The Tennessee Titans just may be the hottest team in the AFC — which is probably surprising to some, considering they have the worst offense in the NFL.
While running back Derrick Henry has carried — figuratively and literally — the team to an AFC-best five straight wins, the Titans can’t reasonably expect to compete with the conference’s elite (Buffalo, Miami, Kansas City) with an anemic 31st-ranked passing offense that’s averaging fewer than 150 yards per game.
Which brings us to Sunday’s matchup against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.
Kansas City can stretch the field, beat teams deep, over the middle — pretty much any way that Mahomes decides. They’re sort of like the anti-Titans. Mahomes ranks fourth in the league in passing, and he has a solid complement of weapons to throw to, including tight end Travis Kelce, and receivers Juju Smith-Schuster, Marquez Valdez-Scantling, Mecole Hardman, and newly acquired Kadarius Toney.
Then there’s the Titans.
As Ryan Tannehill continues to test the limits of his injured ankle during practice, it’s clear from Malik Willis’ performance last week against the Houston Texans that if Tennessee hopes to push its win streak to six, it won’t be with Willis under center.
“Just being able to do my job effectively, be able to move around, protect myself and be able to not be a statue back there,” Tannehill said of what he’s looking for out of practice this week. “That is not going to be an effective way to play a game, is to not be able to move at all. You have to be able to move around in the pocket, evade a rush, get outside if I need to, that type of stuff.”
While the bar wasn’t set particularly high for Willis, a rookie making his first start after only a few days to prepare taking starter’s reps, his 55 yards passing and 10 pass attempts against a below-average defense likely did little to inspire confidence that he can keep the Titans’ playoff aspirations afloat should Tannehill miss multiple games.
Willis looked lost, rushed throws, struggled to work through his progressions and proved that he’s likely still a long way away from being able to effectively run the Titans offense. Fortunately for him, the Texans have the worst run defense in the league, and he just happened to have the NFL’s hottest running back in the backfield behind him.
“It is a good opportunity that [Willis] got his first start,” Titans coach Mike Vrabel said. “He will learn a lot more and learn from the things that he can correct and fix. That is the way we will approach it. We will try to make sure that there is a plan in place and that everybody is confident in it. Then we will see how the game goes.”
Added Tannehill: “At the end of the day, he went out there and found a way to get a win. That is the job each and every week.”
A healthy dose of Henry is expected again this week, regardless of who’s under center. But unfortunately for Tennessee, Kansas City has the third-best run defense in the league, and the Chiefs are one of just five teams to allow fewer than 100 yards rushing per game this season.
And that only intensifies the pressure on the passing game to show up.
The Titans rank last in total offense (285.6 yards per game), and they’re one of just five team to average fewer than 300 yards per game. Tennessee’s receiver group also ranks near the bottom of the league in virtually every major receiving category, totaling 51 receptions, 658 receiving yards and just one touchdown. Robert Woods is the team’s only active receiver with double-digit receptions, and two of the team’s five leading receivers are running backs.
But if there were a “get right” game for the passing offense to get back on track, this is it. Kansas City has the third-worst passing defense, surrendering 277 yards passing per game and the most passing touchdowns (17) in the NFL. The Chiefs also give up receptions in bunches, allowing 198 receptions through seven games, tied for third-most.
But of course, to exploit a bad passing defense, the Titans will have to throw the ball more than 10 times.
The Titans will face the Chiefs this Sunday, Nov. 6, at Arrowhead Stadium. Kickoff is at 7:20 p.m. Central, with NBC's Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth on the call.
Follow Michael Gallagher on Twitter @MGsports_.
