Tennessee Titans at Los Angeles Rams (Sun – 8:20 ET)
After initially hearing it could be season-ending, Titans fans are relieved that Derrick Henry is only out for 6-10 weeks after having surgery on his foot. Some Titans fans believe this is just Derrick Henry's way of saving himself for the playoffs. The Titans signed 36-year-old Adrian Peterson to replace Henry and hope he has some gas left in the tank. If he does, it could be a good fit as he runs in a similar physical style as Henry, though those are big shoes to fill—Henry currently leads all running backs in rushing yards (937) and touchdowns (10). The Titans will hope that AP is fresh as he hasn't played yet this season and managed to rush for 604 yards and 7 touchdowns last season with the Lions. They will need to eat up some clock with their running game to keep the Rams high-flying offense from turning this into a shootout. If the Rams have to overplay the run, Ryan Tannehill will be able to take advantage of the Rams' secondary, which is thin outside of Jalen Ramsey. Tannehill is currently 7th in the NFL in passing yards with 2,002, and the Rams give up the 12th most pass yards per game (264.1).
The Rams know that their potential shortcomings for a Super Bowl bid lie on the defensive side of the ball. However, instead of upgrading their secondary, they added former Super Bowl MVP Von Miller to give their pass rush extra juice. They hope that opposing QBs will not have enough time to find the holes in their secondary with Aaron Donald coming up the middle and Von Miller and Leonard Floyd coming around either edge. Their fanbase has enjoyed their GM Les Snead's philosophy of spending draft picks for star players to compete every season. Giving up a first-round pick and Jared Goff for Matthew Stafford has proved a great move, as the Rams have the 4th most passing yards per game at 301.8, which is up 50 yards from their average last season (250.9), and Stafford has already thrown more TDs (22) than Goff did last season (20). Their passing game has been noticeably more explosive as they have the highest yards per completion (12.8). Cooper Kupp has been the primary beneficiary as he leads all wide receivers in touchdowns (10), yards (924), and receptions (63), and is on pace for 1,964 yards on the season, which would break Calvin Johnson's record of 1,946 in 2012. The Titans give up the 9th most passing yards per game (368.1), so the Rams passing attack should be plenty potent. The odds feel stacked in the Rams favor for this one, but the Titans are a tough team that has put together a winning culture, finishing over .500 for five seasons in a row. Both teams have their eyes on the Super Bowl, who do you think will prevail in this one?
Rams favored by 7.5
Over/under: 54
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