Atlanta Falcons vs. Tennessee Titans GAMEDAY Preview: Arthur Smith Faces Former Team

The Tennessee Titans host the Atlanta Falcons and play against their former offensive coordinator Arthur Smith for the first time.

The Atlanta Falcons will face the Tennessee Titans this afternoon at Nissan Stadium in the first meeting with head coach Arthur Smith visiting his former team.

Smith was at Tennessee starting in 2011 as a defensive quality control coach and eventually moved his way up to becoming the Titans offensive coordinator in 2019.

During Smith’s first year as Tennessee’s offensive coordinator, the offense would score more points than it had in 16 seasons. 

In 2021, Smith would become the Falcons head coach, and since then, it’s been easy to detect some of the similarities between the two teams and how they operate. 

Atlanta Falcons head coach Arthur Smith (right) will face Mike Vrabel and his former team, the Tennessee Titans, on Sunday :: George Walker IV / Tennessean.com, Nashville Tennessean via Imagn Content Services, LLC

One obvious shared trait is personnel. Smith attempted to revive the career of Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota, whom Tennesse drafted with the No. 2 pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, but it didn’t work out. However, Smith’s latest former player turned redemption project, tight end Jonnu Smith, has seen a career resurgence this season. 

Another similarity is that both teams have a run-heavy offense with superstar running backs at the helm. 

When rookie running back Bijan Robinson was coming out of college; some referred to him as King Henry-esque but with better hands in the receiving game. 

King Henry is the nickname of the Titans freakishly dominant veteran running back Derrick Henry, a former Offensive Player of the Year, three-time Pro Bowler, and two-time All-Pro.

Robinson hasn’t yet reached Henry’s remarkable yardage totals, such as when he ran for over 2,000 yards in a single season back in 2020, just before coach Smith left, but he has shown flashes of being the NFL’s next great running back.

As for the rest of how these two teams stack up against one another, Atlanta looks like a younger Tennessee. 

Wide receivers Drake London and DeAndre Hopkins are both extremely talented, big-bodied receivers who’ve made highlight-reel contested catches. The most significant difference between the two is experience. 

Hopkins is an 11-year NFL veteran and five-time All-Pro who has found success with quarterbacks with varying talent levels and skillsets. This game will feature first-year starter Ridder versus rookie quarterback Will Levis, who's making his first start. Both must prove they have what it takes to be the face of each franchise for the foreseeable future.

At its best, Tennessee was a team with a stingy defense and a superb run game. Again, though, the Titans’ talent has begun to age out of its prime football years. A perfect example would be the organization’s recent decision to trade away former All-Pro Kevin Byard. Meanwhile, Atlanta brought in All-Pro Jessie Bates III this offseason, and he’s helped lead this team and defense to victory in games this season.

When the NFC South’s No. 1 seeded Falcons fly into Tennessee Sunday, the team will be looking at its older reflection, and coach Smith will be attempting to prove that he’s now entering his coaching prime against his alma mater.