Thursday night the Tennessee Titans play their second primetime game of the season as they take on the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Steel City. This game will carry heavy playoff implications. At 7-2, the Steelers currently hold the top seed in the AFC playoff picture. The Titans are not only competing for positioning among teams from the other divisions but also to fend off the Jacksonville Jaguars within the division. In order to emerge victorious, here are the matchups that the Titans must win.
Week 11 Tennessee Titans Key Matchups
Jack Conklin vs. Cameron Heyward
The Steelers have one of the stingiest defenses in the NFL as they rank second in points and yards allowed. Their secondary has improved with the additions of Joe Haden (who is now out for the six weeks) and Mike Hilton as well as the breakout of Artie Burns. They now rank second in the league in passing defense. Moreover, the Steelers are tied for second in the league with 29 sacks with Cameron Heyward tied for the team lead with five.
However, the Steelers are just 11th against the run. Therefore, the Titans should be prepared to feed them a heavy dose of the running game; meaning Jack Conklin and the rest of the Titans offensive line will have a chance to get after it. If there is any hope for the Titans to win this game they are going to have to win at the point of attack and have a methodical rushing attack led by the two headed monster of DeMarco Murray and Derrick Henry.
While neither of them has had the eye popping numbers that many expected, the Titans still rank eighth in the league in yards per game and seventh in yards per rush with 4.4. Against a Steelers defense allowing 4.2 yards per game on the ground, the opportunity to run the ball should be there.
The key for the Titans in this game will be to shorten the game and control the ball, because they don’t want to get into a shootout with Pittsburgh. Keep the clock rolling and they have a chance.
Delanie Walker vs. Ryan Shazier
Ryan Shazier is one of the best linebackers in the NFL with his speed and instincts to complement his technique. Put it all together and he is a tackling machine that can also cover. In fact he leads the Steelers with three interceptions while also leading the team in tackles. Delanie Walker will be battling Shazier throughout the evening. Even if Walker doesn’t make a huge impact on the stat sheet, he can still have an impact on the game. If Shazier follows him around most of the game, it will free Eric Decker or Rishard Matthews to have a favorable matchup.
The Steelers putting emphasis on countering the Titans top target (63 receptions for Walker) with their best cover man, this could also open up holes in the running game with Shazier playing the pass. Matthews leads the team in receiving yards with 513 and makes more of the plays down the field. However, don’t expect the long passing game to be featured against a prolific secondary. Expect the Titans to use a lot of three step drops to allow Marcus Mariota to get the football out quickly to help counter the Steelers pass rush.
However, in the quick passing game there is bound to be some balls sent Walker’s way. While he may not have a staple game in this one, Walker must make plays when he gets his opportunities.
Kevin Byard vs. JuJu Smith-Schuster
In the last few weeks, JuJu Smith-Schuster has burst onto the scene. The speedy receiver from USC has become the second favorite target of Ben Roethlisberger in a very short amount of time. The biggest threat he gives the Pittsburgh offense is the deep threat. He’s shown his blazing speed multiple times over the last few weeks, including a 97 yard touchdown against the Detroit Lions.
Meanwhile, Kevin Byard leads the league in interceptions with six. It is going to be his responsibility to keep the deep ball from blowing the game open. While the Titans are just 19th in the league in passing yards allowed, they have done a pretty good job of preventing big plays as they allow just 6.5 yards per attempt, good for seventh best in the league.
The pass rush will be another factor. While the Titans certainly have not put up the gaudy sack numbers, they have been doing a good job of getting pressure on the quarterback. Through their first seven games, they were getting pressure on over a third of their opponent’s dropbacks. Pro Football Focus also has Brian Orakpo and Derrick Morgan in their top 20 of outside rushers. The pass rush has to be able to get their and prevent Roethlisberger from having time to drop back and make those long completions. If the Titans don’t let any big plays go over their head, they will be in this game. Seeing Roethlisberger matchup against the defensive coordinator he saw in practice for years will be fun to watch.
One cannot talk about the Steelers without mentioning Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell. Brown will certainly attract the bulk of the attention, which will leave Byard with more responsibility to prevent long passes. Bell is the premiere dual threat running back in the league with his abilities as a runner and pass catcher; wrapping up will be crucial after he gets the ball. Byard has missed nine tackles this season, including one Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals. This will be the biggest test yet for the second year safety.
If these matchups go the Titans way, they are capable of ending the five game winning streak the Steelers are currently on. This will be a physical matchup of two teams that are very familiar with one another with as former AFC Central rivals that have swapped coaches and other personnel that will have an impact on what happens in January.
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