Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports
The Tennessee Titans faced the San Diego Chargers at home in a game where both teams’ sole loss had come from a late comeback by the Houston Texans. Both the Chargers and the Titans are considered to be teams that are on the verge of NFL Wild Card contention in the AFC and the winner would take a step forward in proving that they deserve consideration as a legitimate threat in the NFL.
The Titans came out on top, 20 – 17, and look like an NFL team with a legitimate chance at going to the playoffs. Chris Johnson continues to gain nearly five yards per carry, and Jake Locker has become much more confident in his role at quarterback as he led the team on a late game drive to steal the win from the Chargers.
Tennessee’s defense is good. They aren’t a strong yard limiting team, but they tend to succeed in the red zone and get takeaways at crucial times during the game. The game against the Chargers would have been over much sooner if Michael Griffin had come away with an interception that was called back due to a defensive penalty. Before this game, only the Seattle Seahawks had a better turnover margin than Tennessee.
The Titans can make the playoffs this season. A difficult stretch is coming up after the game against the New York Jets where the Titans will face the Kansas City Chiefs, Seattle and the San Francisco 49ers. Despite upcoming strong opposition, Tennessee’s schedule lines up so that they could easily win 10 games and slide into the playoffs.
Whether they can continue to play with the kind of aggression and confidence that they need to go to the playoffs, however, remains to be seen.
Taylor Sturm is an SEC Basketball Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @TSturmRS or add him to your network on Google.
