Tennessee Titans will have to go "strength-on-strength" to stop San Francisco 49ers
NASHVILLE — Thursday Night Football is nearly upon us. The Tennessee Titans (9-5) will soon host the San Francisco 49ers (8-6) on primetime with quite a bit to prove. Tennessee will have to match strength on strength to drag San Francisco down. Defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons spoke about that idea during the Titans shortened week of […]
NASHVILLE — Thursday Night Football is nearly upon us. The Tennessee Titans (9-5) will soon host the San Francisco 49ers (8-6) on primetime with quite a bit to prove.
Tennessee will have to match strength on strength to drag San Francisco down.
Defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons spoke about that idea during the Titans shortened week of work. The 49ers are one of the most efficient offenses in football and the NFL's best from 20 yards in. For Tennessee to survive this opponent, they will need to avoid the turnovers (13) that have damned them in three of their last four contests above all else.
Snuffing out San Francisco's rushing attack must be the next item of business.
Titans front controls their fate.
49ers football under Kyle Shanahan thrives on running the football.
San Francisco has racked up 20 rushing touchdowns this season, tying the Titans total in that same category. Half of those scores for the Titans came from Derrick Henry, who has not played since Week 8. The 49ers have spread theirs out across eight different players this season.
Shanahan knows how to get playmakers in space.
"It is a really good scheme," said coach Mike Vrabel. "I think the offensive line does a fantastic job. They are well-coached. The tight ends block well. They are very sudden players. (Kyle) Juszczyk is a sudden player who can work his way one way, come back the other way, and is willing to block. He acts as a runner as he has the football so he is finding the hole. They mix in (Deebo) Samuel, (Elijah) Mitchell, (Jeff) Wilson (Jr.). They have a good scheme. They attack you at all different levels. Zone, gap scheme, misdirection. They do a fantastic job."
Samuel is a particularly dangerous player.
The wide receiver leads his team in rushing touchdowns (7) this season. Samuel all but splits his time in the backfield for San Francisco with starting running back Elijah Mitchell missing time this past month.
Mitchell has already been ruled out against Tennessee on Thursday.
According to ESPN's Stats & Information, Samuel's seven scores on the ground are most scored in a single season by a player whose primary position is wide receiver. Mitchell's absence has cleared the way for Samuel to score a rushing touchdown in the each of the 49ers last five games.
"(Samuel)'s just like a jack of all trades," safety Kevin Byard said. "He's like a Receiver One-Running Back One. He does really well with the ball in his hands. So, they just try to find a lot of different ways to get the ball in his hands and let him go out there and make plays. His running style kind of reminds me of Alvin Kamara, just has really good contact balance. He breaks tackles and, if you don't put your shoulder pads on him and bring your arms, he's going to break all of those tackles."
Titans excel against the run
The Titans have only allowed 43 total rushing yards in their last two games, per the team's PR staff.
In the loss at Pittsburgh, the Steelers only managed 35 rushing yards on 17 attempts (2.1 ypc). Tennessee suffocated the Jacksonville Jaguars ground game in a Week 14 win, holding them to eight rushing yards on eight carries (1.0 ypc). The 43 total rushing yards allowed in a two-game span is the best in franchise history.
San Francisco poses a much different challenge.
"They're strength is running the ball," Simmons said. "And our strength is stopping the run, so its kind of one of those strength-on-strength things. It's going to come down to who wants to be the most physical."
The Titans rank second in the NFL in rushing defense (86.9 rushing yards per game). The 49ers come to Nashville averaging 126.6 yards per contest, seventh-best average in the NFL. While Tennessee's offense awaits the boost getting Julio Jones and A.J. Brown back on the field together, the defense has held it down.
Simmons, Byard and the rest understand the urgency as time runs out in the regular season.
Featured Image: USA TODAY Sports.
