Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - CROSSOVER THURSDAY - Titans @ Colts: Titans Weakness, Wentz Resurgence & Keys To Watch
Episode Date: October 28, 2021The Tennessee Titans travel to Indianapolis to play the Colts on Sunday in a game that could decide the division. Tyler is joined by Evan Sidery of Locked On Colts to preview the matchup. First, Evan ...asks Tyler questions about the Titans including what their biggest weakness is at this point in the season. Next, Tyler check in with Evan on the Colts injury situation and Wentz stellar play as of late. Finally, both the guys provide their keys to watch and their early predictions for the game.Follow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitansFollow the show on Facebook @LockedOnTitansPodSubscribe to the Locked On Titans YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP3332GMOh4y5PX3q9NFybwSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnline AGThere is only 1 place that has you covered and 1 place we trust. Betonline.ag! Sign up today for a free account at betonline.ag and use that promocode: LOCKEDON for your 50% welcome bonus.Rock AutoAmazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you.GetupsideJust download the FREE GetUpside App and use promo code TOUCHDOWN to get up to 50¢/gallon cash back on your first tank. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Transcript
Discussion (0)
Hello everyone. Welcome into your crossover special. I am Evan Seri, the host of Locked On Colts, joined by Tyler Rowland, the host of Locked On Titans.
And we are here for what I think, Tyler, is the best game of the week in the NFL this week.
It's the Tennessee Titans going to Lucasola Stadium to play the red-hot offense of the Indianapolis Colts.
And something's clicking for both sides here because the Titans are looking like the best team in the NFL the last two weeks.
We're also seeing the Colts really pick things up as well over the last couple weeks as well.
We'll dive into it.
I'll ask you some questions first off, and then next time we'll dive vice versa.
You ask me some questions, and we'll close talking about our keys and predictions to the game.
But, Tyler, let me throw it to you first.
I mean, has your calculus for this team, for the Tennessee Titans, changed at all this year after what's happened the last two weeks
where I think they put together arguably the two best back-to-back wins
of any team this season, winning at home against the Buffalo Bills
and then just destroying Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs?
Well, I think it's fair to say that it's been a Titans coaster
throughout the year because you start out on a real high
with all the optimism from the offseason,
and then you go to a really low valley after that loss to Arizona.
Just totally deflate the bubble of excitement that was going into the year.
But after that, they rebound, a couple of victories, but then comes the Jets game.
You know, you get the high of the Seahawks comeback, you beat a division rival, and then
you lose to the Jets,
and there's your low again.
And then you beat Jacksonville, which kind of just, you know,
you're click, click, click, click, clicking up again.
But then it's just, whoo, going all the way up with the two wins.
But based on that, now the Titans have the ability to go down
on the coaster again, And I think everybody has
that in the back of their mind. But with that being said, with the way the defense performed
in that game against Kansas City, it has to give you more optimism that the Titans can reach the
heights that people hoped that they would before the season. So it's an up and down battle. But
overall, I think that the optimism preseason is, is restored right now for,
for the Titans. Yeah. I got to say, I've loved last year for Tennessee the last two weeks and
we'll hit on Derek Henry in just a moment because he's just in a tier of his own right now. I think
he's the MVP MVP favorite right now in this league, just an insane workload right now for him
as well as Tyler. But I want to have the passing game for a second, because I feel like Tennessee
has really found something the last three or four weeks with integrating more Julio Jones that chemistry with Ryan Tannehill is really
going now of course A.J. Brown he's one of my favorite young wideouts in NFL as well but
this passing game on top of Derrick Henry what he's doing he's also getting included in the
passing game which I love to see as well but yeah this passing attack for Tennessee is really
hitting another gear right now yeah well it's all about the play action.
So when you look at the Titans, they played seven games this year, and the games that they pass 21% or less play action on the dropbacks,
they lose.
On the games that they pass 30% or more on play action, they win.
And the season high, actually, was the last game against Indianapolis at 41%.
So I think that that's the key to the offense kind of looking the way it's
looked in previous years.
The Titans have,
like I said,
the rollercoaster of the Titans a few weeks,
they've just not been able to do it as much against Arizona.
Other weeks just decide not to do it like against the jets.
But once you see the Titans play action game,
start going,
that's when it really gets deadly.
Like you said, we're going to talk about Derrick Henry,
but the play action passing game is really what makes the Titans offense
so dynamic, even though Derrick Henry gets, you know,
should get all the credit that he does.
Yeah, this offense for Tennessee is one of my favorites to watch in the league.
I thought there'd be a little bit of drop off from Arthur Smith going to Atlanta,
but I think they're getting their mojo back from what we've seen the last two weeks.
He's having to balance overall.
But let's hit on Derrick Henry, Tyler, because this guy's a cyborg.
I mean, it's so fun to watch him play.
He has already 200-plus touches in seven games for the Tennessee Titans,
which is just an insane workload.
But it's not stopping Derrick Henry from doing what Derrick Henry does each week,
just putting guys on viral clips with stiff arms,
getting more involved in the passing game,
just running through people consistently,
getting 30-plus carries per game sometimes.
I mean, what's your opinion of Derrick Henry?
Because I thought maybe this would be the year
where he starts to fall off that clip a little bit from that elite tier
with such a high workload.
But no, I was completely wrong there.
He's not nowhere close to the end of his prime,
and he's poised for a 500-plus touch season, which is insane to me. What's your opinion of what
Derrick Henry's doing right now? And I have to imagine he's probably the MVP there for you as
well. Uh, I don't know if he's the MVP favorite, the Arizona Cardinals are undefeated and Kyler
Murray Murray's playing great. Uh, obviously it's a quarterback award. So I think that Derrick Henry deserves more realistic consideration
than he probably is getting right now.
And honestly, just the way that it works,
he would probably have to go over 2,000 yards again.
He would probably have to lead the Titans to a number one seed
or at least the two seed.
So all of those things would have to happen for him to win.
But I think even the fact that people are whispering about that or at least mentioning it on shows,
I think that's great for Derrick Henry.
And I think that is the credit that he deserves
because he carries such a burden.
And I agree with you.
It was only logical to consider some regression at some point.
It's just what we've come to know.
But I think throughout this time covering Derrick Henry in his career,
I think I've just come to believe that he's just a unicorn. He just breaks the mold,
the, you know, the expectations that we have, that we know the patterns, he just breaks them.
So I think that might just be the reality of the situation. He's an excellent player to watch. And
yeah, I mean, if he does those things and the Titans reach those heights, he could win the MVP.
And, yeah, I mean, if he does those things and the Titans reach those heights, he could win the MVP.
The defense, too, Tyler, I want to help on that because actually a former Indianapolis Colt is really doing well for Tennessee.
And Danico Autry, obviously Jeffrey Simmons as well in the defensive line.
Harold Landry taking the lead to start pass rusher this year.
Bud Dupree also in the mix there.
And we're talking on the Ultimate Division crossover special for the AFC South. And you're worried about the linebackers.
But I think the linebackers have kind of impressed me so far
from what I've seen from Tennessee.
What's your opinion of that front seven?
Because it's kind of catching my attention a little bit
about how improved they are.
Yeah, well, I think all of it starts up front.
You had Jeffrey Simmons and you had Harold Landry before,
and they were able to do a lot.
You know, they're really good players,
but when they were really the only weapons that the Titans had up front on the defensive line last year, there's not going to be enough for them to be able to do what they do best. They'll get too much attention. And this year, you're seeing things spread out. You have, like you said, the former Colt Danico Autry. He's been absolutely fantastic this year. And against the Colts in the first matchup, he was really impactful. He was super impactful on Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs.
He had two sacks in that game, two tackles for loss.
He's second on the team with three and a half sacks this year.
Jeffrey Simmons is the guy who gets the double teams, though.
You know, Bud Dupree is getting back into shape, coming back from ACL.
Need to see a little bit more from him, but he doesn't in spots during the game.
But with Danico Autry and then Harold Landry and then Jeffrey Simmons,
I mean, that's enough to cause problems.
Again, Bud Dupree back in there is only going to accelerate things more.
Jeffrey Simmons is getting those double teams. The Titans like to run games and stunts and twists up front.
So that just kind of takes advantage of the athleticism of all of those guys.
And you're right, Danico's been fantastic.
As for the linebackers, they've had up and down play.
I would say Rashawn Evans has probably been the worst starter on the Titans
so far this year on the defensive side of the ball.
But he's improved in recent weeks against tougher competition.
So maybe he's turning a corner in terms of his play for this season.
But the other linebacker, David Long, has just come in
and really showed out throughout the season.
He flies around, makes tackles all over the place.
Not the biggest guy, so he's not great at shedding blocks,
but he's so fast and athletic and agile that he can dart around
these big offensive linemen, and he's ferocious and physical,
and he'll slide in and lay a hit on the running back
and get them to the ground.
So he's been a big impressive impressive part of the Titans kind of change on defense.
Not a huge change, not bad to good, but bad to average.
And that's really what the Titans need to be a better team this year.
Last one I had here for you, Tyler, I want to dive into asking me some Colts questions,
but looking at from a Colts perspective for those fans out there listening from India,
what would you say is the weak point of this Titans team
about two months into the season?
Well, I would say that if you're able to slow down the run game completely
and in a way that, I guess if you could slow down the run game
in a way that it would discourage the Titans
from going to their normal offense, then you're going to have a good chance to beat them. But it's just so hard to actually
accomplish that. I think the real way that you would be able to do it is take advantage of the
Titans aggressiveness and their disguises on defense. If you can catch them in some coverages
like the bills on Monday night football through the touchdown pass to Cole Beasley right before halftime. And the Titans ran an inverted cover two with their outside corners
playing the deep halves.
And they ran a perfect combination of a post with a wheel route,
and the corner went to the post, and it left the wheel route wide open
in the end zone, Cole Beasley.
So if you can catch the Titans while they're trying to do some of those disguises
and get a lead on them early enough, it might discourage the Titans from sticking with what
they do. That's what happened in week one. And that's when you saw the low play action total.
So if you could put them in situations where they don't feel comfortable going to the play action,
then you're going to have a good chance to disrupt the offense. But I got to tell you,
if Todd Downing's smart, it doesn't matter how much
you're down by, you know, in the first half, stick with the plan. Arthur Smith came back in plenty of
games with the Titans by just sticking to the plan, even when they went down, because it will
work. So that's what I think would be the biggest weakness there. That's great stuff there from
Tyler. Of course, we're going to be diving into the next segment talking about the Indianapolis Colts.
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We'll be back in just a moment here for our second part of our crossover special.
All right, Evan.
Well, it is time for you to get in the hot seat.
I got some questions for you about the Indianapolis Colts ahead of this matchup.
Do just want to take a moment to thank you all for making the Locked on Titans podcast
and the Locked on Colts podcast your first listen every day.
Going to dive in here.
My first question is just the Colts have won three or four games,
and they should have won four or four games if we're honest with the loss to Baltimore.
So what's kind of the vibe around the Colts right now?
How's the outlook for what they
want to accomplish still in the preseason dreams? Kind of like we talked about with the Titans.
Yeah, I would say it's very high from where we were about three weeks ago. I think if you would
have asked after the Baltimore Ravens game, people would have said, oh, that's a good loss. But how
they lost that game was quite frankly embarrassing with the fourth quarter overtime collapse. But
even in that loss against Baltimore, you saw Carson Wentz. He was great in
that game. And Carson Wentz is actually crazy enough, Tyler, the best quarterback ready in
the NFL over the last four weeks of the season at 119.4, which is the monster number compared
to guys like Kyler Murray, Dak Prescott as well. But you also see Wentz just being more efficient
with the football. He's trusting Michael Pittman Jr. full on right now.
He's a legit taking that leap to wide receiver one for the Colts and Jonathan Taylor.
He's had four straight games of over 100 plus scrimmage yards.
So this guy's, I think, right behind Derek Henry now in the NFL in terms of running backs.
And this could be a great matchup on Sunday for that.
And in the defense, too, it's a little leaky here and there.
Darius Leonard's still not 100%, but it's crazy.
He has eight turnovers in seven games on a bum ankle,
which just says a lot about the way he's playing.
And it's just incredible what he's doing.
But losing Julian Blackman after the Houston game in practice,
he blew out his Achilles last week.
That's a massive blow long-term for this team, at least,
because you're starting Andrew Sandejo now in place of him.
And that's going to be a huge drop-off from where they were.
Julian Blackman is a key part to that connective tissue in the back end of the defense but they're getting they're seeing more pass rush overall from Quiddy
Paye the last couple weeks to Forrest Buckner as well as getting more consistent they need more up
front but I would say overall this team's turning in the right direction and a lot of it is due to
Carson Wentz and a lot of it's due to Michael Pittman and Jonathan Taylor and just based off
how this defense is and losing Julian Blackman if the Colts want to go on the run here, they're probably have to score a lot of points.
And actually over the last four weeks, they've scored at least 27 points per game over that stretch.
So this offense is clicking right now.
And then once T.Y. Hilton's back in the lineup, which he's on pace for for Sunday, as is right tackle Braden Smith, this offense could be at full strength for the first time since week one.
So really exciting what the offense is doing right now.
And then the defense is obviously catching up to him as well.
Yeah.
Well, I was actually going to ask you about the defense and, you know,
you're talking about Julian Blackman, but you see Rocky Sin on the injury report.
You see Xavier Rhodes, you know, miss game her ankle, I do believe.
So what's kind of the status update on some of the health issues in
the secondary and how concerned would you say that you are about the secondary's vulnerability
considering kind of the shuffling parts? Yeah, I would say even if they were healthy,
this is a matchup against Tennessee that I'm really concerned about. It wasn't really much
of an issue when they played in Nashville, but A.J. Brown, Julio Jones, we both know that they
can go off at a moment's notice. And Ryan Tannehill has had a lot of success against this Colts team
as far as just throwing the ball deep,
just being very efficient with the football as well.
But Rakia Sin was limited in practice today,
but he is on track to play on Sunday.
He's missed the last few games with that ankle injury.
And then Xavier Rhodes, he actually did not practice this week,
but he was able to play in the 49ers game,
had that massive interception on Jimmy Garoppolo.
I imagine he does give it a go on Sunday.
So the only guy they're going to be missing in that back end is Julian Blackman.
But I just want to reiterate how important Julian Blackman is to this defense
because he's the leader in that back end.
I know Kenny Moore is a really underrated nickel,
but Blackman does all the dirty work back there.
He makes up for a lot of mistakes.
And having him not out there, especially against Tennessee,
I guarantee you Tennessee is probably going to try a few deep shots where Julian Blackman would have been. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it would, it would only make sense for them to do
that. And with the play action passing game kind of getting roaring and getting going for the
Titans, I would expect that to, uh, to be a target, but we're going to talk about some,
some keys to the game. We're going to talk about some predictions in our final segment.
Before we get to that, I still have some more questions for you here.
So you talked about the offensive kind of getting back to a full unit.
What's the status update on the offensive line this year?
Are they getting back now to where they want to be?
Is that where we're seeing the success with Jonathan Taylor
and Carson Wentz having protection?
I know that was obviously an issue coming into the year.
Eric Fisher wasn't ready.
Q has been dealing with a ton of injuries throughout the year,
and you talked about Braden Smith being on the injury report
but probably being good to go.
So where's the offensive line's performance overall
through the injuries up to this point?
Yeah, what's crazy enough is we're already going to be in week seven, week eight,
and this will be the first game most likely the Colts have their full starting five playing a single snap together, which just says how injured this front line has been.
Eric Fisher missed week one.
Brayden Smith could turn week one.
He's just now coming back this week against Tennessee.
Quentin Nelson's been on and off with the injuries, like you mentioned, Tyler.
But I think overall, the offensive line, two reserve players that really stood out to me.
Chris Reed at right guard.
He's taking Mark Lewinsky's job as we speak.
He doubled his snaps in San Francisco.
He's just a revelation find for them.
The only guy on their offensive line with no penalties and no sacks allowed so far this year.
He made his season debut in Nashville, and he really did well at left guard when Quentin Nelson went out of that game.
He's now splitting reps at right guard with Mark Lewinsky.
But then Quentin Nelson, he's still not 100%. You can tell he's kind of limping a little bit play to play but even still like an 85 q
is an all-pro left guard he's he's still quentin nelson that's the big deal there but even still
we're seeing ryan kelly get fully healthy eric fisher still is not trusting his anchor in pass
rush after that achilles injury he's a great run block, but he's quite frankly not great at all right now
at pass blocking, which is worrisome against a guy like Harold Landry.
They're going to test him a lot, I think,
trying to stack some blitzes on his side on Sunday.
But then you have Matt Pryor, the former Philadelphia Eagle,
who's been at right tackle the last three weeks,
been a godsend for them compared to Julian Davenport,
who Titans fan Saul got just destroyed in week three.
And you see just how those two guys have really helped stabilize the offensive line
and kept them afloat until Braden Smith got back, until Quentin Nelson got back,
and then hopefully Eric Fisher is fully healthy sometime soon
and trusts his pass-blocking ability.
But this offensive line now is getting back to full strength at the perfect time.
This offense is finding a great rhythm in the passing game.
Carson Wentz, I think, is averaging over eight yards per attempt
over the last month of the season.
Then Jonathan Taylor, as we already hit on,
four straight games, 100-plus scrimmage yards.
So this offense is clicking at the right time.
And then T.Y. Hilton is coming back on Sunday, too,
which is a huge plus for them as well.
Yeah, the Colts are definitely rounding into form at the right time
after a tough start to the season, but a tough schedule to start the season.
And that was well documented.
The first five weeks were going to be tough.
So now they're out of that.
They're starting to put some wins together.
And the division isn't out of reach, even though the Titans sit at 5-2.
Well, we are going to talk those keys to victory for either side.
We're going to give our early predictions as well in our final part of the discussion
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We are back for our final segment of our show.
I am Evan Satter, the host of Locked On.
I'm Tyler Rowland of the Locked on Titans podcast.
Just a great game on Sunday, Tyler.
The more we talk about it, the more I get pumped up
because this is such a huge game for the AFC South.
Whoever wins this game probably is going to be –
I went to the Colts are going to be in the driver's seat
because the Titans still have proven that they're one of the best teams in the AFC.
But it will be a huge game, huge momentum swing
if the Colts can pull off on Sunday. Tennessee pretty much locks up the AFC, but it'll be a huge game, huge momentum swing at the Colts and pull up on Sunday.
Tennessee pretty much locks up the AFC South on Sunday if they win,
unless they have a potential collapse in the second half of the season.
But let's go over this game, our matchups, our predictions.
I'll throw it your way, Tyler.
I mean, what do you think is the biggest key for the Titans going up against this
Indianapolis Colts team that really is clicking all cylinders right now?
Right.
Well, I really just want to reiterate your point first and just mention the schedule
because, you know, you say that the Colts maybe wouldn't be in the driver's seat because it's a
split and, you know, the Titans would still be at five wins. But the week after that,
the Titans play the Rams in Los Angeles on Sunday night football. And the week after for the Colts, they play at home against the Jets.
So I would say that whoever wins this game,
well, if the Colts find a way to win this game,
it'll be massive because it'll almost be a two-game swing instantly
because you've got to think that the Colts beat the Jets
and the Titans lose to the Rams in L.A.
So this game is monstrous, maybe even a little more important for the Titans
because of what comes next.
But then on the flip side, the Colts are going to be a desperate team
knowing that they can flip the whole entire division with this game at home
when they're playing their best football.
So for me, the key for the Titans is to run the football.
I think that if the Titans just have a more explosive offense in general
than the Colts, I think that's fair to say over the last few years.
So if the Titans play their game on offense,
I don't think that the Colts could keep up from a point scoring perspective.
If the Titans can put up 34, 37 points,
I don't think the Colts are going to be able to get there.
I think the Titans would be able to hold them to 28 or 31, somewhere in there.
So where that starts is running the football.
And Derrick Henry's been able to run the football on the Colts
better than any other running back in the NFL,
which is probably true for most teams.
But Derrick Henry's gone for 100 yards four times in a row on the Colts, including
113 yards in the last meeting. If the Titans can run the ball, that means the play action's going
to work even better. They're going to have two phases of the offense at all times against this
great defense. I know they haven't been great this year, but with the injuries and everything,
still a very well-coached defense who knows the Titans' offense very well. So if the Titans can run the ball, it's going to open up everything else.
And I think that'll allow them to score enough points
that if the defense doesn't play well, they can still win the game.
Yeah, that's a really valid point.
Derrick Henry's just had his way with the Colts over the last couple of years
and four straight games, 100-plus yards.
If that happens again on Sunday, Tyler, I think the Titans are in the driver's seat
to win that game. But from the Colts' side of things, I think the Titans are in the driver's seat to win that game.
But from the Colts' side, I think the key to the game
is going to be winning the turnover battle,
as well as on top of that, trying to stop Derek.
As they did in the first game.
Exactly, yeah.
They won the turnover battle by three,
and they still lost that game somehow,
which is good to say.
Wentz was banged up, though.
He could barely move.
He was throwing it into the ground.
I think it's a different team.
No, for sure, yeah.
After that game, they definitely flipped the switch,
and especially against the Ravens when that offense really started clicking
all cylinders.
They found something the last three or four weeks of the season.
But outside of that, with a healthy Carson Wentz, like you mentioned,
he's been taking care of the football at an extremely high level.
He leads the NFL in the fewest interceptions,
in the interception percentage as well.
Just an incredible turnaround for Carson Wentz.
He has fully trust Frank Reich.
He trusts the weapons in the offensive line around him.
I think if Carson Wentz plays very efficient football
and they run Jonathan Taylor a lot,
I think that's going to decide a lot of this game.
I think Michael Pittman makes a play or two as well in this game on the offense.
This Colts offense all of a sudden, Tyler,
it's a vertical explosive offense from what we've seen the last month of the season.
And it's probably going to be doing the rest of the year.
It's just chucking a deep to Pittman, using T.Y. Hilton over the middle,
and using Jonathan Taylor in the running and passing game as well.
He's just becoming a multifaceted weapon there.
So I think it's going to be trying to stop Derrick Henry,
but also just winning that turnover battle once again.
And I think if the Colts can do it this time with a healthy course of wins,
they do win this game. So it's quite simple with a turnover battle, but it's really
what's going to decide this game. I think it's going to be a very, very, very close game.
Yeah, I think you're right. I do think it's going to be a pretty close game and those
little, you know, things that swing one way or another are going to make a very big difference
as they often do in these games. We saw the Titans last year stop the Colts in a couple fourth-and-one situations
that led to a Titans victory.
So, you know, a couple bad punts for the Titans in one matchup,
and all of a sudden the Colts are up by 10.
So these division games, you know, these weird swings,
these weird things that happen in turnovers are often at the center.
I do want to say, though, that I think one thing for the Colts is
the Titans are going to have to stop the run as you talk about Jonathan Taylor and the last two weeks, they
played heavy passing teams that don't really have super physical run games. So are the Titans ready
for a super physical run team that they haven't seen in multiple weeks? I don't know. That'll be
an interesting thing to watch as well. Yeah, absolutely. And I think honestly, it's, I think Jonathan Taylor is kind of flying under
the radar as far as running backs in this league, because he's actually on pace for almost 2000
scrimmage yards. Derek Henry is in his own tier right now, but I think Jonathan Taylor is right
behind that second tier just with the way he's playing. It's really incredible what he's done
since the second half of his rookie season. He took that jump and he's becoming even better and better,
but might as well dive in our predictions now,
Tyler,
because I really don't know where to go on this one.
Quite honestly,
I'm going to lean with the hot team right now in Indy though.
I'm going to go with the Colts winning this game 27,
24.
I think Carson Wentz plays very efficient football.
John Taylor gets a hundred plus scrimmage yards.
Pittman gets going as well.
I think the big key to this one is going to be Ryan Tannehill throws a pick in this game. Carson Wentz doesn't. He's very efficient football. John Taylor gets 100-plus scrimmage yards. Pittman gets going as well.
I think the big key to this one is going to be Ryan Tannehill throws a pick in this game.
Carson Wentz doesn't.
So they win the turnover battle by one there.
I'm going 27-24.
The Colts stop the Titans late.
Okay.
I think that's a great prediction, and I think that it's a likely prediction as well.
Like you said, this is going to be a very, very close game.
Now, my prediction, you say you're going to go with the hot team, and I would agree with you that the Colts are a very hot team,
but I would argue that the only team in the NFL that may be hotter than them is the Tennessee Titans. So I, in my eyes, am going to roll with the hot team as well, and I'm going to say the
Titans win the game 31-27. I agree with you that turnovers are going to shape this game,
and I think that the Titans' defensive line is going to be able to get a strip sack
or force a fumble on Carson Wentz in the pocket.
And with all the money that is in the defensive front of the Titans, they better.
So I think 31-27 with a fumble on Carson Wentz in the pocket being kind of the thing that pushes the Titans to victory
and gives them the slight edge.
But I can see it going the way that you predicted it as well.
This is a really close matchup.
And like we said, a razor's edge is going to hinge one way or another.
But Evan, great conversation.
These conversations with you every year just get better and better.
This is going to be a great football game.
I know all of you guys are looking forward to watching it.
We are looking forward to watching it as well.
We are going to be here to break it down for you right after the game on Monday,
ready to go.
Tomorrow we're going to have great game previews for you guys as well,
so subscribe to the Locked on Colts podcast.
Subscribe to the Locked on Titans podcast on whatever platform you do stream.
Check us out on social media
at the Locked on Colts podcast,
at Locked on Colts on Twitter.
I'm at Tic Tac Titans on Twitter.
That's going to do it for another
Locked on Crossover Thursday.
Tyler Rowland, Locked on Titans.
Evan Sidery, Locked on Colts.
You guys have a great day.