Tennessee Titans Look to Rebound in Week 2 Clash with Los Angeles Rams
Cam Ward and the Tennessee Titans started the season with a subpar performance against a talented Denver Broncos team. Now, they will look to bounce back in Cam Ward’s home debut against the 1-0 LA Rams.
In week 1, the Rams beat a fellow AFC South team, the Houston Texans. The game didn’t have many fireworks, as the Rams got the win 14-9.
Matthew Stafford played well, and Puka Nacua had a big game with 10 catches for 130 yards.
The Titans benefited from four Broncos turnovers in their week 1 game, but the Rams only turned the ball over once.
The Titans struggled to contain Courtland Sutton, as mentioned in the recap article. Now, their secondary, which may be short-handed on Sunday, will have to contend with Puca Nacua and Davante Adams.
The Titans have a strong defense, but they need to commit fewer penalties and improve in their pass coverage, so this matchup is one the Rams could exploit.
On the other side of the ball, Cam Ward looked calm, albeit unimpressive, in his NFL regular-season debut. He threw for 112 yards with no scores or picks.
Titans’ fans will be pleased with the “no picks” part of that equation, but in the NFL, you typically won’t win if you don’t put the ball in the end zone.
The Texans found that out against the Rams last week.
It is worrying that the Rams' defense was able to hold the Texans to under 10 points, but some of that has to do with the Texans’ offensive struggles and injuries.
Keys to the Game
For the Titans to win Sunday, they need to protect Cam Ward, limit the penalties, and make the Rams offense one-dimensional.
Protecting Cam Ward will not only help him have more time to find the right receiver each play. It will also limit the risk of injury. The Broncos sacked Ward six times. The new look Titans O-line needs to do better. The Rams have a good pass rush, like Denver. They sacked CJ Stroud three times, and they’ll be poised to replicate or improve on that output against the Titans.
The Titans had more penalty yards than passing yards in week 1. They must limit these self-inflicted wounds if they want to win any games this season.
The Titans failed in containing Courtland Sutton, but they also allowed Denver to have over 150 rushing yards as a team.
Rams running back Kyren Williams was held to 66 yards by the Texans' defense. The Titans need to use their usually strong running defense to contain Williams and force the Rams to throw the ball. Then, they can try to force Stafford to make bad throws and get some turnovers as they did against Bo Nix.
A bonus key to the game: score a touchdown.
Just one would be nice.
The Rams didn’t light up the scoreboard against the Texans, so it probably won’t take a ton of points for the Titans to have a chance to win.
Prediction
Matthew Stafford is a seasoned NFL veteran. It will be hard for the Titans to force him to make mistakes. Williams could bounce back in a big way after his slow start. Cam Ward and the Titans still need time to get going.
Rams 23, Titans 10