Tennessee Titans: Keys to the Game

The Tennessee Titans are looking to start the season 2-0, but the Jacksonville Jaguars currently stand in the Titans’ way.

The Jacksonville Jaguars upset the Indianapolis Colts last week and will look to do the same to the Tennessee Titans on Sunday as both teams will battle for the top spot in the AFC South in this early season battle.

The Titans survived the Denver Broncos last week on Monday Night Football and was able to sneak away with a 16-14 win. Now, the Titans will hope to have mended the issues offensively that prevented them from scoring more points last season.

There are a few things that the Titans can improve on this week to give them a better chance at beating the Jaguars. Tennessee is currently a 7.5 point favorite over Jacksonville, and ESPN’s FPI gives the Titans a 72.4% chance of winning the game.

So, what do the Titans need to do to secure the victory over their division rival? It seems pretty simple, but if they were able to score a couple more touchdowns last week instead of relying on their kicker, then they wouldn’t have had to worry about the final score being so close.

New Titans kicker, Stephen Gostkowski, missed three field goals and a PAT last week against the Broncos. It was his first game back after coming off hip surgery, and he did not look like the Gostkowski of old that the Patriots were familiar with for so many years.

The first key to the game for the Titans is simply to go for more touchdowns than field goals. I know Gostkowski deserves another chance, but it’s not worth losing multiple games this season and hoping Gostkowski returns to old form.

Derrick Henry needs to continue to be fed. The Jaguars lost some key players on defense, so if Henry can move the ball early, then that will give Ryan Tannehill and the receivers the opportunity to also move the ball through the air without having to force it.

Last week, Henry rushed for 116 yards, and Tannehill threw for 249 yards and two touchdowns. Henry could have another 100+ rushing yard game again this week against the Jaguars.

The second key to the game is having success with the front seven on defense. The Titans’ front seven can be dominant. We saw flashes of that last week, and one player I’ll specifically be looking out for is Jadeveon Clowney. He needs to have a better game this week and get in the backfield and make some plays.

Clowney and company are going to need to contain Gardner Minshew and make sure he doesn’t try to use his legs when the passing game isn’t working.

The final key to the game is to win special teams. The Titans lost special teams last week but were lucky to escape with the win. That won’t be the case every week. If the Titans miss as many kicks as they did last week again, I don’t think they’ll be able to win the game no matter who they play.

Jaguars kicker, Josh Lambo had the opposite performance of Gostkowski. Last week, Lambo made both of his field goals, including a 50-yard field goal, and all three of his PATs. If the Titans want to win this game they’ll have to bring their A-game in the special teams department.

The Titans and Jaguars kick off at noon on Sunday and the Titans will look to defeat their division rival in their home opener to take the sole lead in the division early in the season.