Titans host Rams, push for playoffs
NASHVILLE — Tennessee Titans linebacker Brian Orakpo has made it very clear to his teammates their postseason is underway already.
As far as he’s concerned, home games against the Los Angeles Rams today and against the Jacksonville Jaguars next Sunday to close the regular season should be treated with the same respect as the playoffs.
“That’s the mindset we have to have going into this game, and I believe the Rams are going to have the same mindset, as well, trying to win that division,” Orakpo said. “It’s going to be a great game.”
The Rams (10-4) need a win or a loss by Seattle (8-6) today to clinch their first NFC West title since 2003 and cap their amazing turnaround in Sean McVay’s first season as an NFL head coach. The Rams are coming off a 42-7 thumping of the Seahawks in Seattle for their third win in four games.
“We don’t shy away from the opportunity to go in a tough atmosphere, try to come away with our 11th win,” McVay said. “And we know that if we’re able to accomplish that — that means a division championship as well. So it’s a great opportunity.”
The Titans (8-6) are home after back-to-back losses, the last one a 25-23 defeat at San Francisco that cost them the AFC South lead. But they are still alive in the hunt for the franchise’s first playoff berth since 2008, and being at home shouldn’t hurt — the Titans have won nine of their past 10 games at Nissan Stadium.
“Guys understand the situation,” Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota said. “When it comes down to it, we messed up. We didn’t play well; we obviously didn’t accomplish what we wanted to do on our road trip. That’s in the past; you can’t change it, you can’t fix it. All you can do is look forward to the next one and kind of right the ship and get it going.”
The Titans and the Rams, who last reached the playoffs in 2004, are linked by more than an eagerness to advance to the postseason. The No. 1 pick in the 2016 draft the Rams used to select quarterback Jared Goff came in a trade with the Titans two weeks before the draft.
Now Goff finally gets to face the team that didn’t need a quarterback because the Titans already had Mariota, the No. 2 pick overall in 2015.
Goff has been so very good on the road this season, throwing for 1,547 yards with 14 touchdowns and only two interceptions with a 108.1 passer rating. He has been sacked only nine times away from home.
This past week, Goff said he hadn’t thought of his Tennessee connection until asked about it. His take: “Awesome.” He has been helped by the presence of Pro Bowl running back Todd Gurley, who leads the NFL this season with 17 total touchdowns and ranks second with 1,817 yards from scrimmage. He is coming off a four-touchdown performance, but the Titans will try to slow him down. They rank third against the run in the NFL, having allowed an average of 87.2 rushing yards per game this season.
But they’ll also have to watch the perimeter and rookie receiver Cooper Kupp, a third-round draft pick out of Eastern Washington who has started only five games but leads the Rams with 58 catches and 804 receiving yards. He also leads all rookies in receiving yards, and no rookie receiver has as many catches.