NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – Two struggling teams square off Sunday at Nissan Stadium when the (3-7) Tennessee Titans host the (1-9) Carolina Panthers.
The Titans return home after three straight losses on the road that saw their offensive line continue to struggle in front of rookie quarterback Will Levis. The Tennessee team managed only 36 total points in those three losses, and Levis took a beating — he was sacked 10 times and hit 28 more.
On Sunday, the Titans will be without starting right tackle Chris Hubbard who went on Injured Reserve Saturday with a biceps injury. Dillon Radunz is expected to get the start in his place.
Left tackle is a whole other story with Andre Dillard benched for the third time and Nicholas Petit-Frere also on injured reserve. The Titans are turning to rookie sixth round pick Jaelyn Duncan after a promising effort off of the bench last week in Jacksonville.
“I’m excited to see Jaelyn (Duncan)” said head coach Mike Vrabel, “and he’ll start out there and this is a great opportunity for him. Dre (Andre Dillard) will be ready to go and is through protocol and ready to go.”
Despite the Panthers (1-9) record, their defense ranks 7th in the NFL giving up only 306 yards per game. So, this is anything but a get right game for the Titans offensive line. Tennessee has played far better at home this season scoring 27, 27 and 28 points.
Defensively, the Titans will play a Carolina team that has struggled massively behind rookie quarterback Bryce Young, who was the first pick of the NFL Draft. The Panthers and Titans rank 30th and 27th in the NFL after 10 games.
NFL Offensive Rankings
- (#32.) New York Jets- 260 YPG
- (#31.) New York Giants- 263 YPG
- (#30.) Carolina Panthers- 266 YPG
- (#29.) Las Vegas Raiders- 277 YPG
- (#27.) Tennessee Titans- 286 YPG
One of the big problems for the Titans have been their inability to consistently a run the football, which has been their calling card for years, especially since Derrick Henry took over the offense.
Without that consistency they have been unable utilize play action, stay out of 3rd and long situations and stay on the field. It is hard to give your playmakers the football when the offense is not on the field, and last week in Jacksonville, the Titans ran just under 40 plays for the game.
Henry has tried to lead the way suggesting he needs to play harder and do more for his team, because to this point, this team has not been good enough.
Vrabel said he agrees, “I love that attitude, I think, the attitude that we all have to do a little bit more, even Derrick (Henry), and we have to help him out. One, we’ve got to help him out by being able to run more plays. We can’t give him the ball ten times and have—not that he couldn’t have an impact, but there’s a process to being able to get him those carries that then marinate, mature, and have the ability to bust a few, and break some tackles.”
“We know that there’s going to be some—hopefully not too many—inefficient runs, but we know that over the course of 18, or 20, or 22 carries that, hopefully, we get some of those that pop,” Vrabel continued, “There’s some room, and then sometimes there’s not based on the front, or based on the coverage, or our inability to get the defender or somebody falls off.”
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Henry enters Sunday just two yards short of 9,000 for his career, but the Titans are looking for a lot more than that. He has topped 100 yards just once in his last six games — that was also the only time he got over 20 carries.
NFL Rushing Leaders
- (#1). Christian McCaffrey – 969 Yards
- (#2). Raheem Mostert – 785 Yards
- (#3). D’Andre Swift – 690 Yards
- (#4). James Cook – 688 Yards
- (#7). Derrick Henry- 663 Yards
The Titans are (3-0) at Nissan Stadium this season and enter their contest with the Panthers as (-3.5) point favorites.