By: Jack Gold

Coming off a loss in which they were dominated by the Chargers, the Tennessee Titans (2-7) will be in an uphill battle to get back to winning ways as they host the Minnesota Vikings (7-2) – one of the biggest surprise teams in the NFL. 

Last Time Out

Titans 17

Chargers 27

TEN

Will Levis – 18/23, 175 yds, 2 TD, 5 car, 41 yds

Calvin Ridley – 5 rec, 81 yds, 2 TD

Jack Gibbens – 15 tkl, 10 solo

LAC

Justin Herbert – 14/18, 164 yds, 1 TD

Gus Edwards – 10 car, 55 yds

Bud Dupree – 5 tkl, 2 sacks

Tuli Tuipulotu – 5 tkl, 2 sacks

LAC Def – 7 sacks, 9 QB hits

Vikings 12

Jaguars 7

MIN

Sam Darnold – 24/38, 241 yds, 3 INT

Aaron Jones – 17 car, 88 yds

T.J. Hockenson – 8 rec, 72 yds

JAX

Mac Jones – 14/22, 111 yds, 2 INT, 1 FUM

Evan Engram – 6 rec, 40 yds

Devin Lloyd – 16 tkl, 9 solo

The Matchup

Tennessee Offense vs Minnesota Defense

In his return from injury Will Levis was flawed but showed progress vs an elite Chargers defense. He flashed in the Titans first drive of the game – highlighted by his 41-yard TD connection with Calvin Ridley – but he also looked like a guy who has barely played other times. After the offensive line seemed to be on the up-and-up, he was sacked seven times. The blame can be equally spread around between Levis, the line, and the receivers, but regardless of who’s responsible, Levis has to learn to stop taking hits and just get rid of the ball when nothing is there.

Things get no easier this week with the Brian Flores-led Vikings defense coming to town – the third best scoring defense in the NFL. Considered by many as the best defensive unit in the NFL, this Vikings unit has given up the least rushing yards in the NFL (711), while also forcing the most turnovers (20). It’s a complete unit led by a defensive genius.

The advanced stats are just as good. They rank 1st in QB pressures, 2nd in QB hurries and 2nd in QB knockdowns – a bad sign for a quarterback who has struggled tremendously with pressure in his young career.

Recent injury struggles from Tony Pollard and the Titans offensive line don’t bode confidence for the run game either. In the words of former Titan Taylor Lewan, “run left” is the Titans only hope on the ground against a stout front like Minnesota. JC Latham and Peter Skoronski have been bright spots this season and project to be “matchup-proof” solutions on the ground as they continue to grow in their young careers.

Tennessee Defense vs Minnesota Offense

One man will keep the Titans defensive staff up at night – Justin Jefferson. The best receiver in the league has been on a tear again this season – just like his entire career. So far, nobody has shown a repeatable solution to stop him, and he’s been potentially the reason Sam Darnold has revitalized his career.

Having L’Jarius Sneed back wouldn’t solve the Jefferson problem, but he would make it less worrisome, but all signs point to him missing another game on Sunday. The Titans will have to double Jefferson to reduce his statistical impact, but even then, the Vikings secondary weapons are top notch. Running back Aaron Jones has unlocked the Vikings offense in his first season with the team, and receiver Jordan Addison and tight end T.J. Hockenson are top-flight number two and three options in the pass game. 

Quarterback Sam Darnold has gotten himself paid this season. With a preseason injury to rookie first round pick JJ McCarthy, the opportunity for Darnold to lead the Vikings with no pressure of getting benched presented itself, and he ran with it. Darnold has become a strong argument for the “organizations fail young quarterbacks more than young quarterbacks fail organizations” theory. After several years of playing for broken teams and poorly run franchises, Darnold has thrived under Kevin O’Connell and will be a hot commodity in free agency for a plethora of teams – potentially including the Titans.

All of that said, Darnold reverted back to old ways last week against the Jaguars. In his worst game of the year, Darnold threw three picks on 24/38 passing and looked completely rattled all game. The Titans will hope to replicate that performance – especially the turnovers forced – if they want a shot at winning. Otherwise, the efficient Minnesota offense paired with an elite defense will be too much to overcome.

Things to Watch

Can Will Levis build upon last week?

Was last week’s version of Will Levis a franchise QB performance? Not even close, but it was a clear step in the right direction. 

Protecting the ball seems to be priority number one for him and the staff after he cost the team early season, and he accomplished that last week. Now, not taking unnecessary hits is the next step. Levis has long been known for poor pocket awareness and extreme toughness/competitiveness – to a fault. He rarely sees when pressure is coming from the outside and when he does, his pocket movement is subpar, or he scrambles and takes an unneeded hit. 

If his pocket awareness can improve, that will be another step in the right direction. If he doesn’t, well….

Unlocked Calvin Ridley

Since the Deandre Hopkins trade, Calvin Ridley has looked like what the Titans paid him to be this offseason – a true number one receiver. In the last three weeks, he’s racked up 20 catches for 300 yards and two touchdowns. The narrowed distribution of targets has benefited him greatly, and the chemistry between him and Levis seemed to be there last week. Continued production should be expected, and Ridley looks to be an important piece for the future of the franchise.

Limiting Justin Jefferson’s Impact

Stopping JJettas will be priority number one for Dennard Wilson this week, but Jefferson could have a Steph Curry-like effect on the Titans defense. In basketball, the greatest three-point shooter of all time doesn’t have to be hitting threes for his impact to be felt. The concern of him getting hot and taking over a game is always there, and many times opens up the Golden State Warriors offense for others to have big games when the opposition is too concerned with stopping him while forgetting about everyone else.

Justin Jefferson could have the exact same effect on a Titans team without their top corner on Sunday. In his weekly media availability, DC Dennard Wilson mentioned needing to double Jefferson, but also said they needed to try to not over-focus on him.

The Titans need to do exactly that – do their best to limit Jefferson while also not making life too easy on the team’s other weapons.

The Turnover Battle

Potentially the biggest reason to point to for the Vikings success and Titans struggles this season is turnovers created. The Vikings lead the league in that and sit at 7-2, meanwhile, the Titans have forced the second least in the NFL and are slated to pick third in the NFL draft at the current moment. As is with most games, whoever wins the turnover battle will be in the best position to win.

Jeffery Simmons

After dealing with a myriad of injuries over the past year and playing in bad losses, if felt like Jeffery Simmons’ impact was getting quieter and quieter over time. In recent weeks, that has not been at all the case. Simmons has been dominant and has proved the Titans front office right for shutting down every team that was interested in acquiring him at the trade deadline. Simmons is a foundational piece and has been a problem the past few weeks. 

Jack Gibbens’ Play

After being an afterthought for the majority of the year, linebacker Jack Gibbens was thrust into a starting role with the trade of Ernest Jones. He has overwhelmingly capitalized on his opportunity, so much so that Jerome Baker, who the team acquired in the Jones trade to replace him, has yet to see the field. He’s been PFF’s highest-graded Titan over the past two weeks and has looked like it – he leads the NFL this season with the most tackles two-game span (29).