Saints (5-3) at Titans (7-2)
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, Nissan Stadium, Nashville, Tennessee TV: CBS
Tipico Sportsbook line: Titans
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Saints’ keys to victory: With Tennessee missing RB Derrick Henry, the pass rush should be pinning its ears back and trying to get after QB Ryan Tannehill to give some support to its struggling pass defense. The Saints should be able to drop extra men in coverage, allowing their front to do the rest. On offense, the Saints have to make RB Alvin Kamara the focal point with the team lacking weapons elsewhere. They can force the Titans to bring extra help in the box to give QB Trevor Siemian more room to work with down the field.
Titans’ keys to victory: As good as the Saints have been against the run, they haven’t had much success in stopping teams through the air, owning a bottom-10 pass defense. The Titans should look to get their offense going through the passing game by getting WRs A.J. Brown and Julio Jones involved early on, which should soften things up for the ground game. On defense, the Titans need to make sure they keep Kamara in check.
Matchup to watch: Saints CBs vs. Titans WRs. Tannehill will look to get Brown and Jones going early, so it’ll be up to CB Marshon Lattimore and the rest of the Saints secondary to make sure that doesn’t happen. Another New Orleans corner must step up if the team wants to avoid Jones and/or Brown wrecking this game.
Who wins? The Titans defense puts the clamps on a shaky Siemian, who commits multiple turnovers to make things easier on Tennessee’s offense against a very good Saints defense. The Saints will keep it close.
Titans 24, Saints 20