The Titans’ offensive line is going to see something weird when they line up against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday night – less than 8 defenders in the box on first down. That basically never happened over the last 2+ seasons with Derrick Henry in the backfield,* but Henry isn’t running out of that tunnel Sunday night. Now the offense should run through A.J. Brown/Ryan Tannehill/Julio Jones, etc.
Having Adrianus Lewis Peterson or D’Onta Foreman lined up behind Tannehill isn’t going to strike fear into the heart of Raheem Morris. That means the smart thing for the Rams to do is to take away A.J. and the passing game. Therein lies the opportunity. The two running backs the Titans will feature can be effective.
Early in the game, the Titans should take the path of least resistance – moving the ball with Peterson/Foreman on the ground. Make the Rams bring an extra defender into the box to stop the run. They will ultimately need to win the game through the air but having early success in the run game would open up things down the field.
Running the ball will also keep Matthew Stafford and the Rams’ high-powered offense on the sideline. While the Titans’ defense has been better of late, I don’t think they are well equipped to hold down that offense for the whole game.
Especially considering that Todd Downing has called a run on every single first down this season.** With that being said, I think Downing has done a good job overall this season but now we will see how good he really is without having 22 in the backfield.
**Not actually true
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