Why the Lions may not be done beating up on the Titans after blowing them out in Detroit in Week 8
The Tennessee Titans feel like they can finally breathe after back-to-back road games against, as one employee described them to me, "Super Contenders". But their Week 8 opponent hasn't just demoralized teams when they play them this year; they've also sent them home hurting the following week. The Detroit Lions are the best team in […]
The Tennessee Titans feel like they can finally breathe after back-to-back road games against, as one employee described them to me, "Super Contenders". But their Week 8 opponent hasn't just demoralized teams when they play them this year; they've also sent them home hurting the following week.
The Detroit Lions are the best team in football right now. They're playing on a different level than everybody else. And their brand of ball is as physical as it gets. They truly embody the spirit of Head Coach Dan Campbell: they chew you up and spit you out.
Every team that has played the Lions this year besides the Buccaneers has lost to them. And every team that has played the Lions this year including the Buccaneers has seemingly gone into their next game still feeling the effects of the Lions physicality.
Lions opponents are 0-5 the week after facing Detroit, both straight up as well as against the spread.
After facing the Lions, the Rams got blown out by the Cardinals 10-41. The Buccaneers got blown out by the Broncos 7-26. The Cardinals got blown out by the Commanders 42-14. The Seahawks lost to the lowly Giants 29-20. The Cowboys failed to come back against the 49ers despite getting the bye to prepare, losing 30-24. The Vikings lost their 2nd consecutive game after an undefeated 5-0 start to the Rams 20-30.
So not only do teams lose after the playing the Lions, they get blown out. The average margin of defeat is 23.1 points!
This is a trend that goes back to the 2023 season as well. Teams are 2-8 in their last 10 regular season games following a matchup with the Lions if you exclude the Vikings, who won their 2024 opener after their 2023 season ending with a Lions loss.
Now enter: The 1-6 Tennessee Titans. They look to break this 2024 Lions Curse Sunday against the 2-6 Patriots, another team desperate to find it's footing this year.
Getting a win under any circumstances has proven elusive for this Titans team. Being the first this season to overcome getting beat up by the Lions would frankly be impressive, even given the difficulty of their opponent.
The Titans have opportunity to buck the national narrative of the organization as second-rate
Emotional shortsightedness, aiming to be just good enough to accomplish nothing of import and set yourself up poorly for the future, is textbook dysfunction.
