The Tennessee Titans (5-6) have become an entirely different football team in recent weeks, as they got their 5th straight win on Sunday, beating the Arizona Cardinals in the final seconds.  Earlier this season, it seemed as if nothing could go right for the Titans, but as soon as Vince Young became the starting quarterback the Titans became a different team on and off the field.  Young had one of the best games of his career, throwing for 387 yards and a game winning touchdown on 27/43 passes.  Chris Johnson also had a huge game for the Titans, rushing for 154 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries.

The Titans defense played well in this game, but they did not have to face the Cardinals regular quarterback Kurt Warner.  Matt Leinart started in place of the injured Warner, and the Cardinals are just not the same team.  Leinart didn’t turn the ball over but he wasn’t able to make very many big plays and failed to find the endzone.  The special teams gave up a big play, which almost cost them the game.  With a 10 point lead late in the 3rd quarter the Titans gave up a 99-yard kick-off return for a touchdown and the Cardinals rode that momentum to another score early in the 4th quarter, giving them the lead.  The Titans were not able to get much going until their final drive, when Young needed every second to lead them 99-yards to a game winning touchdown.

The Tennessee Titans (4-6) have been a completely different team ever since Vince Young took over as the starting quarterback, and they will be looking for their fifth straight win this week against the Arizona Cardinals.  I’m expecting Young and the Titans’ running game to continue their success, but the defense is what concerns me for the Titans.  The Cardinals’ offense, led by Kurt Warner, have the ability to put a lot of points on the board.  Warner suffered a concussion last week though, but he will play.  The Cardinals are not a very good running team (only 94 rushing yards per game), so if the Titans can keep Warner from having a big game they should win.  They can’t let Warner and receiver Larry Fitzgerald connect too often, or they will be in trouble.

The Titans offense has been causing problems for every team they have faced ever since Young took over at quarterback.  They have an amazing running attack, which at times looks more like a college style offense than an NFL one.  Young and Chris Johnson should be able to get a lot of yards on the ground, as the Cardinals give up over 100 rushing yards per contest.  Young’s athleticism brings so many options to the Titans offense and defenses are struggling to adjust.  Since the Cardinals don’t have a particularly good defense, especially against the run, I like the Titans in a close game.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Tennessee Titans 24, Arizona Cardinals 21

Vince Young and the Tennessee Titans (4-6) won their fourth straight, taking down the Houston Texans (5-5) in a close game.  It was the legs of Young and Chris Johnson that led the Titans to the win, combining for 224 rushing yards.  Johnson had 151 of those yards, and was a force in the running game. Young also was effective in the passing game, keeping the defense honest and going for 116 yards and a touchdown on 12/22 attempts.  Young did not throw any interceptions, but did lose a fumble.  Young was able to get the Titans’ in to field goal range late in the game, and Rob Bironas hit a 53-yarder with 47 seconds left to give the Titans the win.

The Titans defense had a hard time keeping Texans’ quarterback Matt Schaub in check.  Schaub went for 305 yards and 2 touchdowns on 25/39 attempts, but it wasn’t enough.  The defense did do a good job shutting the running game down, holding the Texans to only 57 rushing yards.  They were not able to get any turnovers, but they kept the Texans scoreless in the 4th quarter, which opened the door for Bironas’ game winning field goal.  The Titans are definitely a different team than the one who started 0-6, and Vince Young has a lot to do with that.

24-year old Chris Johnson has been playing so well this season that LenDale White has not got on the field much this year.  Johnson will likely get a lot of votes for the MVP Award in the NFL if he keeps playing at this pace.  Johnson has played in 9 games for the Titans so far this season and he has carried the ball 170 times for 1,091 yards (6.4 ypc) with 8 TD runs.  He has also caught 30 passes for 262 yards (8.7 avg) with 1 TD grab this year.  With the Texans having issues stopping the run, Johnson is in line to have a huge game for the Titans tonight.  Johnson has now played in 24 games in his two years with the Titans and he has carried the ball 421 times for 2,319 yards (5.5 ypc) with 17 TD runs.  He has also caught 73 passes for 522 yards (7.2 avg) with 2 TD grabs in his career.  The amazing thing to me is that Johnson dropped all the way to the Titans two years ago in the NFL Draft as a lot of teams have to be kicking themselves for passing on this guy.

The Tennessee Titans (3-6) have had their season rejuvenated ever since Vince Young became the starter, and they are looking to continue that success this week in Texas against the Houston Texans (5-4).  Young’s passing numbers are not going to blow you away, but he has been doing a very good job managing the game and taking care of the ball.  Chris Johnson has been the main reason for the Titans success, as Young’s athleticism at quarterback seems to have open things up for the running game.  In the Titans past three games (all wins) Johnson has rushed for at least 132 yards and 2 touchdowns in each game, including a 228 yard effort against the Jaguars.  If the Titans offense can continue this type of play against the Texans, they will have a great shot at winning their fourth straight game.

The Titans defense needs to be ready to slow down Matt Schaub and the Texans’ passing game.  Schaub and the passing game are averaging 284 passing yards per game, and the Titans give up 270 passing yards per game, so it could be a big day for Schaub.  Schaub has thrown 4 interceptions in his past two games though, so the Titans may get some turnovers.  The Titans best defense is their offense though, as their run-first offense can eat up the clock and keep the ball out of Schaub’s hands.  That is why I think the Titans will pull out a close win.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Tennessee Titans 34, Houston Texans 28

The NFL has fined 86-year old Bud Adams $250,000 bucks for flipping off Bills’ fans repeatedly from his owners’ box.  The crazy thing about Adams acting like he did is the fact that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell was sitting in that same box earlier in this game.  The fine seems a little excessive but the NFL holds owners to a higher standard than the players so in that case this makes a little sense.

This game was tied 17-17 heading into the 4th quarter before the Titans exploded for 24 points in the 4th quarter.  Vince Young had another solid game for the Titans today as he completed 17 of 25 passes for 210 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT.  He also carried the ball 5 times for 29 yards (5.8 ypc) today.  Chris Johnson had a monster game for the Titans today with 132 yards rushing on 26 carries (5.1 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  He also caught 9 passes for 100 yards (11.1 avg) in this game against the Bills.  WRs Kenny Britt (2 rec, 55 yards) and Nate Washington (2 rec, 33 yards, TD) both had solid games for the Titans today in the passing game.  The Titans finished up with 378 total yards in this game (168 rushing, 210 passing).

The defense was led by linebacker Keith Bulluck today with 12 tackles.  CB Rod Hood also had a solid game for the Titans today with 3 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 pass defensed and a interception that he returned 31 yards for a TD in the 4th quarter.  Safety Vincent Fuller also returned a pickoff for a TD in the 4th quarter today (26 yards).  The Bills finished up with 296 total yards on offense (89 rushing, 207 passing) today.  The Titans are now 3-6 on the season.

The Titans have lost starting WR Justin Gage for at least a couple of weeks due to multiple fractures to transverse process bones in his back.  Gage has played in all 8 games for the Titans this season and he has caught 22 passes for 302 yards (13.7 avg) with 1 TD grab and he also has 2 tackles.  Kenny Britt (20 rec, 296 yards) and Nate Washington (23 rec, 202 yards, 4 TDs) will need to step up with Gage out of action.

Both of these teams are playing better as of late.  The Bills have won two of their last three games while the Titans have won their last two games after starting the season 0-6.  The Bills will turn back to QB Trent Edwards for this season as he returns from a concussion.  Edwards’ return will allow the Bills to possibly attack the Titans’ weakness on defense which is the secondary.  The Titans are allowing 278.4 yards passing per game this season and opposing QBs have a 102.8 rating against them.  But the Bills won’t forget about running the ball with Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson against a Titans’ D that is allowing 111.9 yards rushing per game and 4.4 yards per carry. 

This is a perfect match up for Vince Young and the Titans.  The Bills are allowing 173.6 yards rushing per game and 5.1 yards per carry so far this season.  With that in mind look for Charles Johnson (959 yards rushing, 6.7 ypc, 6TDs), LenDale White and Vince Young to have a lot of room to run the ball.  The Titans must control this game on the ground as Vince Young will likely want to steer clear of passing against the Bills too much as they already have 15 interceptions this season including 7 by rookie safety Jairus Byrd.

PREDICTION:  TITANS 27, BILLS 20

Vince Young led the Tennessee Titans (2-6) to their second straight victory, beating the San Francisco 49ers (3-5) on the road.  Young didn’t put up any eye-popping numbers, going 12/19 for 172 yards, but the quarterback is a winner and proved that again Sunday.  Young made plays when they were needed and gave the Titans a touchdown with his legs on a 7-yard TD run early in the second quarter.  Chris Johnson had another huge day on the ground for the Titans, rushing for 135 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries.

The two teams were all tied up heading into the 4th quarter and the Titans got 10 points from their offense, and 7 from their defense.  Cortland Finnegan picked off 49ers’ quarterback Alex Smith and returned it 39 yards for a touchdown.  This was a big play for the Titans and pretty much sealed the deal for them.  The 49ers were able to answer with a touchdown, but there just wasn’t enough time for them to comeback as it put them down 7 with 39 seconds to play.  The Titans defense did a great job pressuring Smith.  They intercepted him three times, forced two fumbles, and sacked him four times.  They did give up 108 rushing yards, but they did enough to contain the 49ers offense and let Johnson, Young, and Titans offense take care of business.  This just proves that Young should have been starting much earlier this season.