Packers-Titans Matchups: Who Has the Advantage?

Here is a unit-by-unit look at Sunday’s Week 3 game between the Green Bay Packers (1-1) and Tennessee Titans (0-2). Which units have the advantage?

Tennessee Titans defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons (98) celebrates sacking Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers in 2022. / Dan Powers/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK

After a dominant rushing attack and great defensive performance carried Green Bay past Indianapolis, the Packers (1-1) will play at the Tennessee Titans (0-2) on Sunday.

If Jordan Love is out again because of a knee injury, Malik Willis will start against a familiar opponent.

Willis was with the Titans for training camp this year after being drafted by them in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft.

Willis never eclipsed 100 yards passing or threw a touchdown pass as a Titan. He did both on Sunday in his first start for the Packers.

Willis did what was asked of him and was able to manage the game to get the Packers a victory. It will be a different challenge this week.

Here is a look at the matchups.

Packers Rush Offense

This could be a case of the unstoppable force meeting an immovable object.

The Packers’ run game was at its best against the Colts. The plan was to run, run and run some more.

Josh Jacobs became the third Packers running back since 2000 to receive 30 carries in a game and the first since Ryan Grant in 2008.

Jacobs is a workhorse, and the Packers will likely lean on him again if Love is out.

One thing is certain: The Titans’ defense will be able to offer more resistance than did the Colts.

Their defensive front, led by Jeffery Simmons, is big and hard to move.

In the first two games, they faced Breece Hall and D’Andre Swift. In Week 1, the Bears’ Swift averaged 3.0 yards per carry and Chicago’s offense did not find the end zone. In Week 2, the Jets’ Hall had a 30-yard run but averaged 2.5 yards per carry otherwise.

Simmons is one of the better players in football at his position. He’s flanked by the mountainous T’Vondre Sweat, a rookie from Texas. The 38th pick of the draft stands 6-foot-4 and tips the scales at 366 pounds.

The Packers will have a much bigger challenge on their hands this week because of those two alone.

“This is a pretty salty group,” coach Matt LaFleur said. “It’s got a lot of good veterans on it, and there’s some premier players over there. It’s going to be a tough task, regardless, but we’ll put together a game plan that we feel like can give us an opportunity to win.”

Linebackers Kenneth Murray (14) and Christian Jones (12) are the leading tacklers.

Advantage: Push

Packers Pass Offense

This will be an interesting matchup. Willis knows the Titans’ defense and the Titans know him.

Who that tips the scales in favor of remains to be seen.

The Titans’ pass rush is led by Harold Landry. A former second-round pick, Landry has three sacks in his first two games, including two sacks of the Jets’ Aaron Rodgers last week, and is coming off back-to-back seasons of 12 and 10.5 sacks.

It will be interesting to see if Titans defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson tries to keep Landry away from right tackle Zach Tom. Of Landry’s 97 snaps this season, all but nine have come from the defense’s left side. Tom has allowed zero pressures in 63 pass-play snaps.

Left tackle Rasheed Walker allowed a sack and four total pressures against the Eagles in Week 1 but just one pressure vs. the Colts. Bendier rushers have given Walker trouble, and that is Landry’s pass-rush style.

After facing Caleb Williams and Rodgers, the Titans are No. 1 in the NFL with 114.0 passing yards allowed per game and second with 3.86 yards per attempt. Rodgers was 18-of-30 for 176 yards. He did, however, find the end zone twice, which might be something Willis will have to do if he’s asked to start again.

The Titans made a big splash this offseason by acquiring corner L’Jarius Sneed from the Chiefs. He’s off to a bit of a slow start but is a premier cover man when on his game. Chidobe Awuzie is the other corner and Roger McCreary mans the slot. McCreary leads the team with four tackles for losses.

There are probably some things to take advantage of in Tennessee’s pass defense, but that depends almost entirely on whether or not Love is able to return.

Advantage: Packers if Love plays, Titans if he doesn’t

Titans Rush Offense

Stop me if you’ve heard this before: The Packers cannot stop the run.

One of the more curious decisions on Sunday was Colts coach Shane Steichen’s limited use of star running back Jonathan Taylor.

Taylor torched the Packers for 103 rushing yards and 8.3 yards per carry, but received only 12 carries and didn’t get a single touch in the fourth quarter.

With the way Titans coach Brian Callahan talked about his quarterback, he may be inspired to take the air out of the ball completely this week.

More on that in a minute, but running back Tony Pollard is off to a good start. After back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons for the Cowboys, he gashed a formidable Bears defense for 82 yards on 16 carries in Week 1 and has 144 rushing yards and a 4.4 average through two games.

Through Week 2, they are 13th in rushing (135.0 yards per game) and 10th in average (5.00 yards per carry). The Packers are by far the worst defense they’ve faced against the run in this young season.

While Pollard is not as good as Saquon Barkley and Taylor, they’ve struggled against almost every rushing attack since LaFleur took over as coach in 2019. They’ve given up a 27th-ranked 5.07 yards per carry to start this season.

Opposing teams are going to run it until the Packers prove they can stop it.

Advantage: Titans

Titans Pass Offense

While the Packers have only three sacks through two games, LaFleur defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley and the players have insisted their plan has been to be disciplined in their rush lanes as they’ve faced the mobile Jalen Hurts and Anthony Richardson.

This week, they’re facing Will Levis.

Levis is not a statue in the pocket, but nobody is going to confuse him with former Titans great Steve McNair, either.

He’s much more of a traditional pocket passer and is playing behind an offensive line that has struggled to protect him (26th in sack rate at 11.67 percent). Right tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere ranks last in PFF’s pass-blocking efficiency, which measures sacks, hits and hurries per pass-rushing snap. Right guard Dillon Radunz is fourth-to-last among guards. Luke Wattenberg ranks 21st among centers.

Making matters worse, Levis is prone to mistakes.

Levis has two of the worst turnovers of the season – an under-pressure flip for a pick-six against the Bears and an ill-advised red-zone lateral against the Jets – both of which led to viral moments on social media

That includes his own coach taking a shot at him in the media this week.

“I was upset,” Callahan said when asked about cameras catching him asking Levis about a turnover.

“It was dumb. It was the exact same thing he did last week, and he cost us points in the red zone. He’s a grown-up and he knows better, and I was really irritated that he cost us three points in a game that we probably needed it.”

It’s rare that a coach is that candid about any player in the media, let alone his quarterback.

Levis has weapons in the passing game when he does throw to the right team. Calvin Ridley, DeAndre Hopkins and Tyler Boyd make for a solid receiver trio. Ridley has seven receptions for 127 yards. He had a 40-yard touchdown catch and 10-yard touchdown run vs. the Jets.

The Packers have been much better at forcing takeaways this year. They have five interceptions through two games after only having seven all last year.

If they can get any semblance of pressure on Levis, he’ll throw the ball to them. It’s just up to their defenders to catch the ball.

Advantage: Packers

Special Teams

The Packers did not have any chances in the return game for Keisean Nixon or Jayden Reed vs. the Colts. In fact, neither team returned a punt or a kick on Sunday. The only kick that was in play was the Colts’ onside kicker that was recovered by Packers safety Evan Williams.

While punter Daniel Whelan is off to a tremendous start, Green Bay’s kicking situation is a work in progress. Rookie Brayden Narveson has missed a field in each of his first two games.

Narveson, who was given a vote of confidence by LaFleur on Monday, will be returning to the site where his NFL career began.

Narveson lost a training-camp competition to veteran Nick Folk, who is one of the better kickers in the NFL. He is 4-of-4 on extra points and 2-of-2 on field goals after making an NFL-best 96.7 percent of his field goals last season.

Titans punter Ryan Stonehouse is second with a 54.9-yard average but his coverage unit has allowed returns of 19 and 20 yards.

In Week 1, the Titans had a punt blocked, which the Bears returned for a touchdown to give them life in a game they had no business winning. Perhaps they made up for that by recovering a fumble on the NFL’s new dynamic kickoff in which they kicked the ball just inside the landing zone, which Velus Jones Jr muffed.

Only three of Folk’s seven kickoffs have resulted in touchbacks. It will be interesting to see if they give any opportunities to Nixon.

Advantage: Packers

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