball.
The offensive line is killing this team, and everyone except J.C. Latham is performing at a below-average level as pass-blockers. No one is allowing more sacks per pass attempt than the Titans, which has led to Levis getting blind-sided or forcing bad throws.
On Monday, the Titans play a Dolphins defense that's allowing 4.5 yards per attempt on the ground, 12th-most in the NFL. The Dolphins have also allowed five rushing touchdowns, which is the third-most.
The Titans would benefit from moving the ball effectively on the ground.
More runs means fewer passes, so even if the Titans can't pass-block any better on a play-to-play basis, Levis would take fewer hits, and it would give the struggling quarterback fewer opportunities to make another ill-advised decision. It would also suck in Miami's defense towards the line of scrimmage, offering the receivers advantageous matchups on the outside.
In short, if the Titans can run the ball effectively, they can get Spears the ball more while lowering the chances of a Levis mistake. They could also maximize the chances of big plays from Levis to DeAndre Hopkins, who looked better in Week 3 as he continues to put his MCL injury behind him.
Heading into the bye week, the Titans need a win to quiet some of the noise around the franchise. A clean win would help Titans fans reload their patience and actually get excited to watch football again.