There is no hotter team in the NFL right now than the Tennessee Titans, who have looked nothing less than world-beaters of late. That's a lot to say for Tennessee, considering that running back Derrick Henry has been forced to the sidelines by an injury. But that did not stop the Titans from wreaking havoc on the field in Week 9 against the Los Angeles Rams. The Rams entered that game as the home favorite. They were on a four-game undefeated run prior to Week 9, but the good times stopped rolling for Matthew Stafford and company the moment they shared the field with the scorching Titans of Mike Vrabel. With all that said, let's now check out some of the best Titans takeaways from Tennessee's victory over the Rams Sunday night.
Titans Week 9 Takeaways After Edging The Rams
The Titans' defense can get the job done
Taking on a red-hot Rams team wasn't the ideal game to have for the Titans in their first game since learning about the possibility of losing Derrick Henry for the rest of the season. That would have required the Titans to be at their top form, but they went out and got the job done even without Henry, primarily because their defense showed up. Sure, the Rams generated 347 total yards, but Tennessee snuffed 11 of the Rams' attempts to convert on third downs.
Matthew Stafford was consistently thrown to the ground by the Titans' pass rush. Getting to the Rams quarterback quickly was a key ingredient to Tennessee's success defensively, as the Titans had had five sacks to go with two interceptions. Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp, the leader in receiving yards this season, only collected 95 receiving yards on 11 receptions, which was the first time he was unable to touch the 100-yard mark in four games.
Titans head coach Mike Vrabel fittingly gave his defense props for a fantastic job against the Rams.
Via ESPN:
“Those guys played fantastic,” Titans coach Mike Vrabel said of his defense. “It was fun to watch them play. … We really think that group is playing with a lot of confidence right now. They would be able to come in here and play the way they did and hold them to field goals, and we played great in red zone.”
For the record, the Titans have now forced a total of 11 turnovers in their last six games, and it doesn't look like they are about to stop crippling opposing defenses going forward.
2021 Adrian Peterson is not 2012 AP
Adrian Peterson was among the most popular fantasy waiver pick-ups ahead of Week 9 of the 2021 NFL season, but if owners were expecting to get a lot from the former NFL MVP in the Titans' meeting with the Rams, they were likely left disappointed. Peterson rushed for just 21 rushing yards on 10 carries. A rushing score saved his stat line, but Peterson is clearly no longer the dominant running back he used to be during his prime years with the Minnesota Vikings.
Expectations should be managed when it comes to Peterson, but the Titans also showed trust in him. Peterson got the most carries (10) among all Tennessee rushers against the Rams. The volume was nice to look at, but it's not going to get any easier for Peterson in Week 10 against the New Orleans Saints, who own the best rushing defense in the league.
The toughest stretch is now behind Tennessee
The Titans hit rock bottom in Week 4 when they lost to the New York Jets. But just when it looked like the Titans were in trouble, they somehow got it together and started a winning streak that got extended to five games after beating the Rams. Tennessee recovered from the Jets loss by taking down the Jacksonville Jaguars, thus giving them much-needed momentum ahead of a showdown with the Buffalo Bills. The Titans then followed that up by adding an L to the Kansas City Chiefs' record before eking out a pair of victories over the Indianapolis Colts and the Rams. That was as tough of a stretch as it could get for the Titans, and they certainly aced that test.
No four-game stretch on the Titans' 2021 schedule looked more potent than the one they just went through. Up next for them are games against the likes of the Miami Dolphins, Houston Texans, and the Jaguars. They will also have dates with mid-tier teams in the form of the San Francisco 49ers and Pittsburgh Steelers.
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