The Titans have lost 7 of their last 8 games, but one of those losses was a 30-28 loss to the Colts in Tennessee just three weeks ago.  The Titans know they can play with the Colts and they could knock them out of the playoffs which gives them motivation for this Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium.  The Colts have won three games in a row and they control their own destiny as they win the AFC South with a win over the Titans this Sunday.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Titans have the ball:  This is going to be a Chris Johnson game for the Titans as the Colts are giving up 132.1 yards rushing per game and 4.7 yards per carry.  Don’t think for a minute though that the Titans aren’t going to throw the ball in this game.  If Kerry Collins has time to throw the ball, he’s going to make some plays down the field.  Kerry Britt and TE Jared Cook  have been his preferred targets as of late and look for that to continue this Sunday.

When the Colts have the ball:  The Titans are going to be blitzing when they get off the team bus.  That’s because Peyton Manning can still make big mistakes when he has a lot of pressure put on him.  He still has a nice set of WRs and TEs to throw the ball to and the Colts are averaging 290.1 yards passing per game so they aren’t going to completely shut them down even if the D plays well.  The Colts have been running the ball more lately and the front seven will be responsible for dealing with the backs.

PREDICTION:  COLTS 30, TITANS 23

33-year old WR Randy Moss just wasn’t worth the risk with hindsight always being 20/20.  Moss has played in 7 games for the Titans this year and he has caught 5 passes for 62 yards (12.4 avg).  Overall this year, Randy Moss has played in 15 games with the Patriots, Vikings and Titans and he has caught 27 passes for 375 yards (13.9 avg) with 5 TD grabs.  The only good thing that Moss has really done for the Titans is that he has really helped Kenny Britt improve both his focus and his ability to dominate.  That is impressive seeing how Britt and Moss play the same position.

The Titans never had a chance in this game as the Chiefs really took it to them all game long.  Kerry Collins did not look good as he completed 14 of 37 passes for 235 yards with 2 TD passes and 2 INTs (one of these was returned 54-yards for a TD by Chiefs’ safety Eric Berry).  Chris Johnson only rushed for 58 yards on 14 carries (4.1 ypc) as the Titans fell to far behind to run the ball in this game.  TE Jared Cook (5 rec, 96 yards, TD) and WR Kenny Britt (4 rec, 89 yards, TD) led the way in the passing game for the Titans yesterday.  The Titans finished up with 57 yards rushing on 16 carries (3.6 ypc) and they also completed 14 of 37 passes for 213 yards as they only had the ball for 20:56 in this game!

The Titans didn’t play any D in this game as the Chiefs did whatever they wanted to.  Safety Chris  Hope (10 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss and 1 fumble recovery), CB Alterraun Verner (10 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss), LB Stephen Tulloch (10 tackles, 1 QB hit) and LB Will Witherspoon (8 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 INT) all had decent games for the Titans.  But, the Chiefs still finished up with 152 yards rushing on 40 carries (3.8 ypc) and they also completed 25 of 36 passes for 306 yards.  The Titans are now 6-9 on the season.

The Titans got back on the right track last weekend as they snapped a six game losing streak by beating the Texans.  Head Coach Jeff Fisher is on the hot seat so he needs to finish the year strongly to have any chance of keeping his job so look for the Titans to pull out all of the stops in tis game.  The Chiefs have won 4 of their last 5 games and they are 6-0 at Arrowhead Stadium so the Titans have their hands full.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Titans have the ball:  The Titans are likely going to come out feeding the ball to Chris Johnson against a Chiefs’ D that is allowing 107.0 yards rushing per game and 4.2 yards per carry.  But make no mistake, Kerry Collins is going to chuck the ball down the field to his WRs.  Kenny Britt and Nate Washington will likely have come success this Sunday against a Chiefs’ D that is giving up 226.5 yards passing per game as long as Collins has time to throw the ball.

When the Chiefs have the ball:  The Chiefs like to run the ball as they are averaging 168.6 yards rushing per game and 4.8 yards per carry so far this year.  So the Titans need to focus on stopping Jamaal Charles &  Thomas Jones first before worrying about the Chiefs’ passing game.  The Titans need to get after Matt Cassel because if he has time to throw the ball he’s going to burn them with passes to Dwayne Bowe.

PREDICTION:  CHIEFS 23, TITANS 20

The Titans beat up the Texans on both sides of the football yesterday.  Kerry Collins was efficient as he completed 14 of 24 passes for 237 yards with 2 TD passes and 1 INT.  Chris Johnson was solid this time against the Texans with 130 yards on 24 carries (5.4 ypc) with 1 TD carry.  Javon Ringer pitched in with 19 yards rushing on 4 carries (4.8 ypc) with a TD run in this game.  WRs Kenny Britt (6 rec, 128 yards), Nate Washington (2 rec, 20 yards, TD) and Justin Gage (1 rec, 1 yard and a TD) led the way in the passing game for the Titans.  The Titans finished up with 147 yards rushing on 30 carries (4.9 ypc) and they also completed 14 of 24 passes for 212 yards.

CB Alterraun Verner (10 tackles, 1 interception and 1 pass defensed), LB Stephen Tulloch (9 tackles) and DE Jason Babin (6 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 tackle for a loss and 2 QB hits) led the way for the Titans on D in this game.  The Texans finished up with 30 yards rushing on 17 carries (1.8 ypc) and they also completed 35 of 54 passes for 323 yards.  The Titans are now 6-8 on the year.

The Titans finally showed some life last week despite losing 30-28 to the Colts.  They have now lost six games in a row including a 20-0 loss at Houston.  The Texans have lost six of their last seven games with the only win coming against the Titans when they had to start Rusty Smith at QB.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Titans have the ball:  The Titans will want to get Chris Johnson more involved this time around against the Texans.  But, it’s going to be too hard to avoid putting the ball in the air a lot this week.  The Texans are giving up 279.9 yards passing per game so the Titans will be challenging them.  With DE Mario Williams done for the year, Kerry Collins should have a lot of time to throw the ball.  With Kenny Britt back in action, I think the Titans are going be throwing deep a lot in this game….with success.

When the Texans have the ball:  The Titans need to do everything they can to slow down Arian Foster.  To me, Foster is the best back in the NFL this season.  If the Titans can slow down Foster a bit then they can send the dogs after Matt Schaub.  If Schaub has time to throw the ball, the Titans are going to be in a world of trouble as they are giving up 244.3 yards passing per game this year.

PREDICTION:  TITANS 30, TEXANS 27

The Titans have placed 29-year old DE Dave Ball and 24-year old CB Ryan Mouton on I.R. ending their seasons.  Ball has a concussion and Mouton a leg injury.  Ball played in 11 games for the Titans this year and he had 30 tackles, 7 sacks, 3 passes defensed and 1 fumble recovery.  Mouton played in 9 games for the Titans this year and he had 11 tackles and 2 forced fumbles.  The Titans are going to miss Ball who was playing the best football of his career but they should be able to replace Mouton pretty easily.

The Titans have placed 30-year old DT Tony Brown on the Injured Reserve List ending his season due to a knee injury.  Brown played in 11 games for the Titans this year and he had 22 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 3.5 sacks.  He has now played in 69 games in his first five years with the Titans and he has 197 tackles, 12 passes defensed, 18 sacks and 4 forced fumbles.  The Titans will miss Brown as he is a good inside pass rusher.

The Tennessee Titans have placed 28-year old center Eugene Amano on the Injured Reserve List due to a shoulder injury.  Amano played in 13 games (all starts) for the Titans this year and he has played in 108 games (52 starts) in his first seven years in the NFL.  The Titans will turn to 25-year old Fernando Velasco to replace Amano at center the rest of the year.  Velasco has played in 13 games (1 start) for the Titans so far this year and he has played in 14 games (1 start) in his first two years with the Titans.  The Titans are likely going to miss Amano quite a bit in the last three games of the year.

The Titans played hard before falling short last night.  Kerry Collins was outstanding last night as he completed 28 of 39 passes for 244 yards with 3 TD passes and 0 INTs.  Chris Johnson also came back to life last night with 111 yards rushing on 22 carries (5.0 ypc) with a TD run.  He also caught 8 passes for 68 yards (8.5 avg) last night.  WRs Nate Washington (3 rec, 48 yards) and Kenny Britt (4 rec, 39 yards) led the way in the passing game for the Titans last night.  TEs Bo Scaife (4 rec, 20 yards, 2 TDs) and Craig Stevens (3 rec, 20 yards, TD) also had solid games for the Titans last night.  The Titans finished up with 121 yards rushing on 25 carries (4.8 ypc) and they also completed 28 of 39 passes for 244 yards. 

The defense was led by CB Alterraun Verner who had 12 tackles.  CB Cortland Finnegan and LB Stephen Tulloch also pitched in with 9 tackles apiece for the Titans.  The Colts finished up with 87 yards rushing on 32 carries (2.7 ypc) and they also completed 25 of 35 passes for 312 yards.  The Titans are now 5-8 on the year.