The Tennessee Titans take on the Los Angeles Chargers today. Both teams are coming off a win from the previous week. TCoach Brian Callahan and Dennard Wilson will have their work cut out for them as they battle a really good offensive and defensive team. The Chargers defense is ranked 4th in the league per PFF. The Chargers defense is led in the secondary by two former Titans — Elijah Molden and Kristian Fulton. Both defensive backs look like they found “Mike’s Secret Stuff” and have turned into excellent players for the Chargers.

One item to look for in this matchup is how QB Will Levis will handle the offense after missing the past 3 weeks. Brian Callahan has previously stated that Levis is “our starting QB.” For now Will Levis may be the QB of the Titans. How Levis plays down the stretch — if he makes it down the stretch — will tell the Titans organization much more about how to attack the offseason as the Titans are nearly a lock for a top 10 pick. Currently the Titans sit at 9th overall in the NFL Draft order. If you’re in favor of tanking a 2-15 team usually does end up with a top 1 or 2 pick. The Titans will have to see how it plays out with the remaining 9 games left on the schedule.

WIll Levis will need to get to the ball to Calvin Ridley and NWI quickly to avoid both Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack. With the unfortunate season ending injury to Cushenberry Corey Levin will have to step up in a big way against a Chargers defense that is solid all around. Whoever the Titans trott out at Right Tackle this week will have a nightmarish 60 minutes against Joey Bosa or Khalil Mack. Bosa only has 2 sacks on the season compared to 5 from Mack. However, expect that number to rise exponentially before the game clock hits double zero today.

The Titans will still be without L’Jarius Sneed and Chidobe Awuzie again on defense. With the emergence of Ladd McConkey as a top target for Justin Herbert this could be a matchup to watch. Jarvis Brownlee Jr., Darrell Baker Jr., Roger McCreary, and Amani Hooker will be tasked with slowing down the Chargers passing game without Quandre Diggs.

One matchup to see will be how the 5th overall pick and the 7th overall pick handle the pass rush. Joe Alt was selected 2 picks ahead of the Titans and many believe that he was the Titans top target all along at LT. With Alt off the board the Titans selected Alabama’s J.C. Latham who has been quite solid. Latham is ranked as the 51st best tackle in the NFL according to PFF with a 60.9 grade. Whereas, Joe Alt is ranked 41st with a 73.8 grade. Latham has allowed 3 sacks on the season whereas Alt has allowed 4 sacks. Not much separates the two rookie LT’s. One of Latham’s strength’s coming out of Alabama was how great he was at overpowering DL in the run game. However, currently Latham is rated as one of the worst starting LT’s when it comes to run grade, ranking nearly last.

Prediction

The Titans will struggle to stop the Chargers offense early and often. The Titans offense won’t find much success except early on. The Titans should have substantial difficulty protecting Levis throughout the game with their killer pass rush. The Titans special teams coverage will yet again allow great field position to their opponent which will translate to easy points. The Chargers win easily 31-17.