The Titans are back home for what will almost certainly be a half-empty Nissan Stadium Sunday when they face the 2-6 New England Patriots. The Titans need a win in the worst way. Here are some of their keys.
First down
Play Levis and turn him loose. If Will Levis’ shoulder is healthy enough for him to practice and play, then put him back out there. Yes, the offense has looked a little better at times with Mason Rudolph at QB. But the Titans know what he is, a decent backup.
Publicly, at least, they still say Levis has some elite traits at the position. The remaining 10 games need to be devoted to finding out if that is the case by taking the training wheels off and telling him to figure it out. That way he either does, or you pick in the top three next April.
Second down
Win the turnover margin. That’s obviously been easier said than done for the Titans this year. But a game without a turnover and possibly even a takeaway or two sure would help the Titans have a chance to stay in a game for four full quarters.
Third down
Score in the second half. The Titans have not scored in the second half of a game since Tony Pollard somehow found the end zone on a third-and-19 give-up draw against the Colts in the third quarter Oct. 13. Most games are won or lost in the fourth quarter. Scoring zero points in the fourth quarter is a recipe for certain defeat.
Fourth down
Just punt it out of bounds. After seeing the Lions special teams and former Titan Kalif Raymond shred the special teams on punt returns Sunday, the Titans should just instruct Ryan Stonehouse to punt the ball out of bounds every time and not put their atrocious cover teams in play.