Packers at Titans: Three Reasons to Worry

The Green Bay Packers, perhaps without Jordan Love for a second consecutive game, will battle the Tennessee Titans on Sunday in Nashville. Here are three reasons why the Packers will lose.

The Packers had no answers for Colts running back Jonathan Taylor last week. Can they stop the Titans' Tony Pollard? / Dan Powers/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

GREEN BAY, Wis. – If Jordan Love is inactive, the Green Bay Packers are going to face an uphill climb to beat the Tennessee Titans on Sunday in sweltering Nashville. Even if Love plays, it won’t be easy.

Here are three reasons why the Packers will lose to the Titans.

1. Can’t Stop Tony Pollard

If Malik Willis is the Packers’ quarterback, the general game plan will be similar to that of last week, with a run-based offense to keep the pressure off the backup to make plays.

It might be a similar plan for the Titans, with a run-based offense to keep the pressure off mistake-plagued quarterback Will Levis.

The Titans have a quality No. 1 back in Tony Pollard, who with the Cowboys rushed for 1,007 yards in 2022 and 1,005 yards in 2023. According to Pro Football Focus, he forced the 12th-most missed tackles last year, his 46 misses one fewer than Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon combined. In five years in Dallas, Pollard averaged 4.7 yards per carry.

Two games into Jeff Hafley’s run as defensive coordinator, Green Bay’s run defense is as bad as ever. The Packers enter the game ranked 27th with 5.07 yards allowed per carry and 22nd with 142.0 rushing yards allowed per game. It could be argued the only reason the Packers beat the Colts last week is that Colts coach Shane Steichen didn’t give the ball enough to Jonathan Taylor.

“There’s certain areas where we have to play better,” Hafley said. “And there’s certain areas we’re playing really good at times, and it’s like four, five, six really good plays, and then, all of a sudden, there’s one that we need to play better and we need to coach better on. And that goes for a bunch. And then we kind of regroup.

“And we’ve got to eliminate those ones that are getting out. We are giving up too many explosive plays right now, which goes against the philosophy of our defense.”

2. One-Dimensional on Offense

This is the same fear as last week but with a higher likelihood. The Colts’ run defense is terrible, and the Packers took advantage for 30 minutes. Can the Packers consistently run the ball against a Titans defense that is 10th with 4.02 yards allowed per carry?

“This has been a huge influence on us,” Titans defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson said of watching Josh Jacobs get to the corner vs. Indianapolis. “For us this week, it’s setting the edge. We like to talk about setting the edge in between the midpoint. So, in between the numbers and the hash, make the team run into a phone booth. And the guys, they understand that that’s our thought process this week and those are the plays that have been hurting us. We’ve got to go out there and put an end to it.”

Jordan Love or no Jordan Love, here are three reasons why the #Packers will beat the Titans on Sunday. ⬇️https://t.co/zf6TFTsTHH

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) September 22, 2024

Only six teams have given up fewer 10-yard runs than the Titans (five). Last week, Jets star Breece Hall had a 30-yard run but his other 13 carries gained 32 yards.

“Since I’ve been here in Tennessee, and I’ve been preaching this message since I’ve been here, no one runs the ball on the Tennessee Titans defense,” star Titans defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons told reporters this week. “I think our mindset is – and one of those defensive goals this week – is to stop the run.”

The Packers had one of their best rushing days since the Lombardi era in beating the Colts. However, after rushing 34 times for 237 yards during the first half, the Packers managed only 24 yards on 19 carries in the second half.

“I think the thing in the second half is some penalties and then focusing on our fundamentals, focusing on finishing blocks – all that stuff,” offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said. “It was a tale of two different halves. It was pretty weird when you look at the stat line.”

If the Packers can’t run the ball, are they going to have any success through the air against the top-ranked Titans pass defense? Maybe with Love, but how about with Willis?

3. Red Zone = Dead Zone

Last year, the Packers finished only 19th in the red zone (51.6 percent touchdowns) but were first in goal-to-go situations (95.0 percent touchdowns).

It’s early, but the Packers are 27th in the red zone (28.6 percent touchdowns) and 30th in goal-to-go situations (33.3 percent touchdowns). In last week’s win, they were 1-of-3 in the red zone and 0-for-1 in goal-to-go.

Meanwhile, the Titans on defense are ninth in the red zone (33.3 percent touchdowns) and first in goal-to-go (no touchdowns).

What is LaFleur’s level of concern? After all, with so few opportunities this early in the offseason, one good game could have them soar in the rankings.

“We had a long discussion about that last night in terms of, you always go back and evaluate and, when I look at it, we’ve had a lot of opportunities that we have not capitalized on,” LaFleur said. “Some of it was self-inflicted and some of it the defense made a play the right way.

“But in order to get better in the red area, we have to stop getting penalties in the red area. We’ve had way too many mistakes and missed opps when we’ve been down there. So, we’re going to continue to work hard on that and grind out the details. But we have to go out there and execute much better.”

More Green Bay Packers News

The #Packers' two most important players on offense on Sunday could be:

Jayden Reed, who attracts defenders like a moth to a flame. https://t.co/kOWjlAG5yi

Josh Jacobs, whose ball-handling history is pretty strong but has fumbled twice this year.https://t.co/sWhM9KExM4

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) September 21, 2024

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