By: Jack Gold

The Tennessee Titans (1-5) face a nearly impossible task on Sunday: beating the Super Bowl contending Detroit Lions (5-1). With trades this week signaling a punt on the season to accelerate a rebuild, Brian Callahan and the Titans will look find out what they have with the members of the 2024 team and hopefully build momentum towards 2025.

Last Time Out

Titans 10

Bills 34

TEN

Mason Rudolph – 25/40, 215 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT, 1 FUM

Tony Pollard – 16 car, 61 yds

Chig Okonkwo – 4 rec, 50 yds

BUF

Josh Allen – 21/33, 323 yds, 2 TD

Keon Coleman – 4 rec, 125 yds

Amari Cooper – 4 rec, 66 yds, 1 TD

Lions 31

Vikings 29

DET

Jared Goff – 22/25, 280 yds, 2 TD

Jahmyr Gibbs – 15 car, 116 yds, 2 TD, 4 rec, 44 yds

Amon Ra St. Brown – 8 rec, 112 yds, 1 TD

MIN

Sam Darnold – 22/27, 259 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT

Aaron Jones – 14 car, 93 yds, 1 TD, 3 rec, 23 yds

Justin Jefferson – 7 rec, 81 yds, 1 TD

The Matchup

Tennessee Offense vs Detroit Defense

After last week’s surprise start from Mason Rudolph, one thing was confirmed: this Titans’ offense has more problems than just quarterback play. With the play at right tackle and the lack of separation (and catching) from the wide receiving core, this unit is going to be severely handicapped regardless of who’s piloting the offense. It will be Brian Callahan’s job to do his best to scheme around the glaring issues and find the best solutions in the playbook and on the roster to hide them, but the reality of the situation is that this is a rebuilding team, and things like this should be expected.

The Detroit defense provides a tough challenge, but one that seems much easier than it did a few weeks ago after key injuries have ravaged the unit in recent weeks. In just the last three games, the Lions have gone from a formidable group that would be one of the best at stopping the run and rushing the passer, to a group with a ton of question marks after losing Defensive Player of the Year candidate DE Aidan Hutchinson, DT Kyle Peko and DL Marcus Davenport to season-ending injuries.

Last week, in their first game without Hutchinson, the unit was torched by the Minnesota Vikings for a whopping 7.4 yards per play – though context matters as the Vikings offense is one of the hottest in the league to start the year.

After being their biggest weakness last season, the Lions secondary has been a bright spot as of late. Free agent acquisition Carlton Davis has helped the cause, but the youth movement of Brian Branch and Terion Arnold has been most impressive as both have lived up to their pre-NFL Draft hype. Branch, a ballhawk safety with four picks on the year, will likely cause problems for presumed starter Mason Rudolph with Will Levis dealing with injury.

If the Titans are successful moving the ball on Sunday, it will likely be led by Tony Pollard and the run game, but the offense has to move the ball through the air, or at least threaten to do that early on. In recent weeks, defenses have keyed in on the unit’s inability to pass in the second half, making it nearly impossible to run the ball and resulting in ineptitude as a unit.

Tennessee Defense vs Detroit Offense

The biggest concerns for Sunday lie on this side of the ball. Led by Jared Goff, the Lions offense is scattered with elite playmakers and powered by their league-best offensive line – a unit the Titans hope to one day replicate.

Goff has been hyper-efficient as of late going 76/91 (84%) through the air in the past four games headlined by an NFL-record 18 of 18 performance against the Seahawks. Having a stonewall in front of him and a plethora of weapons in Amon Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, Sam Laporta and Jahmyr Gibbs has made his life incredibly easy. On top of that, the one-two punch of Gibbs and David Montgomery is the best running tandem in the league.

Dan Campbell’s physical and mental culture change in Detroit has been a smashing success and offensive coordinator Ben Johnson is one of the best young offensive minds in the league and will have his pick at head coaching jobs this offseason (just like he did last year).

In saying all of that, the Titans, if healthy, will still have a chance. Their biggest (literally) strength has been the interior duo of T’Vondre Sweat and Jeffery Simmons. They thrive against the run – Detroit’s bread and butter offensively. 

The health and play of L’Jarius Sneed will be important, and the recent play of Jarvis Brownlee has been exciting. Roger McCreary will likely be tasked with covering St. Brown, the Lions’ best receiver, as he lines up in the slot the majority of the time.

Those three are a group you feel good about in coverage, but you can’t ask them to cover forever, and the Titans’ pass rush has left much to be desired as of late. Harold Landry has been admirable, but he is probably more of a strong number two and an alpha edge rusher, and Arden Key – though he recorded his first sack of the year last week – is better suited for a rotational role than a starting one. Pressuring Goff has been the most successful way of making him inefficient in the past, but DC Dennard Wilson will likely have to get creative with blitzing to get to the quarterback.

Things to Watch

Can the Titans’ Defense Keep Them in the Game?

This is a twofold question. First and foremost, it’s a clash of titans on that side of the ball. The Titans have given up the fewest yards per game in the NFL to this point. The Lions have produced the second-most yards per game. Something has to give on Sunday as both teams look to continue their dominance on that side of the ball. 

Secondly, even if they don’t shut them down, the question remains. Can the Tennessee defense hold up just enough to keep Detroit’s score at a manageable number for the Titans’ struggling offense? It’s likely they won’t stifle the Detroit offense, but limiting them enough may be all that is needed.

Mason Rudolph

Barring a shocking injury development with Will Levis, backup Mason Rudolph will play in his third game of the season. Contrary to popular belief early in the season, that’s not a great thing. Rudolph is a professional backup who can come in in tough spots and get a job done, but he is not the answer for this offense. Without Levis, the turnovers may be lower (though last week may have also disproved that claim), but the offense’s ceiling is much lower. Sunday has disaster potential with Rudolph playing behind a flawed o-line with a questionable receiving core.

Who Steps up in the Tennessee WR Room?

Wednesday’s trade of Deandre Hopkins to the Kansas City Chiefs was the right move for the Titans. Playoff hopes this season are gone and the likelihood of Hopkins re-signing with the team next season was slim to none. He wasn’t himself this year as he fought through his MCL injury, but he was still the best option alongside Calvin Ridley. Without him, the hope would be for Treylon Burks to step up, but yet another injury to him has all but closed the book on his Titans career. 

Look for Tyler Boyd to see more targets in the slot and the ever-reliable Nick Westbrook-Ikhine to step up and make plays when he’s called upon. More snaps for Jha’quan Jackson and/or a potential practice squad call-up of Mason Kinsey or Bryce Oliver are other possible options to see snaps to fill the void.

Who Takes Ernest Jones’ Place?

After trading a fifth-round pick to the Rams for LB Ernest Jones and a sixth, the Titans flipped him to the Seahawks for LB Jerome Baker and a fourth on Wednesday. Jones has been great so far but was on an expiring deal that made sense to move if he was not interested in re-signing.

Now, the Titans are without their best linebacker and have a hole to fill on the league’s best defense in yards allowed. Baker is the obvious option for the rest of the season, but may not be caught up to speed in time for Sunday. Jack Gibbens is the likely option this week to see the most time, but rookie fourth-rounder Cedrick Gray could potentially see time if activated from IR, and rookie seventh-rounder James Williams may also get a shot after a solid special teams showing last week.

Injury Status

Several key injuries for the Titans need to be monitored for Sunday. Will Levis (shoulder), L’Jarius Sneed (Quad), Tyjae Spears (hamstring), Cedrick Gray (shoulder), and Calvin Ridley (foot) are all dealing with different issues, and their status for Sunday is in the air. 

Who Starts at Right Tackle?

One week after Leroy Watson made his first start at right tackle (the best performance the team had had thus far), the team made him inactive against the Bills and chose to start Jaelyn Duncan instead. Duncan, who has struggled mightily, went out after just a few snaps with a hamstring injury and never returned. Nick Petit-Frere played the remainder of the contest and nothing changed with his performance. 

As of right now, even if he isn’t very good, it seems like Watson is the best option they have, and it would be pretty surprising if he didn’t start on Sunday. The team also brought in T Isaiah Prince on Tuesday, a former player for Brian Callahan with the Cincinnati Bengals. He likely will not be available on Sunday but will come in and compete for an opportunity to play over the coming weeks. It would not be surprising if he starts at some point this season with how disastrous the spot has been.

Game Information

Tennessee Titans vs Detroit Lions

Time: October 27, 2024 @ noon CDT

Location: Ford Field (Detroit, Mich.)

TV Broadcast: FOX

TV Broadcast Crew: Kevin Kugler, Daryl Johnston, Laura Okmin

Radio: Titans Radio (104-5 The Zone)

Radio Crew: Mike Keith, Dave McGinnis, Ramon Foster, Rhett Bryan, Amie Wells

Referee: Carl Cheffers

Line: Lions -11

Over/Under: 44.5