Bengals (1-2) at Titans (1-2)
Sunday, 1 p.m. EDT, Nissan Stadium, Nashville, Tennessee TV:
Spread (BetMGM):
OTB at press time
Fox
Bengals’ keys to victory: The Bengals must stack the box, bring pressure and force the Titans to beat them through the air. Until Tennessee’s offensive line proves it can handle the heat, Cincinnati shouldn’t back off. Attacking LT Andre Dillard should be a point of emphasis. On offense, QB Joe Burrow has to get rid of the ball quickly in order to thwart Tennessee’s talented pass rush. If successful, he shouldn’t have any issue carving up the Titans’ suspect secondary.
Titans’ keys to victory: The Titans were bad along the offensive line over the first two weeks of the season, but things were even worse in Week 3, especially in pass protection. The biggest culprit has been Dillard, who desperately needs more help. Titans QB Ryan Tannehill has been OK when he has time to throw but those instances have been too few. The Titans also must get better run blocking to get RB Derrick Henry going. On defense, the pass rush must get home on Burrow or else the secondary will get exposed badly, as has been the case in all three games.
Matchup to watch: Titans’ Dillard vs. Bengals DE Trey Hendrickson. The Browns’ Myles Garrett wrecked Tennessee’s offense last week by abusing Dillard. Hendrickson had two sacks against the Rams in Week 3.
Who wins? Despite the ugly nature of Tennessee’s last loss (27-3 to the Browns), the Titans have generally shown resilience after such games. They learn their lesson and help Dillard out more, and the offense rebounds.
Titans 27-24