NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — The Tennessee Titans (3-10) and their number one-ranked passing defense face a stiff test Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals (5-8) and the number one quarterback in the league.
The Bengals’ Joe Burrow leads the NFL in passing yards (3,706) and touchdowns (33) while throwing only 6 interceptions this year.
NFL Passing Yards
1. Joe Burrow – 3,706 Yards
2. Geno Smith – 3,474 Yards
3. Matthew Stafford – 3,464 Yards
28. Will Levis – 1,828
Titans head coach Brian Callahan was Burrow’s offensive coordinator for his first four seasons.
“He’s playing the position as good as you can play quarterback. I mean it’s really fun to watch as a fan of quarterback play and he’s everything you look for in what you’re expecting a great quarterback to look like, he looks like it,” Callahan said.
🏈 TITAN UP all season long with the latest news and notes on the Tennessee Titans
Ja’Marr Chase has benefitted from Burrow’s play with a monstrous season so far. Chase leads the NFL in catches (93), receiver yards (1,319) and touchdowns (15).
“You do your best to minimize the impact of them over the course of a game, and then you do your best to make it difficult for them to catch the football and have targets,” said Callahan. “But there’s no doubt that the ball is going to go from number nine to number one multiple times in the game. And you’ve got to make sure you’re just in the right position that when he does have catches, that you get him on the ground, and they don’t turn into explosives and you can keep a cap on some of those bigger plays that show up.”
The Titans have faced high-end receivers all season like Justin Jefferson, Tyreek Hill and Amon-Ra St. Brown, and have escaped with the top-ranked pass defense in the league.
NFL Pass Defenses
1. Tennessee Titans – 175 Yards Per Game
2. Philadelphia Eagles – 178 Yards Per Game
3. San Francisco 49ers – 181 Yards Per Game
27. Cincinnati Bengals – 235 Yards Per Game
Last week the Titans managed only six points against the Jaguars’ struggling defense thanks to two scoreless trips to the red zone. They have to fair far better against the Bengals Sunday if they are going to keep up with Burrow on the scoreboard.
The Titans moved the ball effectively in the game. They ran it well and even converted over 50 percent of their third downs, they just did not finish drives. The Titans are scoring touchdowns only 47% of the time they enter the red zone this season, and some of that falls on quarterback Will Levis, who missed several wide open opportunities for touchdowns against the Jaguars, and has only six red zone touchdown passes this season.
News 2 is your official Tennessee Titans station. Click here for more season-long coverage.
Tony Pollard enters the game only 63 yards shy of 1,000 in his first season with the Titans and it would make sense for the Titans to give the Bengals a heavy dose of Pollard to keep Burrow and Chase on the sideline where they can do the least amount of damage. Pollard has averaged 4.4 yards per carry this season and faces a Bengals defense giving up over 130 yards a game on the ground.
How do the Titans win? Simple, they first have to stop beating themselves. Last week they won the turnover battle, limited penalties and return yards on special teams. “IF” they can continue on that trajectory and finish drives with touchdowns this time they have a chance.