Ryan Tannehill has been the biggest surprise in the NFL this season. The former Miami Dolphin was traded to the Tennessee Titans this offseason for a fourth and seventh-round pick. While Tannehill had starting experience in Miami, many expected him to be a backup for the oft-injured Marcus Mariota. And at first, that's exactly what he was.
However, after a mixture of injury and sub-par play, Tannehill replaced Mariota in week 7 and since then, the former Texas A&M Aggie has proven to be exactly what the Titans need.
In seven starts this season, Tannehill has thrown for 1849 yards and 15 touchdowns while limiting mistakes and only throwing for five interceptions. In the last few weeks especially, the 31-year-old has elevated his game even more and he has helped the Titans become the hottest team in the NFL in recent weeks. Next week, the Titans will go up against the Houston Texans with a chance to improve to 9-5 and there's reason to believe Tannehill is in line for a big game.
The Texans pass defense
The Texans defense as a whole has had its moments this year but one constant has been how easy it has been for opposing quarterbacks to carve the unit up through the air.
The Texans currently rank 27th in the NFL in passing yards allowed 265.8 per game. Last week, the Titans faced the No. 28 pass defense in the Oakland Raiders, a game which saw Tannehill throw for 391 yards and three touchdowns on only 27 attempts. There's no reason to believe that the seven-year NFL veteran can't do the same this week.
The Texans will have someone else to worry about
A lot of credit goes to Tannehill and the defense for the team's recent hot streak but perhaps the most important player for Tennessee is 6-foot-3, 247-pound running back Derrick Henry. The former Heisman winner has been one of the best backs in the NFL thus far, running for 1243 yards and scoring 15 total touchdowns this season.
Henry is an absolute unit of a human being and as much as the Texans might want to play back to compensate for a weak pass defense, Henry will likely be the defense's top priority. If Houston focuses too much on the run, Tannehill is more than happy to dissect the defense from the pocket.
It could be a shootout
With how much I trashed the Texans pass defense earlier, they still have Deshaun Watson and DeAndre Hopkins on the roster. The Texans know how to score the ball and could very well put the Titans in a hole early. If that's the case, Tennessee will lean more on the pass which is obviously beneficial for Ryan Tannehill, statistically speaking.
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