The Titans travel to Tampa Bay to take on the reeling Buccaneers and possibly see Tropicana Field (home of the AL East champion Rays) for the last time. Tennessee has dominated this occasional series between southeastern teams, including three consecutive wins. Both teams are on similar “retooling” timelines with good defense and inconsistent offense centered around a Hall of Fame receiver. The Buccaneers desperately need a win to keep pace in a competitively balanced division. They are on a four-game losing streak currently. Tennessee hasn’t won a road game this season. Which streak will end on Sunday?
Music City Musings – Week 10: Tennessee Titans @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Buccaneers Offense vs. Titans Defense
The Bucs offense has been a work in progress after the retirement of Tom Brady this past offseason. They brought in Baker Mayfield for the unenviable task of replacing the GOAT. The running game hasn’t been as effective this season for whatever reason. It’s been an inconsistent unit with very little continuity from one drive to another it seems. Tennessee’s run defense has been a glaring issue this season, going from a top-tier ranking to the near bottom in rapid succession. It will be interesting to see how they fare.
OL vs. DL Matchups to Watch
Tampa’s line is a patchwork of veterans and young guns trying to find their way collectively. The most notable star is left tackle Tristan Wirfs who has been that dude since Day 1. Their right tackle is Luke Goedeke, who made the jump from abysmal as a rookie to a standout sophomore. Both bookends are rated very highly by PFF, ranking within the top 15 tackles in the game. Left guard Aaron Stinnie is a former Titan who is starting due to an injury to starter Matt Feiler. He has been above average in limited duty. Where it gets potentially problematic is in the interior. Center Ryan Jensen hasn’t recovered from a potentially career-ending knee injury in two seasons. His replacement, Robert Hainsey hasn’t lit the world on fire in his stead. Rookie right Cody Mauch is suffering from typical rookie growing pains.
It will be interesting to see how the Titans decide to go after the Bucs’ inconsistent offensive line. The perimeter is easily the Bucs’ biggest strength. Will Tennessee go good on good and pair up Denico Autry and Arden Key on the left side? A Simmons + Key duo on the left would be an interesting match against Wirfs and Stinnie. Tennessee has to compensate for Harold Landry not being the same before his injury. Another possible wrinkle is Autry and Simmons rotating in and out on every series to set up easier mismatches against Hainsey and Mauch.
Skill-on-Skill Matchups to Watch
Mike Evans and Chris Godwin are the headliners in Tampa and rightfully so. Godwin leads the team in receptions and targets. Evans is still MIKE EVANS so that’s a good thing for Mayfield’s development in Tampa. The secret sauce behind their passing attack is tight end Cade Otton. He’s second on the team regarding catch percentage, catching 28 of 38 targets. The sneaky good PPR play in Tampa’s passing attack is running back Rachaad White, who has 279 yards receiving, good for third best on the team. White has garnered the lion’s share of carries, outpacing the next four ball carriers (including Baker) by a margin of 112 to 84. Both White and Vanderbilt product Ke’Shawn Vaughn are similar style runners in build and athleticism. This might be easier to prepare against for Tennessee’s defense.
How Tennessee matches up against the Bucs’ star receiver duo will be a fun one to watch for. Kristian Fulton will likely cover the venerated Evans. With former Buccaneer corner Sean Murphy-Bunting on track to miss the reunion due to a broken thumb, it’s likely up to Elijah Molden and Roger McCreary to cover Godwin. Manning the safety spots will be an interesting mix of newly acquired players and veterans like Terrell Edmunds, K’Von Wallace, Molden, and Amani Hooker. Expect rookie cornerback Eric Garror and Tre Avery to participate as well.
Titans Offense vs. Buccaneers Defense
Tennessee’s offense has undergone a significant change as rookie Will Levis has been named the starter over Ryan Tannehill. The rookie is currently 1-1 in his brief tenure. If there was ever a pass defense that’s more underwhelming than the Titans, it’s Tampa’s 31st-ranked one. Unfortunately for Tennessee, the injuries are once again piling up at key positions. Can the Titans’ offense muster up enough healthy players to make a difference against the Bucs?
OL vs. DL Matchups to Watch
Tennessee’s offensive line was grievously injured in the Thursday Night game as multiple starters were in and out of the lineup. Which isn’t including right tackle Chris Hubbard, who was inactive. He’s currently on a likely track to play on Sunday. Hubbard’s replacement, Nicholas Petit-Frere was moved to guard and was injured himself. Right guard Daniel Brunskill was injured as well and is on track to miss Sunday. It’s likely that there will be only two starters healthy enough to play. Andre Dillard was once again inserted into the lineup due to injuries elsewhere after being benched. He was an immediate flop as expected. It seemed like every available lineman on the two deep played on that Thursday night.
How the Titans manage the right tackle spot if Hubbard can’t go, bears watching as they can place either Dillard, rookie Jaelyn Duncan, or Dillon Radunz there. It’s very likely Dillard gets the look at left tackle first, much to the chagrin of Titans fans. He’ll draw the matchup against Shaq Barrett or Joe Tryon-Shoyinka. If Brunskill can’t go, Radunz would likely slide in there if he isn’t at tackle. It will be interesting to see who draws the Vita Vea matchup in the interior. Rookie Calijah Kancey is another name to watch as a versatile chess piece. The trench fight will be the key decider for the game.
Skill-on Skill Matchups to Watch
Tampa’s secondary features one of the best safeties in the league in Antoine Winfield, Jr. It appears that cornerback Carlton Davis may not play on Sunday after not practicing the majority of the week. Cornerback Jamel Dean returned to practice on Thursday on a limited basis in concussion protocol. If neither Dean or Davis cannot go, the Bucs cornerback situation gets rather dicey. They have two rookies on the practice squad and another pair on the active roster. It’s imperative for the starters to play in this one with Tennessee’s unit virtually in full health. The Bucs still boast one of the more feared linebacker duos in Lavonte David and Devin White in the interior.
Tennessee will be once again be missing Treylon Burks due to injury after he was seriously injured trying to make a catch on the sidelines late against Pittsburgh. The rest of the receiver room will have to step up to ease DeAndre Hopkins’ burden as the lead dog. Kyle Philips did pitch in a little bit last week so there’s that. NWI and Chris Moore will be expected to carry on as well. Tight end Chig Okonkwo continued his rough 2023 season last week and is in a large funk. RB Tyjae Spears is having a nice campaign as the primary backup and is a PPR play most weeks. If the line can give Levis time, he has some plays out there to make against a lowly-ranked Bucs’ pass defense.
Weather Report
The forecast for Tampa calls for a typical Sunshine State day as temperatures will be a balmy 86 degrees. There’s a 9% chance of rain. The humidity is predicted to be at 69%. Winds are projected to blow in a northeast direction at 10 mph. The temperature is slightly above average for November in Tampa. Raymond James Stadium is a natural Bermuda grass field. The weather advantage goes to the Buccaneers as Tennessee is significantly cooler due to simple geography.
Odds and Ends
The Titans lead the all-time series with a record of 10-2. Mike Vrabel is winless against the Buccaneers, going 0 for 1. Tampa head coach Todd Bowles is 1-1 lifetime against Tennessee via his tenure with the Jets. Tennessee has won five of six matchups since the transition from the Oilers to the Titans. Tennessee leads the scoring margin with an advantage of 166 to 108 in that period. The average margin of victory has been 27.6 to 18 in favor of Tennessee.
Uniform
Interestingly, the Buccaneers opted for the white jerseys and pewter pants despite being the home team. That decision led to the Titans declaring the rare road monochrome navy setup. A clear tactical decision by the denizens of Tampa to use the weather to their advantage as heat is attracted more to darker clothing. Tennessee is 1-1 this season in the all-navy uniforms and 1-0 lifetime against Tampa. A bad omen looms as they are 1-4 in the last five contests wearing them.
Data courtesy of Titans Uni Tracker
Titans
🚨Wardrobe check:🚨 The #Titans will be decked out in all navy — jerseys, britches and socks — in Sunday’s game vs the @Buccaneers. #BritchesReport pic.twitter.com/ZpE4JGIYG8
— Jim Wyatt (@jwyattsports) November 8, 2023
Buccaneers
Suited to salute 🫡
Week 🔟 'fit: pic.twitter.com/X6feIVfBy7
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) November 9, 2023
Main Image: Denny Simmons / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK
