The Tennessee Titans host the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday afternoon in a battle of 0-1 teams. LA lost a close one to the trendy AFC East sleeper Miami Dolphins after failing to contain the magic of Tyreek Hill. Tennessee lost a thriller in New Orleans with another listless showing in the second half. Which of these teams can bounce back into the win column?
Music City Musings – Week 2: Los Angeles Chargers
Chargers Offense vs. Titans Defense
The Chargers return a mostly veteran unit led by big-money quarterback Justin Herbert. He leads a stacked offense full of talented receivers and an emerging offensive line. It will be a mountainous chore for the Titans’ defense to stop much less contain this many weapons.
OL vs. DL Matchups to Watch
The Titans will face a much better test in the Chargers’ talented and majority youth-led line. Rashawn Slater has emerged as one of the elite left tackles in the game. RG Jamaree Salyer played an admirable left tackle last season as a rookie after Slater went down with an injury. Add in the ultra-versatile left guard Zion Johnson, the Chargers have a young and dominant line for years to come. Where the Titans can exploit their front seven advantage is at right tackle. Trey Pipkins is less heralded than the others and could be ripe for the picking.
Tennessee’s front seven had an impressive showing last week against the Saints. New signing Arden Key showed that he’s right at home with 1.5 sacks and numerous impact plays. Veteran Denico Autry ranked highly in every PFF metric, earning an 89.4 overall grade. Jeffery Simmons is still doing Jeffery Simmons things. Harold Landry didn’t look too rusty coming back from a torn ACL last season. Teair Tart is playing like he wants a big and well-deserved payday. It will be interesting to see how the Titans match up with the Chargers up front. Getting pressure will be the key as the Chargers’ skill players are a bear to cover for any secondary, much the Titans’ average one.
Skill-on Skill Matchups to Watch
LA has a flotilla of Monsters at the skill positions that can either burn or box out every defender thrown their way. Leading the way for the receivers is the wily old veteran Keenan Allen. Rookie Quentin Johnston hasn’t gotten off to the best start but he’s still capable of mixing and matching his size and speed. Mike Williams still is the 50-50 ball specialist that we all know and love. A low-key receiver that hardly anyone talks about is Josh Palmer. He’s a significant size threat as well. In addition to those receivers, the Chargers sport a pair of freaky athletic tight ends Gerald Everett and Donald Parham.
Tennessee might catch a lucky break with star runner Austin Ekeler battling an ankle injury. His status is unknown at this time but it’s likely that he will load managed during the week. In the event that Ekeler doesn’t play, Joshua Kelley has proven to be a capable backup. Tennessee’s linebackers held up well in coverage and run defense last week.
Needless to say, the Titans’ secondary will have their hands full trying to cover these weapons all over the field with an offensive coordinator willing to throw a lot. Herbert can make any throw whenever and wherever he wants with a rocket arm.
Titans Offense vs. Chargers Defense
Let’s just say that the Titans’ offense didn’t have the best day at the office on Sunday. Ryan Tannehill was off on his throws, missing numerous wide-open receivers and throwing ghastly Zach Wilson-like interceptions. OC Tim Kelly drew up a good game plan but seemed overcompensating trying not to be his much-maligned predecessor. Tyjae Spears out-snapped Derrick Henry even. The Chargers defense didn’t have the greatest days, either so there’s that.
OL vs. DL Matchups to Watch
Left tackle Andre Dillard doesn’t get a break this week after a horrendous performance last week against the Saints front. Both Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack will be salivating over facing the former Eagles tackle. Surprisingly, Chris Hubbard fared pretty decently as a pass blocker starting on the right side. He was ESPN’s top tackle in pass block win percentage. Rookie Peter Skoronski acquitted himself well, earning an overall grade of 81.3 from PFF.
Skill-on Skill Matchups to Watch
Weather Report
The weather forecast for Sunday afternoon calls for a temperature of a sunny 81 degrees with a 21% chance of rain. The humidity won’t be as oppressive as in the summer, projected to be at 57%. Winds are projected to be at nine miles per hour in a northwesterly direction. It’s shaping up to be a perfect NFL Sunday for both teams.
Odds and Ends
Los Angeles leads the all-time series with a record of 29-18-1. Titans head coach Mike Vrabel has a 1-2 record against them since taking over the organization. These two teams last played each other during the 2022 season, which resulted in a 17-14 victory for LA. In these three games, the total score was 57 to 56. The average margin of victory has been 2.3 points so the expectation should be a closely knit affair. The Chargers are 6-2 under coach Brandon Staley when heading past the Mississippi River.
Uniform
On a funny but random note, the Titans are 0-2 in the new uniform era while wearing white jerseys and navy blue pants against the Chargers. The same exact uniform color combinations between these two teams happened in 2018, a Titans loss.
Titans
🚨Wardrobe check:🚨 The #Titans will be decked out in white jerseys with navy blue britches and all navy socks in Sunday’s game vs the @Chargers. 👖 #BritchesReport pic.twitter.com/Mh0vsZD8GF
— Jim Wyatt (@jwyattsports) September 13, 2023
Chargers
— ⚡️ Los Angeles Chargers (LAC) Uniform Tracker ⚡️ (@LACUniTracker) September 12, 2023
Betting
The Titans are 1-0 against the spread while the Chargers are 0-1. Tennessee finished with the under last week while LA finished over. Historically, this matchup has favored the Chargers by an average margin of 26.7 points to 16.1 since the turn of the century.
The Titans are currently underdogs by three points while the money line presents itself at +140 for the home team.
The Over/Under is featured at an even 45 points at this juncture. Given the state of the Titans’ offense as of late, they likely won’t contribute much to the over. The Chargers offense might have to carry the load in that regard and are fully capable of doing so. The defense has been poor under Staley’s tenure so there is some hope for Tennessee to have a resurgent showing. LA has given up an average of 32.8 points under his watch during the past two seasons plus one game this season. They’ve also scored 28.3 points per game in that same time span.
Stay away from this contest as a bettor and go for more low-risk plays elsewhere. If you’re inclined to take on the risk, the over is certainly in play and based on the shared history, take the cover as well.
[metabet_core_odds_board query=”535911″ site_id=”lastwordonsports”]
Prediction
LOS ANGELES 28
Tennessee 17
Main Photo: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports
