NASHVILLE – The Titans will face the Washington Commanders on Sunday at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Md.
Here's a look at six things to watch in the contest:
Will Levis Momentum
As the temperature has gone down, Titans quarterback Will Levis has heated up. In his three starts since returning from a right shoulder injury, Levis has thrown for 748 yards with five touchdowns, two interceptions, and a passer rating of 109.3. Since Week 10, the 109.3 passer rating ranks fifth among all NFL quarterbacks. He's coming off a game when he threw for 275 passing yards with two touchdowns, and a 123.3 rating. The Titans need Levis to stay hot against the Commanders.
Avoid Sacks
I'm not sure how to feel about this stat: Levis is the first quarterback since the 1970 merger to have a 105-plus rating in a three-game span in which they were sacked 20 times. Levis is the second player in franchise history to be sacked 20-plus times in a three-game span since 1970 (the other was Warren Moon in 1985). This much, however, is pretty clear-cut: The Titans need to protect the QB better, and keep Levis from getting hit so often. Levis can help here, too, of course, by getting the ball out.
Contain Jayden Daniels
After starting 7-2, the Commanders have lost three straight games. Quarterback Jayden Daniels posted a passer rating of 106.7 with 9 touchdowns and 2 interceptions during the fast start, but the rating has been just 77.7 with 3 touchdowns and 3 interceptions in the last three games. The Titans need to keep the heat on Daniels, and not let him get back in a groove because he's a dangerous offensive weapon with running and passing talent. Even with his recent struggles, Daniels has a 68.4 completion percentage, which is the highest completion percentage for a rookie in NFL history. Daniels also leads the Commanders with 556 rushing yards.
Run the Ball
Tony Pollard has been a workhorse, and a tone-setter, for the Titans. The veteran running back leads the Titans with 800 rushing yards, and four touchdowns, and he's coming off a game when he ran for 119 yards and a score on 24 carries. The Titans need to be able to continue running the ball with success to protect Levis, and the line. Pollard is just 22 yards shy of 1,000 scrimmage yards for the season. Since moving to Tennessee, the only two Titans running backs with 1,000 scrimmage yards in their first two seasons with the team: Chris Johnson (2008) and DeMarco Murray (2016). The Commanders haven't been very good against the run this season, allowing 145.5 yards per game, which is 29th in the NFL, and 4.82 yards per carry, which is 28th in the NFL.
Can the Titans Stop the Mistakes?
The Titans have lost on some Sundays because of their mistakes. Some weeks they've made mistakes, and survived them. In eight starts this season, Levis has nine interceptions. He's due for a clean game. The Titans have been penalized 8.0 times per game in 2024 (2nd-most in NFL), and some of them have been costly. The blunders on special teams have been well documented, so I hardly need to provide a reminder (but I guess I'm doing so anyway). I think everyone would love to see how things might look if the Titans played a clean game. Could this be the week?
Importance of Week 13
The Titans, as coach Brian Callahan said this week, aren't dead yet. But at 3-8, their playoff hopes are barely flickering right now. On Sunday, they're a 5 ½ point underdog against the Commanders. Since 1990, teams starting 4-8 have made the playoffs 1.7% of the time (2/119), won the division 1.7% of the time (2/119) but never won a Super Bowl (0/119). Not one of the 98 teams that started with a 3-9 record has ever made the playoffs. The Titans need to find a way to win this one before playing four of the final five games against AFC South opponents. Plus, it would be nice to win two games in a row (for the first time since October 2022).
