Special Preview– NFL, Week 15
Tennessee Titans at Los Angeles Chargers
Titans: After the 0-2 start, they were able to reel off five consecutive victories and all appeared to be well with the world, right? The AFC South hasn’t been what it was supposed to be and I say that because the Texans are still in a rebuild, the Jaguars are a lot better under Doug Pedersen this year than they were at any point at all with Urban Meyer and the Colts have to be one of the biggest disappointments in all of the NFL. Everything has been on a silver platter for them to run away with this division. In their last six games, the Titans have a 2-4 record. I look at how the Bengals punched them in the mouth back in November, against the Eagles. Jalen Hurts and A.J. Brown tore them apart and just this past Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars, they just didn’t show up, plain and simple and as I’ve been saying all year long, see what happens when you can take a team too lightly? Out of all the would-be playoff teams in the AFC, this is the one that scares me the least of anyone and it’s because you bottle up Derrick Henry, you beat them. For Tennessee to win, he needs to carry the ball at least 30 times and rush for over 125 yards. I don’t trust anyone else on their offense to step up and be that guy to take pressure off King Henry. They will look to snap their losing streak on Sunday when they make a trip into SoFi.
Chargers: Sunday was a big win for them. This is actually the best I’ve seen them look all season because they were in control for a majority of the game and they were able to hold onto the lead and most importantly, finish the football game. With that win, they were able to keep their slim playoff chances alive. Exactly, how did the Chargers beat the Miami Dolphins? They were able to shut down that prolific passing attack of Miami’s and basically made them a one-dimensional football team. The game changer was finally having a healthy room of Wide Receivers, and this has been a reoccurring issue this year. One week, they have Keenan Allen and not Mike Williams, or they have Mike, but not Keenan or either one of them. It makes all the difference in the world when key guys are healthy. Justin Herbert was also locked in, and I was getting tired of him receiving the criticism he was. You try playing without your top two targets and tell me how that works for you. In a year where they had some expectations that were high, injuries truly hurt their chances (no pun intended). With the win, they improved to 7-6 on the year. They have another big home game on Sunday against the Titans.
Titans X-Factor: Jeffrey Simmons– He’s been a problem for opposing offenses in this last year and a half. Jeffrey plays the Defensive Tackle position so violently because he chooses to just bulldoze anyone that gets in his way! He is a bully that bullrushes his way to wherever he wants to get. When Jeffrey has it going, he’s almost impossible to limit from wrecking the offensive game plan. He can rush from the edge or the interior of the Defensive Line.
Chargers X-Factor: Austin Ekeler– He’s their version of Dalvin Cook or even Aaron Jones because he impacts the game in several ways such as the two, I just listed. Austin can take hand offs out of the back field, or he can catch the ball in the flat and work in space. Austin is a very powerful and elusive Running Back that uses his strength to his full advantage. He plays with that low center of gravity and always has those legs moving. He’s such a tough tackle in open space and is so difficult to bring down.
Final Thoughts: This is a huge game for both teams. The Titans are looking to snap a losing streak, while the Chargers are looking to keep winning. I see this game coming down to which team will exploit the others weakness. The Titans struggle to stop the pass and the LA group of receivers will be healthy once again and the Chargers struggle to stop the run. The best Running Back in football is coming to town. The Titans allow 283 passing yards per game so expect to see the Chargers have a big game in the air on Sunday. For the Titans to win this game, it will be all on Derrick Henry. If he rushes for at least 175 yards on the ground, the Titans walk out of SoFi with a win. If the Chargers can do enough to contain Derrick, LA will do more than enough offensively to win this game.
Prediction: Chargers 26, Titans 23
