THE Chargers return to SoFi Stadium after a successful one-game trip to Cleveland, increasing their chances of making the playoffs to 72%, according to NFL.com. Another win on Sunday against a struggling Titans team would increase those odds to 79%.
It’s a big game even though Tennessee is just 2-6, while teams near Los Angeles on the bubble have tough matchups in Week 10. Cincinnati has already lost to Baltimore on Thursday Night Football, while Denver and Indianapolis host Kansas City and Buffalo, respectively, on Sunday.
Here’s why you should be confident in a Chargers victory.
Last five offenses
Whether it’s Will Levis or Mason Rudolph at quarterback for Tennessee, the Titans’ offense has been among the worst in the league on an EPA/play basis. Tennessee is 29th in the NFL in EPA/total offensive play – ahead of Carolina, Cleveland and Las Vegas, all of whom played the Chargers earlier in the season – 30th in EPA/dropback and 26th in EPA/rush .
The Titans appear to have Tyjae Spears back (hamstring) this week after the running back practiced fully Thursday, but his return comes at the apparent expense of Tony Pollard, who did not practice Thursday due to injury. a foot injury. Pollard has been Tennessee’s best offensive player, so his absence will make it even more difficult for the Titans to move the ball. The Chargers also have the second-best run defense in the league on an EPA/play basis.
The return of Lévis
Normally, getting your starting quarterback back from injury is a positive thing for your team. But before missing the last three games with a sprained AC joint in his throwing shoulder, Levis was becoming one of the worst quarterbacks in the league. A new image of Levis seemed to emerge every week as he committed untimely turnovers and put himself in dangerous situations, with Titans head coach Brian Callahan asking him “what are you doing?” on at least one occasion.
Indeed, Levis has been worse than Rudolph on an EPA/dropback basis this season, but the Titans need to see if there are any salvageable traits in their young starter as the team heads into a rebuilding offseason after the year. Putting a quarterback known for poor decisions back into the lineup against Jesse Minter’s defense still appears to be a solid advantage for the Chargers.
Secondary exhausted
Tennessee placed starting cornerback Chidobe Awuzie on injured reserve in late September, and although reports indicate he is close to returning, he has yet to return to practice for the Titans this week and probably won’t wear the uniform on Sunday. The Titans also lost safety Quandre Diggs to a season-ending injury at Lisfranc last week. Cornerback L’Jarius Sneed also did not practice this week due to a quad injury and is trending away from playing.
With all that in mind, the Titans are in line to start at least two, and probably three, reserves in the secondary against a Chargers offense led by an absolutely red-hot Justin Herbert. While rookie cornerback Jarvis Brownlee Jr. and safety Amani Hooker have played well this season, the potential of starting special teams Tre Avery and/or Mike Brown on Sunday should seem very attractive to Los Angeles.
Defensive exchanges
The Chargers removed three defenders from last year’s Titans team: cornerback Kristian Fulton, defensive lineman Teair Tart (after his release, signed by Houston, then signed and released by Miami) and safety Elijah Molden (whom Los Angeles traded for a seventh-rounder in 2026). choose for). All three played a large number of snaps for Los Angeles. Fulton has been the team’s best corner when healthy, but has been dealing with a hamstring injury for the past few weeks. Tart played a key role in rotating the defensive line. Molden has been the team’s third-ranked safety and leads the team in interceptions.
Meanwhile, Tennessee signed two players from Los Angeles’ defense in 2023: lineman Sebastian Joseph-Day and linebacker Kenneth Murray. Joseph-Day was the subject of trade rumors last week before Tuesday’s deadline, but he ultimately remained with the Titans, where he played a career-high 93 snaps on the borderline while playing just about at replacement level. Only one player who played in all eight games for the Titans is rated lower than Murray by Pro Football Focus, as the linebacker continued to struggle defending the run and allowed 27 of his 29 coverage targets to be completed, including four touchdowns.
Don’t neglect your opponents
Los Angeles has not lost a single game against a team that is currently under .500 this season, beating Las Vegas, Carolina, New Orleans and Cleveland by a combined score of 101-31. (In the Chargers’ other four games, in which they are 1-3, they currently trail by a combined score of 60-58.)
Comments from Jim Harbaugh this week went viral when he called the midseason series of games the most important, but the message is clear: Los Angeles isn’t going to take its foot off the pedal because this looks like a soft game on paper. It’s a welcome mentality for Chargers fans, who are undoubtedly still scarred from an embarrassing 41-29 loss to the 3-11 Texans in 2021 that ultimately eliminated Los Angeles from the playoffs that season.
This article was originally published on Chargers Wire: Chargers’ reasons for optimism against Titans in Week 10
