Chris Johnson is having one of the best seasons ever in the NFL.  He has played in 14 games in which he has carried the ball 301 times for 1,730 yards (5.7 ypc) with 11 TD runs and he has also caught 44 passes for 446 yards (10.1 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Even early in the year when the Titans were having trouble throwing the ball and Johnson was facing extra defenders in the box he was still getting his yards.  He has averaged 155.4 yards from scrimmage this season and 6.3 yards every time he has touched the football showing just how electrifying he is.

The Titans have lost Keith Bulluck (torn left ACL) and David Thornton (pectoral/shoulder injury) for the rest of the year.  This will really hurt the defense as Bulluck was the team’s leading tackler this season.  Bulluck played in 14 games for the Titans this season and he made 108 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, defensed 7 passes and he had 3 interceptions.  Thornton played in 11 games for the Titans this season and he made 59 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, 1 forced fumble and 1 sack.  It’s hard enough to lose one impact player on the D but the Titans lost two so someone will need to step up this week.

The Titans have signed 30-year old linebacker Jamie Winborn.  Winborn played in all 16 games for the Broncos last season and he made 99 tackles, defensed 11 passes and he had 1/2 a sack.  He has now played in 92 games in his NFL career and he has made 340 tackles, defensed 27 passes, has 10 sacks, forced 5 fumbles and he has 3 interceptions.  The Titans better hope that Winborn is ready to contribute right away due to the season ending injuries to David Thornton and Keith Bulluck.

The Titans were cruising along in this game until the Dolphins rose up in the 4th quarter by scoring 15 unanswered points to send this game into O.T.  The Titans then got serious again pulling out a nice win that keeps them in the playoff hunt.  Despite being gimpy with a injured hamstring Vince Young played a good game.  He completed 14 of 27 passes for 236 yards with 3 TD passes and 1 INT and he also carried the ball 2 times for 24 yards (12.0 ypc).  Chris Johnson was a busy body with 29 carries for 104 yards (3.6 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 55 yards today.  Justin Gage (2 rec, 43 yards, 2 TDs), Nate Washington (1 rec, 32 yards, TD) and Bo Scaife (5 rec, 40 yards) pitched in for the Titans in the passing game.  The Titans finished up with 364 total yards on offense (128 rushing, 236 passing) in this game.

The defense gave up a lot of yards but they also made a lot of big plays to help the Titans win the game today.  LBs Stephen Tulloch (13 tackles, 1 QB hit) and Gerald McRath (11 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss) led the way for the Titans’ D today.  CB Nick Harper also had a solid game with 9 tackles, 1 pass defensed and a interception.  S Michael Griffin pitched in with 4 tackles, 2 passes defensed, 1 fumble recovery and 1 interception.  The Dolphins finished up with 468 total yards (121 rushing, 347 passing) of offense in this game.  The Titans are still in the playoff hunt with a 7-7 record.

This should be a great game tomorrow between two of the NFL’s hottest teams.  With Vince Young being a little gimpy the Titans will likely feed the rock to Chris Johnson even more than usual.  The Dolphins are allowing 106.1  yards rushing and 4.1 yards per carry this season so Johnson should have a good game once again.  Vince Young will probably have to stay in the pocket due to his hamstring so the O-Line will have to keep him clean against a Fins’ D that has 38 sacks already this season.  The O-Line could be up to the challenge however as they have only allowed 12 sacks this year.  The Dolphins are giving up 233.6 yards passing per game and they are starting two rookie corners so there are plays to be made down the field.

The Titans will have to tighten the chinstraps on D because Ricky Williams will likely be coming at them quite a bit.  But, I look for the Dolphins to be about 50/50 run/pass as they will want to challenge the Titans’ secondary as they are allowing 258.2 yards passing per game.  Still, the Titans are lucking out as the Dolphins have one of the worst WR corps in the NFL.

PREDICTION:  TITANS 28, DOLPHINS 27