The Titans have won three games in a row by a combined score of 74-40!  The Steelers lost 17-10 at Houston last weekend and they are really physically beat up right now.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Titans have the ball:  With fullback Ahmard Hall back, look for the Titans to feed the rock to Chris Johnson.  The Steelers are giving up 119.5 yards rushing per game and 4.8 yards per carry, so Johnson might just get back on the right track this Sunday.  The Steelers’ pass rush hasn’t scared anyone this year, and the Titans have only given up 4 sacks so far this year, so Matt Hasselbeck will likely have plenty of time to throw the ball.  Ex-Steelers’ WR Nate Washington is going to want to stick it to his old team.  TEs Jared Cook, Craig Stevens and WRs Damian Williams and Lavelle Hawkins are going to have to step up for the Titans in this game.

When the Steelers have the ball:  The Steelers are likely going to start Isaac Redman at RB due to injuries, so the Titans will likely leave the front seven to deal with him.  The Titans are only giving up 87.8 yards rushing per game and 3.2 yards per carry.  Ben Roethlisberger is really beat up right now as he has already been sacked 14 times this year.  The Titans are going to try to hit him early and often as they already have 10 sacks this year.  The Titans’ corners will be busy covering Antonio Brown and Mike Wallace in this game.  The Steelers have not been using TE Heath Miller or WR Hines Ward much in the passing game so far this year.

PREDICTION:  TITANS 24, STEELERS 14

The Tennessee Titans are one of the league’s best kept secrets so far this year, while the Cleveland Browns have been luckier than they are good.  Still, this is going to be a solid matchup on the shores of Lake Erie this Sunday.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Titans have the ball:  The Titans are going to try to get Chris Johnson going against the Browns, who are allowing 128.7 yards rushing and 4.0 yards per carry.  They will need to try to attack the Browns off the edge in the running game because they have two giant DTs and a outstanding middle linebacker clogging up the middle of the field.  The Titans need a threat of a running game, because the Browns have a solid secondary to go along with 11 sacks already this year.  Matt Hasselbeck has been getting rid of the ball pretty quickly, but his #1 WR (Nate Washingt0n) will likely have to deal with CB Joe Haden, who is already one of the best shutdown corners in the NFL.

When the Browns have the ball:  The Browns are likely going to attack the middle of the Titans’ D with RBs Peyton Hillis and Montario Hardesty.  The Titans should be up to the challenge there as they have only allowed 89.0 yards rushing per game and 3.1 yards per carry.  The Titans need to get a good pass rush on Colt McCoy (he has only been sacked three times this year) and they need to keep him in the pocket.  His best throws this year have come on rollouts.  TE Ben Watson and RB Peyton Hillis will probably be his favorite receivers in this game, but he likes to throw the ball down the field as the game goes on, so the secondary is going to be challenged at points by WRs Mohamed Massquoi, Josh Cribbs and Earl Little.

PREDICTION:  TITANS 20, BROWNS 17

Both of these teams are coming off nice home wins, but this weekend’s game is in Nashville.  The Titans’ defense and the play of Matt Hasselbeck have been incredible this year, and I think it will continue this weekend against the Broncos.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Titans have the ball:  The Titans have been a passing team to this point in the year, but I think they are going to try to get Chris Johnson going this Sunday against a Broncos’ D that is allowing 131.0 yards rushing per game and 4.4 yards per carry.  Don’t think for a minute that the Titans aren’t going to throw the ball though.  The Broncos only have three sacks so far this year, so Matt Hasselbeck should have plenty of time to throw the ball.  WRs Kenny Britt and Nate Washington are set up to have big games against a Broncos’ D that is allowing opposing QBs to have a QB rating of 99.8!

When the Broncos have the ball:  The Broncos are going to try to run the ball in an effort to control the clock.  Willis McGahee is likely going to have a heavy workload against a Titans’ D that is only giving up 3.3 yards per carry despite giving up 104.0 yards rushing per game.  He will have to fight for every yard he gets.  The Broncos are thin at WR with Brandon Lloyd gimpy (but likely to play) and the impressive 2nd year WR Eric Decker.  The Broncos’ O-Line has given up 7 sacks already this year, so look for the Titans to be blitzing early and often in this game.

PREDICTION:  TITANS 27, BRONCOS 10

The Tennessee Titans are in for a fight this weekend against the Ravens.  The Ravens kicked the crap out of the Steelers 35-7 in Baltimore last weekend.  They could be in for a let down in this game and the Titans need to take advantage of that.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Titans have the ball:  The Titans want to get back to running the ball against the Ravens.  It will be interesting to see Ray Lewis and Chris Johnson battle it out for 3 hours this Sunday.  The Titans are going to be more balanced than they were last week or they are going to likely be in big trouble against the Ravens.  WRs Kenny Britt and Nate Washington are likely going to give Ravens’ corners Lardarius Webb and Cary Williams fits as long as Matt Hasselbeck has time to throw the ball.

When the Ravens have the ball:  The Titans are going to have to prove that they can stop a running game.  The Jaguars had 163 yards rushing on the Titans last weekend and the Ravens rushed for 170 yards against the Steelers.  The Titans must step up and slow down Ray Rice and Ricky Williams, or it’s going to be a very long day this Sunday.  Safeties Michael Griffin and Jordan Babineaux are going to have their hands full with TEs Ed Dickson and Dennis Pitta.  WRs Anquan Boldin and Lee Evans are also going to give the Titans fits if Joe Flacco has time to throw the ball.

PREDICTION:  RAVENS 21, TITANS 13

The Jaguars might still be in shock because of the release of starting QB David Garrard.  That bodes well for the Titans as the Jags are starting a guy who was the #3 QB (Luke McCown) the whole preseason.  Each of these teams won on the road last year in this series.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Titans have the ball:  RB Chris Johnson ended his holdout a couple of weeks ago but he came to camp in top shape.  I think he will get at least 15-20 carries this week against the Jaguars with Jamie Harper and Javon Ringer getting a few crumbs from the table (carries).  Johnson carried the ball 39 times for 164 yards (4.2 ypc) with 1 TD run against the Jaguars last year.  They have improved their linebacking corps with the additions of Paul Poslusny and Clint Session.  I still think Johnson will have some success on the ground against them.  CB Rashean Mathis of the Jags is one of the best CBs in the NFL, but I look for Matt Hasselbeck to challenge him, especially if he’s guarding WR Kenny Britt.  I think Britt is going to have a true breakout season in 2011, and it will start this Sunday in Jacksonville.  Hasselbeck is going to try to spread the ball around in this game to keep the Jags’ D honest with Nate Washington, Damian Williams, Jared Cook and Daniel Graham.  He should have a lot of time to throw the ball.

When the Jaguars have the ball:  The Titans have some new blood in the front seven (Barrett Ruud, Akeem Ayers and Shaun Smith) and they hope they will help them contain Maurice Jones-Drew.  Jones-Drew carried the ball 46 times for 243 yards (5.1 ypc) against the Titans last year.  He he gets his 100+ yards rushing again this Sunday, it’s going to be hard for the Titans to win.  The Titans’ DBs match up very well with the Jaguars’ WRs and TEs, so Luke McCown is going to have to be sharp to beat the Titans with the pass.  I just don’t see that happening.

PREDICTION:  TITANS 20, JAGUARS 13

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

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 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 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.

Despite losing 4 games in a row, the Titans are still only 1 game behind the Jaguars & Colts in the AFC South.  With Kerry Collins likely back under center this weekend the Titans are going to look like a much different team than they did last week.  The Jaguars have won 3 of their last 4 games as they are playing good football right now.  The Titans won the first meeting of these two teams 30-3 in Jacksonville.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Titans have the ball:  I look for the Titans to get Chris Johnson back on track as he is coming off the worst game of his NFL career.  He likes running against  the Jaguars so I look for him to have a big bounceback game.  Kerry Collins is likely to be back under center which will give the Titans a passing game.  The Jaguars are allowing 261.1 yards passing per game so look for Collins to target Randy Moss and Nate Washington a lot in this game.

PREDICTION:  TITANS 26, JAGUARS 24