The Titans' reward for a miraculous comeback victory in Kansas City is a trip to Foxborough, Massachusetts to play the defending Super Bowl champions. Marcus Mariota and Tennessee's offense finally woke up last week to score 19 straight points in their Wild Card round victory, and they could provide some problems for this Patriots defense in the Divisional Round. New England comes into this game as huge favorites, but do the Titans have what it takes to pull off a second straight upset?
Patriots' Offense vs. Titans' Defense
The Patriots finished the season as the league's number one offense according to Football Outsiders.
While Tom Brady may win the MVP award, the main storyline over the final stretch of the year was the emergence of their rushing offense.
Dion Lewis became New England's lead back, and he finished the year with three straight games of 80+ yards from scrimmage, including a 153-yard performance against the Bills in Week 16. James White, Mike Gillislee and Rex Burkhead are all currently listed as questionable for this game, so we may be seeing a lot of Dion Lewis this weekend.
Tennessee's defense has played very well over the last month, but they had a lot of trouble covering Travis Kelce before he got hurt in last week's game. The Patriots have definitely taken notice of that mismatch, and will probably exploit it with Rob Gronkowski on Saturday night.
Titans' Offense vs. Patriots' Defense
The Patriots' bend-but-don't-break defense finished the season 31st in DVOA, but they've performed well in the red zone as they've held opponents to single-digit point totals in four of their last ten games. According to Football Outsiders, New England's defense ranked 30th against the run in the regular season, and the Titans would love to control the tempo of this game by pounding the rock with Derrick Henry this weekend.
Henry exploded for 191 yards from scrimmage including 156 on the ground against a Chiefs defense that ranks near the bottom of the league in rushing defense alongside the Patriots. The Titans would also be wise to use Marcus Mariota's athletic ability in the designed running game to open up some holes for Henry to get to the second level of New England's defense.
TV Schedule
Saturday, January 13th at 8:15 PM ET on CBS.
Prediction
The Titans will try to exploit that mismatch in the running game, but the Patriots may have the best coach and the best quarterback in the history of the NFL, even though there is a reported rift in the organization. New England has one of the league's best home-field advantages, and their roster has much more playoff experience than the Titans'.
The Patriots will win and move on to the AFC Championship Game, but the Titans could keep it close going into the fourth quarter if they're able to establish the run early on.
