New Orleans Saints: Keys to overcoming the Tennessee Titans

2. Be aggressive on special teams

We went back and looked at the Titans’ only two losses since Ryan Tannehill took over at quarterback for Marcus Mariota and we noticed some things. First, Tannehill has been really good and is not a weak point of this team, even if it feels like he should be.

Second of all, the Titans’ two losses with Tannehill were not the result of the team being sluggish offensively or defensively. Yes, they allowed a combined 54 points in the two games, but it was not the result of a bad defense.

Instead, in these games, the Titans simply shot themselves in the foot, particularly in special teams. Against the Houston Texans last week they started the game with a blocked field goal and the momentum of the game seemed to get away from them.

The team then punted, threw an interception, punted and turned the ball over on downs to end the first half. The Texans were able to go up 14-0, which was enough of a cushion to overcome a three-down half from the Titans.

The same can be said against the Panthers. The Titans missed three field goals in that game to go along with two interceptions and a punt.

You cannot really force these things as they are more of mistakes on the Titans end, but the Saints’ best shot is to try and force the issue on special teams. Get creative, bring a lot of pressure to the punter, try things with the ball on special teams that could suck the life out of the Titans and swing the game.

That has been the one common denominator in the team’s two losses. Don’t play this game to not lose, play it to win.