Tennessee Titans Betting Preview 2020

Tennessee Titans 2020 Team Analysis and Schedule

The Tennessee Titans looked like they were going nowhere before quarterback Marcus Mariota was replaced by Ryan Tannehill in Week 6 a season ago.  The signal-caller led the Titans to a 7-3 mark in their final 10 games en route to a 9-7 record and a run to the AFC Championship, where they fell to the eventual Super Bowl Odds Champion Kansas City Chiefs.  

The Titans are excited to start a season with Ryan Tannehill under center and they’ll be looking to give Houston a run for their money in the AFC South this season. 

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Tennessee Titans 2020 Schedule 

Tenneessee Titans News & Picks

Some Games of Note

The Titans open the season in Denver on Monday night against an improved Broncos team.  The team’s first non-conference test will come in Week 3 when they travel to Minneapolis to take on the Minnesota Vikings.  Keep an eye on the Week 16 matchup on Sunday Night Football against the Green Bay Packers.  The Titans will be in most games because of their ability to control the clock with the efficiency of Tannehill and the brute force running style of Henry.

The Titans will benefit from the 13th easiest schedule in the NFL in 2020.  The schedule features games against the AFC West, AFC North, and NFC North in addition to their divisional matchups.  Tennessee will face playoff teams from a year ago that include:  Baltimore, Green Bay, Houston, Minnesota, and Buffalo.  The combined record of all opponents from 2019 to Tennessee is 127-128-1.  

The Titans will play three games in primetime as they will open the season in Denver on Monday, September 14.  They will face the Indianapolis Colts on Thursday, November 12, and the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, December 27.

Last Year’s History 

The Titans found unprecedented success in 2019. Although they had flirted with the playoffs in recent years and no one would’ve guessed they’d make it to the AFC Conference Championship last season. After all, they finished 3rd in the division in 2018. 

The big change for Tennessee came when they decided to put Ryan Tannehill under center. Although the passing game didn’t put up whopping numbers, Tannehill’s precision and competence was the perfect complement for the Titans’ running game. 

Tennessee Titans Key Players

Ryan Tannehill

All signs point to quarterback Ryan Tannehill continuing the comeback tour that saw him throw for 2,742 yards in 12 games last season in leading the Titans to the AFC title game.  Tannehill’s calling card is that he does not make many mistakes, as evidenced by his 22/6 touchdown to interception ratio.  He had a quarterback rating of 117.5, which led the league and he completed an astounding 70% of his passes.  That percentage is more impressive given that the Titans were last in the league in passing attempts.  Tannehill’s targets of Brown, Davis, and Smith will be the catalysts of the passing game this season.  Brown finished with 52 catches for 1,051 yards and eight touchdowns.  Davis snagged 43 balls for 601 yards and two touchdowns.  Finally, Smith hauled in 35 balls for 439 yards and four scores.  These numbers should improve over an entire season with Tannehill. 

Derrick Henry 

Henry had a breakout season in 2019. The fourth-year running back racked up a whopping 1,540 rushing yards, 16 touchdowns, as well as 2 receiving touchdowns. However, Henry did have 5 fumbles so that’s one area he’s going to want to improve on. Ultimately he’s in his prime and we should expect even bigger numbers out of him in 2020. Henry was one of 4 Titans to earn Pro Bowl honors and 1 of three to make the All Pro team.  

Brett Kern 

Kern is the Titans’ punter and a mighty good one at that. It’s not often that a punter makes a list of key players but Kern puts himself in that class. He was waived by the Broncos after two seasons and was picked up by Tennessee afterwards. Since then, Kern has been a three-time Pro Bowler and has made All Pro team twice. A dominant punter gives your team substantial field advantage, which results in more wins at the end of the season. 

Tennessee Titans New Additions

In the off season, the Titans brought in OLB Vic Beasley, DT Jack Crawford, and T Ty Sambrailo all from Atlant. Special teams player Nick Dzubnar was brought in from the Los Angeles Chargers as well.

Tennessee Titans Key Subtractions

Some familiar faces have moved on as the team cut ties with longtime kicker Ryan Succop and tight end Delanie Walker, along with running back Dion Lewis.  The Titans are going to depend on superstar running back Derrick Henry, wide receivers A.J. Brown and Corey Davis, and tight end Jonnu Smith to surround Tannehill with plenty of weapons.  The Titans have not made many moves from outside the organization this offseason, however there are rumors swirling about a possible JaDaveon Clowney signing.  They should battle with Indianapolis for division supremacy this season.

Divisional Outlook

The top and bottom of the AFC South standings were separated by just four games in 2019 as the Houston Texans came out on top with a 10-6 record.  Tennessee surprised many by finishing 9-7 and earning a wild card berth.  Indianapolis finished 3rd with a record of 7-9, followed by Jacksonville and their 6-10 record.  The odds for each team to win the division are as follows:  Indianapolis +120, Tennessee +165, Houston +300, and Jacksonville +1600.  The over/under for wins for the Colts and Titans is set at 8.5, while Houston is at 7.5 and Jacksonville checks in at 5.0. 

Tennessee Titans Offense 

The Titans’ offense was respectable, mainly because of the surge of Henry.  Tennessee averaged 25 points per game, good for 10th in the league.  Henry rushed for 1,540 yards and 16 touchdowns.  Tennessee ranked 3rd in the NFL in rushing yards per game with 138.94.  The Titans’ passing attack finished last in the league in passing attempts per game, averaging just 28 passes per game.  The resurgence of Tannehill should help that stat as he stabilized the passing game after he took over.  Even though Tennessee finished last in passing attempts, they led the league in yards per attempt, averaging 883 yards per attempt.  

The Titans were also 2nd in the NFL in 4th Quarter scoring, averaging over nine points in the fourth quarter.  Defensively, the Titans were 12th in the league in points allowed, allowing an average of 20.69 points per game.  They were 21st in yards allowed with 359.5 yards allowed per game.  While Tennessee was the second-best scoring team in the 4th quarter, they were also 4th in the league in points allowed in the 4th quarter, allowing just 4.44 points per 4th quarter.

Tennessee Titans Defense 

Defensively the Titans weren’t as dominant as their offense. They would go on to finish 11th in points allowed, 26th against the pass, and 13th against the run. Although the unit was good enough to get them one-win away from the Super Bowl, there’s still plenty of room for improvement. The Titans lost to the Chiefs 24-35 in the conference championship. In conclusion, had the defense had a better game, Tennessee could’ve punched their ticket to the big one. 

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