These two teams had an epic battle on December 9th in which the Chargers rallied from a 17-3 deficit in the 4th quarter to prevail in overtime.  That game should give the Titans confidence that they can win this game despite being a 9.5 point underdog.

The San Diego Chargers will have to keep the offense wide open if they want to beat the Titans.  The Titans have one of the better run defenses in the NFL (92.4 yards per game) so the Chargers might throw on first down a little more than usual to open up running room for LaDainian Tomlinson.  The Chargers need to get the ball to their wide receivers to open up more of the field for Antonio Gates and they must be careful when they throw Gates’ way because linebacker Keith Bulluck (5 interceptions) has been a ball thief so far this season.

The Titans won’t change a thing when they have the football as they will try to run the football a lot.  Look for LenDale White, Chris Brown and Chris Henry to all get their fair share of the carries in this game against a Chargers defense that is allowing 107 yards rushing per game this season.  With WR Roydell Williams and TE Bo Scaife out of this game due to injuries look for veteran Eric Moulds to be the secret weapon in this game.

PREDICTION:  SAN DIEGO CHARGERS 17, TENNESSEE TITANS 13

Both of these teams are ice cold right now.  The Titans have lost 4 of their last 5 games as they have been outscored 140-84 in those games.  The Chiefs have lost six games in a row and they have been outscored 158-77 in those games.

The Titans whole gameplan on offense revolves around the running game which should be effective against a Chiefs’ Defense that is allowing 123.5 yards rushing per game and 4.4 yards per carry.  The Titans need to be effective running the ball to give Vince Young a chance to have time to throw the football because DE Jared Allen (11.5 sacks) has been outstanding for the Chiefs this year.

The Chiefs will likely have no choice but to air the ball out in this game if Kolby Smith (ankle) can’t go.  Gilbert Harris would take over as the starter at running back and the Titans only allow 98.1 yards rushing per game this season.  Brodie Croyle should throw the ball short to negate the pass rush of the Titans.  That means TE Tony Gonzalez should have a good football game.

PREDICTION:  KANSAS CITY CHIEFS 17, TENNESSEE TITANS 16

This will be an interesting game as the Titans travel to the city that they were stolen from. For that reason, look for the Texans crowd to be sky high for this ball game. It’s also likely that the Titans will be without Vince Young (quad) on Sunday but that might hurt the Texans as Kerry Collins is a better passer than Young is.

Look for the Titans to run the football first like they always do. Chris Brown is a little banged up with an ankle injury so LenDale White might have to shoulder most of the load. White has rushed for 276 yards and only 3.2 yards per carry so far this season but the Texans have allowed 116.8 yards rushing per game and 4.8 yards per carry this season. The Titans offensive line has paved the way for the Titans to average 141.8 yards rushing per game this season. Kerry Collins will likely try to stretch the defense by taking some deep shots to Justin Gage and Roydell Williams. The best hope for the Texans would be to blitz a lot in this game and try to force Collins into throwing some bad passes.

The Texans have defended the home turf pretty well as they are 2-1 on the season and they’ve outscored there opponents 66-52 at home. Matt Schaub must protect the football better as he has already thrown 5 pickoffs and he’s also lost 3 fumbles. Look for the Texans to throw the ball often as the Titans are only allowing 63.8 yards rushing per game this season. Schaub must be careful against the Titans who have only allowed 3 TD passes and picked off 7 passes already this season. Still, look for the Texans to throw deep to Andre Davis and shorter passes to TE Owen Daniels and WR Kevin Walter.

PREDICTION: With Chris Brown and Vince Young likely out for Sunday, look for the Texans to make just enough plays against the Titans defense to take home a close victory. TEXANS 17, TITANS 14.

The Titans (3-1) and the Buccaneers (3-2) are both off to good starts this season. The Titans are doing it by running the football and playing outstanding defense. The Bucs are doing it with a solid bend but don’t break defense.

The Titans will come out running the football like they always do as they are averaging 153.3 yards per game and 4.1 yards per carry so far this season. Chris Brown (273 yards), LenDale White (212 yards) and Vince Young (123 yards) will be a serious test for the Front 7 of the Bucs defense that got gashed on the ground by the Colts last week who were using a backup running back. Don’t expect a big air attack out of the Titans as Vince Young is not a great passer and when they do pass they will likely keep the patterns short.

Look for the Buccaneers to go to the air early in this football game to attempt to take the Titans out of their running game and force Vince Young to beat them thru the air. With all of the injuries to the running backs on the Bucs look for Jeff Garcia to try to throw the ball down the field to Joey Galloway (18 rec, 306 yards) and Ike Hilliard (23 rec, 304 yards) but he better be careful against the Titans D which already has 7 sacks this season. It will be up to Ernest Graham (147 yards, 4.1 ypc) and rookie Kenneth Darby to give the Bucs some balance but the Titans only allow 72.3 yards rushing per game and 3.8 yards per carry so far this season.

PREDICITON: The Titans are one of the best kept secrets in all of football and they will beat the Bucs in Tampa on Sunday. They will do it by punching the Bucs in the mouth early and often as they are one of the most physical teams in all of the NFL.

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