Run Defense Faces a Tough Test

With Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon, the Green Bay Packers have one of the NFL's best rushing attacks, particularly in recent weeks.

Christopher Hanewinckel / USA TODAY Sports

NASHVILLE – It is a bit of a chicken-and-egg question.

Do the Tennessee Titans have one of the NFL’s best run defenses because the first nine games this season have been almost exclusively against teams that rank among the NFL’s worst rushing offenses? Or are those teams’ rushing numbers adversely affected by the fac that they have faced the Titans once (twice in the case of the Indianapolis Colts)?

Thursday’s game against Green Bay could provide some clarity.

The Packers, undeniably, have a stout ground game, one that features two productive backs in Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon. Jones (5-foot-9, 208 pounds) is a speed guy whose average of 5.6 yards per carry is tied for best among the 10 NFL running backs with the most yards thus far this season. Dillon (6-0, 247) is more of a power back.

With them, Green Bay is the only team in the league with two of the top 20 in rushing attempts through the first 10 weeks of the season. Their combined 1,192 rushing yards account for 92.2 percent of their team’s total.

“I think their backs are really, really good backs in this league,” Titans defensive coordinator Shane Bowen said. “They’re, obviously, different, but they’re both really good in their own right. Both have the ability to make you miss. With Dillon – he can run you over.

“We’re going to have to get hats to the ball. To ask one guy to tackle these backs for us? Not going to be good. … We just have to be ready to go, and it’s going to be a big challenge for us.”

It is a drastically different approach than that of the Titans, who have leaned on running back Derrick Henry for 74.3 percent of their rushing attempts and 76.9 percent of their rushing yards.

But it is no less effective.

A statistical comparison between the Tennessee Titans’ and Green Bay Packers’ run games (with NFL rank in parentheses):

	Tennessee	Green Bay
Rushes	272 (9)	263 (10)
Yards	1201 (12)	1293 (7)
Avg./Carry	4.4 (T-18)	4.9 (T-6)
Touchdowns	10 (T-10)	4 (T-30)
Yrds/Game	133.4 (9)	129.3 (12)
Season-High	314 (1)	208 (27)
Leader	Derrick Henry - 923 (2)	Aaron Jones - 738 (7)

The Packers are one of four NFL teams with 200-plus rushing yards in three or more games, including two of the last three. They had 199 in another.

Green Bay has averaged 173.7 rushing yards over the last three contests.

“They have … won three of those games,” Titans coach Mike Vrabel said. “Those are impressive numbers.

“… They have really good backs, and they mix up the scheme. They run inside, they run outside zone, they work cross tracks. They keep you guessing and keep you defending it.”

By comparison, the Titans produced the league’s best single-game rushing effort of the season with 314 yards against Houston on Oct. 30. That is the only time this season they have reached 200 yards. Their next-best effort is 172 yards Nov. 6 at Kansas City.

Yet Tennessee has outrushed its opponent in six of nine games. That is due in large part to a defense that ranks second in the NFL with an average of 85.1 rushing yards allowed per game. Over the last six games, that average is 55.2 yards, and none of those teams rushed for more than 77 yards.

Of the last six teams the Titans have faced, five rank outside the top 20 in rushing offense and one other (Washington) is in the bottom half.

“It’s a challenge,” nose tackle Naquan Jones said. “And we’re always up for the challenge. That’s a team that really going to take pride in running the ball, and we take pride in stopping the run. So, we’ve just got to do what we do every week.”