Business trip
Titans focused on winning in London
The Tennessee Titans and the Los Angeles Chargers both flew across the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday night and arrived in England on Friday morning for today’s game at Wembley Stadium in London.
Their offenses, though, are going in different directions — and so are their seasons.
The Chargers (4-2) are on a threegame winning streak with one of the more well-balanced offenses in the NFL, while the Titans (3-3) haven’t scored a touchdown while dropping two straight. Take away a 26-23 overtime victory against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sept. 30, and Tennessee hasn’t scored a touchdown since beating the Houston Texans 20-17 on Sept. 16.
Marcus Mariota said the Titans have plenty of urgency going into today’s game, which kicks off at 9:30 a.m. EDT, but they’re also trying not to push too hard.
“It’s finding the happy medium,” the quarterback said. “When it comes down to it, it’s just making plays. When you’re out here in practice, it’s getting comfortable with the game plan, making sure that everybody knows the little details. From there, it’s just the process.”
If the Titans are going to be successful in their first London game — and going forward — they need to commit to keeping Mariota upright and recommit to the run game. The fourth-year pro was sacked 11 times in last Sunday’s 21-0 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. The lack of protection was surprising because the Titans’ offensive line was at full strength and the team had allowed a total of just nine sacks over the first five games.
The Chargers have eight sacks the past two weeks after totaling that many in their first four games
One step toward taking pressure off Mariota would be finding a way to get running back Derrick Henry more involved. Henry entered this year, his third as a pro, having led the Titans with 744 rushing yards last season despite starting only two games, and he ran for 156 yards in their playoff victory at Kansas City last January. But the 2015 Heisman Trophy winner at Alabama had a season-low seven carries for 21 yards against the Ravens.
If Henry can get going, he could be very helpful against a Chargers defense that has given up an average of 4.2 yards per carry this season.
Los Angeles has been firing on all cylinders offensively. Quarterback Philip Rivers has a 115.1 passer rating, which leads the AFC and is second in the NFL, and running back Melvin Gordon has rushed for more than 100 yards two of the past three weeks while averaging 5.7 yards per carry.
Tennessee has allowed an average of 17.8 points per game this season, third-best in the league, and its red-zone defense has allowed only six touchdowns in 16 opportunities (37.5 percent).
There’s one area where the Titans definitely have an advantage over the Chargers, who are designated as the home team today.
Despite their success, the Chargers are a game behind the AFC West-leading Kansas City Chiefs, who beat Los Angeles 38-28 to open the season and hadn’t lost until falling 43-40 on a last-second field goal last Sunday night at New England. Still, Los Angeles is in good shape for its first playoff berth since 2013, before the franchise left San Diego.
The Titans share the AFC South lead with the Texans and the Jacksonville Jaguars, who meet today. Tennessee is off next week and doesn’t want to head into the break on a three-game losing streak.
“We want to get this win and be able to rest up on a positive note,” said Titans linebacker Brian Orakpo, who noted that losing a game going into a bye means having “a long time to process and think about it. We want to come off on a good note.”
With the Chargers expected to get the ball in Gordon’s hands as often as possible, the Titans know limiting him is crucial.
“In the red zone, he’s one of their top targets, and we know what type of runner he is,” said Titans linebacker Wesley Woodyard, who’s expected to return after missing the past two games with a shoulder injury. “He’s a guy that’s good on the edge and fine to beat you with his speed. Most importantly, (we need to) just understand the runs that he’s going to give us in different backfield sets.”
Although some of the Titans have been to London before with other teams, this is the franchise’s first international regular-season game. The Chargers are across the pond for the second time, though their roster has obviously changed quite a bit since they lost 37-32 to the New Orleans Saints in October 2008. That was just the second NFL in London game, but Rivers and tight end Antonio Gates were part of it.
“I remember like if it was yesterday,” Gates said. “The ball would be punted in the air, and the crowd would be making noise. We were like, ‘What are you making noise about?’ But it was just their way. They’re used to watching soccer, and the chants and things of that nature. It was foreign to us, just like we were foreign to them.
“And now I think over the years, they’ve learned to grasp a little bit more a better concept of the game of American football. Most people understand it now here.”
This will be the 23rd game in London since the series started in 2007.
“I’m interested to see again the atmosphere in the stadium,” Rivers said. “Last week, I hear it was an unbelievable crowd for Oakland and Seattle. I remember there being a great crowd 10 years ago. I just remember so many different jerseys from so many different teams represented. The energy was in there. A long pass or a ball getting kicked, all those things got the crowd going pretty good.”
The Titans would just like to have their own reasons to cheer when it’s over.
“That’s the most important thing,” Tennessee free safety Kevin Byard said. “Nobody wants to lose three straight games. We have to get back on track. Nobody’s panicking. Nobody’s living like the sky is falling or anything like that, but we have to play with more consistency.”