Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans CHANCE TO GO STREAKING v Raiders, Stopping Maxx Crosby & Winning Turnover Battle

Episode Date: October 8, 2025

The Tennessee Titans won their first game in Week 5 and now have a chance to stack another against the Las Vegas Raiders. With a tough schedule remaining and not many chances for a win left, the Titans truly need to come out like a team on fire in Sin City. A big part of that effort will be slowing down the Raiders stars like Maxx Crosby on defense and Ashton Jeanty on offense. If the Titans can slow those two, they have a real opportunity to win. Finally, winning the turnover battle against interception-prone Geno Smith will be critical to finding a way to get a victory here. Q Meyers from Locked on Raiders joins the show for this Crossover Thursday episode. Subscribe to the TicTacTitans Film Channel:https://www.youtube.com/@TicTacTitans TicTacTitans Merchandise: https://dixons-dream.square.site/shop/tictactitans-gear/C3AAPNWXSXA6SBYG3USV2I7R?page=1&limit=30&sort_by=category_order&sort_order=asc Follow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitans Follow the show on Facebook @LockedOnTitansPod Subscribe to the Locked On Titans YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/c/LockedOnTitans/videos Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Supply HouseJoin the free TradeMaster program today and score serious perks like priority shipping, lower prices, and a dedicated support line. Visit https://SupplyHouse.com to sign up for free and use promo code SHNFL5 for 5% off your first order. PelotonLet yourself run, lift, flex, and push forward. Explore the new Peloton Cross Training Tread+ today at https://www.onepeloton.com.Monarch MoneyTake control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNFL at https://monarchmoney.com/lockedonnfl for 50% off your first year. SquareTo learn more, go support your favorite neighborhood spot and see what Square has been up to in your neck of the woods. And then if you have extra time, check out https://square.com/go/lockedonnfl.PrizePicksDownload the PrizePicks app today and use code LOCKEDONNFL to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup.Click Here: https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONNFLGametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.FanDuelRight now, new customers can bet just FIVE dollars and if your bet wins—you’ll get THREE HUNDRED dollars in bonus bets to use across the app.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)

We got two, one in four football teams with the Tennessee Titans headed to take on the Las Vegas Raiders and both are desperate to get their second win. It's crossover Thursday here on the Locked-on Podcast Network. You are Locked-on NFL crossover. Part of the Locked-on Podcast Network. Your team every day. Welcome in, folks, to another crossover Thursday, part of the Locked-on podcast network,

where it's your team every day. We have the Tennessee Titans headed out west to take on the Las Vegas Raiders, two teams that are one and four and desperate for a win. We're going to talk about the big storylines in this game. We're going to talk about the big matchups to watch. We're going to talk about the keys to victory for these teams as well. Before we dive in, do want to thank you for making the Locked-on Titans, Locked on Raiders, your first listen each and every day.

Crossover Thursday is presented by Price Picks. Download the Price Picks app today. Use the code Locked on NFL to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup. I am the host of Locked on Titans, Tyler Rowland here with the host of Locked on Raiders, your boy, Q. Thank you guys again for tuning in. Always, we've got a great show playing for you here.

And we start with the big storylines for each team. and honestly, Q as the away team, I'll give myself my own southern hospitality here and start out with the Titans. It's all about can they keep it going? Like, can the Titans get on a winning streak here after starting out, O and 4, things were really ugly, but if you go in, you beat the Raiders on the road,

that's two big wins out west against the Cardinals in a crazy comeback that was quite fluky. But if you can build on that and actually get a non-fluky win that's just a true, this is how you win football games, it would kind of make things feel a lot better for the Titans even after that O and 4 start. So desperation should still be at an all-time high, urgency should still be at an all-time high,

winning that game against the Cardinals shouldn't change anything. So the Titans need to find a way to go streaking here. You know, Tyler, I'm glad you brought that up, and especially that victory over the Cardinals, because it was super fluky. I mean, you just don't see that, but they got the W no matter what. And, you know, what I've been saying to Raider Nation all week long is the Titans coming in at 1 and 4 and the Raiders at 1 and 4, they look two different one and fours, right?

They got the same record, but it feels like they're totally different where the Raiders are riding a four game losing streak, got a lot of questions. And the Titans, at least they know that they have their franchise quarterback. They trust in Cam Ward and they know that it's going to be some bumpy roads along the way, but they're building something. So it does feel like there's more optimism with the Tennessee side of 1 and 4 than there is optimism with the Raiders side of 1 and 4. because nobody in Raider Nation, Pete Carroll included, expected the Raiders to be one and four after five weeks. Yeah, I think there is some level of hope and seeing some of the things that we saw on that victory over the Cardinals.

Cam Ward coming up clutch at the end and playing his best football of the season in a big moment. Calvin Ridley finally breaking out and having a good game. The Titans offensive line having a good performance, their best performance of the season. Some of the young players on defense like a Cedric Gray stepping up to play. and then Jeffrey Simmons and Legerius Sneed,

the stars on defense, playing like stars. One of the big things the Titans have been saying is our best players need to play like our best players. And that actually happened. Calvin Ridley, Legerius Sneed, Jeffrey Simmons, the offensive line, Cam Ward, like that actually happened in this game.

So there is a level of optimism and hope. And I know, you know, Raider Nation probably not feeling quite as well there. I know that Gino Smith, it seems like, you know, I'm not watching every game, but it seems like there might be some struggles there that could have fans feeling kind of down on this team. Yeah, when you talk about some struggles, how about nine interceptions to lead the league right now? Yeah, that's definitely some big struggles right there. And that wasn't again, Tyler, that wasn't expected, right?

I mean, I'm there at training camp. I'm there at practice. I'm seeing all of this and I'm seeing this come together thinking, okay, this is going to be a pretty competitive team this year. And especially listening to everything that Pete Carroll said, but to see Gino pressing and really, even the game that they won against New England, he threw interception in that game. but to have multiple interceptions, you know, three in a couple games and then two in a couple games, it's like, what's going on here? So to me, I think, you know, the biggest storyline for the Raiders is trying to settle Gino Smith down, trying to get them comfortable, trying to get them to not do too

much, trying not to get them to force the ball and a double and triple coverage. Like that kind of stuff is not good football, period. And you're the quarterback. You're the guy they traded for to be the quarterback, you know, maybe not five, six years down the road, but at least the next few years they expected him to be the franchise quarterback. But right now you're questioning like, hey, is this guy going to even make it through the rest of the season because he's turning the ball over at such a rapid pace? So people are calling for Kenny Pickett.

And when does that happen? Like, when do people start calling for Kenny Picket, right? I mean, you know when that goes, when that happens, because Tennessee hasn't had their franchise quarterback forever. They've gone through some quarterbacks as well. So you know if you guys start calling, people start calling for the backup quarterback, you know, things are bad. And so for right now, Gino Smith and the Raiders, things are bad.

Yeah, especially if you don't have like a, young rookie backup that like fans are excited to see like the Jackson Dart situation or Tyler Shuck in New Orleans or you know when you're asking for Kenny Pickett who clearly is not a guy now I know that a lot of people are probably like well Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield and Daniel Jones like maybe I don't know if Kenny Pickett is that kind of guy he didn't have that kind of be much worse though you know what I mean like I mean that and that's the and that's kind of the rationale it's like well I mean what Gina what's Gina doing he's not light in the world on fire so maybe give him someone else the chance honestly I think that

Raiders might have to do that if, if Gino keeps on turning the ball over and a massive rate. I mean, they might have to, they have the buy week after week seven. They could easily go into the buy week and make a decision then. But I don't think that that's what Pete Carroll wants to do. But man, you can't turn a ball over two, three times a game and think that you can keep your job. You know that. Yeah. Q, you know just as well as I do that in the NFL, most of it is about not beating yourself.

Like, it's so complicated of a game that the team that doesn't beat themselves often is the team that can find a way to win. In your opinion, what is the problem for Gino Smith? It's a new offense. Does he just not seem comfortable? Is he not seeing things? Or are some of these interceptions maybe just bad luck at the time? It just seems like it's bad quarterback play, right? It just seems like he's locking in and deciding that this is where I'm going to throw the ball.

He's predetermined I'm going to Jacoby Myers or I'm predetermined I'm going to Dante Thornton or Trey Tucker or whatever the case may be. And he's staring down his wide receivers. And he's just, he's making young quarterback in the league type decisions. when he's not a young quarterback in the league, right? And so it's just, it's baffling to me why these, these mistakes keep happening. And then he'll stand at the podium and talk to us each and every week and say, hey, I got to be more efficient.

I got to be smarter with the ball. I've looked at the film. I know what I need to do better. I know what I did wrong. Like he's saying all the right things, but somehow, Tyler, between Wednesday, Thursday, Friday practice, and then game day on Sunday, it's just not translating. And I honestly, I have no idea why that is. And, you know, we did our tier, you know, our little.

tier exercise here on the Locked on Park Network. And I tiered the Raiders as I'm not mad. I'm just disappointed. And the reason I did that is because I just don't, I didn't expect this. And I don't think that anyone that saw this team, especially head coach Pete Carroll with the skins on the wall, he has expected this to be the outcome early in the season, one and four, not just one and four, but the way that you're losing, getting beat down multiple times. Yeah, well, the Titans know all about getting beat down by the Colts. Boy, they look like a good football team. That's pretty crazy. But I'm with you. I admit, you know, doing the Locked-on NFL podcast and talking about all these teams, I thought the Raiders, I didn't think they would make the playoffs, but I figured they

would be scrappy, they would be competitive, they would be in games, and it just hasn't worked out that way. But one player that can keep the Raiders in games is Max Crosby, and he has a chance to absolutely wreck this game. So when we talk about the matchups, that's one that we're definitely going to be focusing on here on a crossover Thursday. Do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by Mazda. Mazda crafts cars for those who do more than simply move. Mazda delivers confidence with every ride with more I-IHS top safety pick awards than anyone else as of August 2025.

From footwork to breath work, we know that our favorite athletes sweat all the details. Mazda brings this same intention to how they craft every model. You can feel the Japanese craftsmanship in every detail from the metallic accents to the available Napa leather upholstery. You can make everyday drives feel like anything but from smooth handling to intuitive controls with all wheel drive standard at every crossover SUV you can drive with confidence through almost any season. As I tell you guys, I got a Mazda CX5 at home. Absolutely love it.

and I know that you guys will love a Mazda too. So like our favorite players, Mazda sweats every detail because when you make every move count, impossible becomes irrelevant. It's Mazda, move, and be moved. All right, Q, let's continue today's edition of Locked on Titans, Locked on Raiders,

it's crossover Thursday, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. We talked about the big storylines, kind of the big talking points for both these teams coming in. Obviously, you know, the Titans want to keep things going. The Raiders want to get things back on track. But one of the ways that the Raiders can get things back on track is probably with Max Crosby wrecking the game plan. And I think similarly, for the Titans, Raiders probably have to worry about Jeffrey Simmons a little bit. I know we'll get into all that different stuff. But what's the number one matchup that stands out for you?

Yeah, I mean, Jeffrey Simmons against the, you know, the Raiders offensive line, because this thing and still trying to come together. I mean, it's just, it's really that simple. It's really about the trenches when it comes to the Raiders. You want to see if that offensive line could start to work together in jail as to one unit. I mean, they were, they started out with the offensive line that had Colton Miller as their left tackle. Now he's on IR. So they're already on their third different version of their offensive line.

And last week, it actually wasn't, it wasn't the end all be all for them. It wasn't the detriment. It wasn't what hurt them. And so I want to see, okay, now can these guys start to come together? Can they start to jail and play at a higher level? And, you know, everyone knows that Ashti is the hot shot young kid that everyone's looking at that wants to make big plays. And he's coming along pretty well, like what I've seen from him so far. It looks like he's getting better.

But I'm going to need those guys up front to do their jobs. So, you know, just I think it's all about that offensive line. And, you know, just like Max Crosby is a game record for the Raiders. Well, Jeffrey Simmons is that game record for the Titans, as you know. So the Raiders have to have that guy circled and said, all right, don't let that guy beat you. right and and then you have a slight chance but still i mean he's that sticking good i don't think you stop him i think you just try to contain him a little bit or slow him down a little bit and give yourself a chance so yeah it's definitely going to be in the trenches for the silver and black they're

going to be circled looking at jeffrey simmons and saying yeah don't let that guy beat us up that that's it's as simple as i'm concerned well if i'm honest with you the titans edge rush group is not very good so if you can handle geoffrey simmons and slow him down you have a great chance to give Gino Smith time to get things back on track. What would be your read on the interior offensive line of the Raiders so far? I always liked Jackson Powers Johnson. I know that maybe there's been some up and down play there, but Jordan Meredith that centered at the other guard spot.

Would you say that they've, do you have confidence that they'll be able to handle this opportunity against Simmons? No, no, because it's a work in progress. Like, JPJ is fantastic. I like JPJ a lot. He's a hard-nosed dude. he's a tough guy. Lincoln Kennedy calls him a m'm a mauler in the middle, right?

I mean, he's just kind of that guy. But Jordan Meredith is just learning the center position, never played it until this year. So he's still learning. So there's times that you'll see him get beat immediately, and that's not good. Dylan Parham at the left guard's position, he's playing okay, but he's not playing great. And when you have a guy in the middle like Jeffrey Simmons, who could literally just wreck your game, that's when you really get concerned. So that's where my concern is.

Normally I'd say, yeah, okay, not too big of a concern. as long as the edge rushers aren't beating up on the offensive line. Well, this time it's the interior that I'm concerned about. The one good thing about it is I think it could be something where you see a lot of outside runs by Ashti Genti, try to get them to the outside, trying to have him break contained as quickly as possible to try to run away from Jeffrey Simmons. Like, oh, man, where's he? Go the other way, right?

So I think that that's something that you might be able to see a lot of. I think you might see a lot of heavy of the run game, even getting Trey Tucker involved in the run game, some end of rounds and some jet sweeps, whatever the case may be. I think you can see a lot of that implemented by Chip Kelly. But yeah, the interior of the offensive line concerns me because Jeffrey Simmons is that sticking good. Yeah, he has been, I mean, absolutely ridiculous through the first five weeks. He's played at a defensive player of the year type level.

I think he's been the best interior defensive lineman in the NFL so far this year. I do want to ask before I go to the matchup that I'm looking for, which I've teased so much. It's Max Crosby. How can not talk about that? But Brock Bowers, he played a little bit. and then it seems like they're pulling him back so we can get healthy. He's listed as week to week. As far as I know, he's not on IR or anything, what are the odds that you think he'll play in this game?

I think maybe 25%. I don't think he's going to go. Honestly, I think he's going to sit until at least the, until the buy week, which is week eight for the Raiders. I just, I don't see him getting better. Like he wanted to play after week one. That's when he got injured. He wanted to play during that game. They didn't put him back in, but they did let him play the next couple weeks.

And then last week, against the Colts, he sat out. And I just think that he's going to have to rest that knee. And it's better to have him for the long haul than it is to have him for the short. Well, got to have him this week, right? I mean, no, just he's, he's one of your big time players, him, Ash and Gentie, Max Crosby. You make sure that you take care of those guys, right? You make sure that those guys are healthy if they get somewhat banged up and could risk injury long term. So I don't think Brock Bowers is going to go.

I know that there's going to be more towards the end of the week as far as more testing to see how he's feeling but my good feeling says he doesn't go my gut feeling also tells me a j cole the punter doesn't go either and uh the new punter that they signed to the practice squad will actually be in his place because he suffered ankle injury after he got a punt blocked on on sunday against indianapolis just a bad bad bad bad performance yeah that was rough and and a couple of years ago the titans had a pretty good punner on ryan stonehouse and they gave up a bad blocked punt and it wrecked his knee and he wasn't able to come back right he was never right again he's out of the league right now after that, you know, that can be devastating to these kickers who we have to remember

these kickers are not the level of athlete and that the other players are to be able to come back and deal with that stuff. But you're right. I think that outside runs could be huge. The Titans have been better against outside runs this year with more physical edge rushers, but they really struggled with outside runs and stuff like that last year. So the Raiders might be able to pick that scab a little bit. But I do want to talk about the.

Titans' offensive line because that's the matchup that I'm looking for with Max Crosby. Crosby is an absolute game wrecker. The Titans' offensive line played better last week, but the reality is the Cardinals pass rush doesn't have a Max Crosby. Josh Wet, good player. But he's not the Condor, man. He's not Max mad Max out there who's one of the top two or three edge rushers in the entire league.

And the way they use him on stunts and get him loop into the inside and doing stuff like that, it's not just. one guy, but the Titans have been without top 10 pick from last year, right tackle J.C. Latham for four games now. And Ali Udo, their backup tackle has had good moments, but he's not on the level that you expect a J.C. Latham to be. Latham is an injury guy who we're looking at, is he going to play? He kind of got going last week.

There's hope that he's going to play this week. But that's the number one matchup that I'm looking for because if you're the Titans, your offense will not survive. if you let Max Crosby get going. So I know he's a great player, but what's his level of play been so far this year? Man, he's taking it to another level. He really has.

And I know this coaching staff has asked him to do more things than he normally has done. And they've even had him dropping coverage what I'm not a big fan of. But that's a whole other conversation. I think the attack in the quarterback is probably his greatest skill set. That's just me, I'm not a coach, but I'm just saying,

just going out on a limb there. But look, this guy is now batting balls down. He had an interception the other day. I mean, he's doing things that I've been asking for a while. Like, we all know how good Max is and how he could game wreck, like you mentioned. But does he make those difference making plays, like the Miles Garris, the T.J. Watts, the Michael Parsons, where you know that you have to have a play, Mad Max is going to be the guy to go get it.

This year, you're starting to see him evolve into that guy, where he's taking his game even to another level, where I think he knows, hey, man, a lot of this is on me. I've got to be better because, well, these guys, they're not quite up to my level yet. so I've got to go and work a little bit harder. And he's accepted that challenge to his credit. So, you know, it doesn't always show up in the stat line and the stat sheet, but he's been working his tail off. He's been doing everything.

It's really good at stopping the run. That's a part of his game that he's evolved really the last few years. And you just see him flying in on play after play after play. It's wild. As soon as the ball snapped and handed to the running back, all of a sudden you see 98 just flying. It's like Superman flying across the damn field and all of a sudden you see him getting a tackle for loss.

It's incredible to watch and how he's able to consistently do that, but that's what he's been doing. So I got to give Max so much credit for continue to evolve his game. And now he's asking his brothers. He's asking Adam Butler. He's asking Tyree Wilson. He's asking Malcolm Coontz, you know, hey man, Jonah Laulu. Hey, man, can you guys, you know, step up and come and join the party as well. So it's really, it's never going to be about Max. It's going to be about the rest of the guys who decide that they want to be part of the party because he's going to do his job game in and game out. Yeah, I was going to ask you about that. I know Coons is coming back from an injury. So don't want to, you know,

put too much on him. But outside of Max Crosby, is there anybody else to worry about how are those guys playing? Well, they haven't played at the level that they need to play. That's for sure. Adam Butler, he's been given the opportunity once Christian Wilkins was released to really be the guy in the interior and he's doing okay. Jonah Laulu is actually leading the team in Sacks with three right now. And, you know, he's okay. But nobody is standing out. Nobody is just all of a sudden, you know, that Robin to Max's Batman. And that's what the Raiders have been looking for forever. when they signed Chandler Jones, when they drafted Tyree Wilson, when they slid Malcolm Coons into that spot.

Like somebody, like they got the bat signal out there, but nobody's answering the call, right? They're just, who could be the guy that can run side by side with Max Crosby and compliment him? They haven't got that guy yet. And so I don't know who that's going to be or when that guy is going to arrive, but somebody needs to help him out because he's, again, he's giving everything he's got,

leaving it all out there on the field and then some, but somebody else is going to have to do some of the heavy lifting to it. Right now, nobody has really stepped up to do that role yet. The Titans are in the same boat, man. You have Jeffrey Simmons, you have your Superman, you need your Batman to complete your world's finest, and the guy is just not stepped up, hasn't been found, and that'll be interesting to see which offensive line

can handle the top guy because the rest of the crew really isn't super threatening. But with that being said, those are the matchups that we're paying attention to in this one. Now we need to talk about the keys to victory, and I think for both teams at this point, it's going to be all about turnovers. Do you want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you.

By game time, the NFL season is back and honestly there's nothing better than being in the stadium surrounded by fans, cheering on your team. But let's be honest, getting tickets can be a hassle between the cues, the login screens, the prices jumping at checkout. It's certainly frustrating, but that's why I use game time. The app that gives the advantage back to fans, game time is fast. It's easy. It's backed by the game time guarantee

You'll always get 100% authentic tickets delivered on time And at the best price Plus all fees are included So the price that you see is the price that you pay I really do buy all my tickets on game time folks NFL MBA WMBA MLB I bought concert and comedy tickets on game time I just pulled up the game time app and in a couple of taps

I saw amazing deals and I'm talking about your favorite NFL games for as low as $100. Download the GameTime app, create an account, use the code locked on NFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply.

Again, that's promo code L-O-C-E-D-O-N-N-FL for $20 off. Swipe, tap, ticket, go. Download game time. Today, today's episodes also brought to you by Fandul Sportsbook.

Like I said, the NFL season is here and Fandle has an offer that you don't want to miss. Right now, New customers can bet just $5 and get $300 in bonus bets if you win. That's right. All you got to do is pick a bet, put down $5, and if it hits, you'll unlock $300 in bonus bets to use across the app.

I absolutely love using Fadual, whether it's player props. I love drive bets for the Titans betting on them to punt. Sorry, but it's a good bet a lot of the time. spreads, money lines, over unders, putting all that stuff together to build a same game parlay. It makes watching football even more exciting when you got a little something riding on the action. Whether you're a casual fan, love diving into the stats, doesn't matter. Fandall makes the game day experience so much better. So what are you waiting for?

Make sure you visit fandle.com to download the Fandle app today and get started once again. That's fandle.com. All right, Q, let's cap all, today's edition of Locked on Titans, Locked on Raiders, Crossover Thursday, part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. Thanks for making us your first listen. And as a reminder, we'll have even more preview of this game for you guys on tomorrow's episode.

So make sure that you come back and check that out. But we talked about storylines, we talked about matchups. Now we need to talk about kind of the keys to victory in this one. And Q, as I've been saying, I think it's turnovers. You mentioned Gino Smith's issues. He's got nine interceptions leading the league. The Titans have had a couple of fumbles. Cam Ward has had some interceptions.

Not all of them are 100% on him. And some are at the end of games where he's trying to make stuff happen. But nonetheless, turnovers often, especially with two teams who aren't great teams right now, turnovers can swing things one way or another. And I think it's pretty obvious that whoever wins the turnover battle in this one

is going to be in a great position. to take home the victory. Yeah, there's no doubt about it, man. Tyler, a lot of times I'll try to go into great detail on how the Raiders could get the victory and all these keys, offense, defense, special teams, coaching, like try to really break it down, make it make a lot of sense. Sometimes it's really simple.

Sometimes it's basic math. Don't turn the damn ball over, right? It's just that simple. The Raiders have turned the ball over at such an alarming rate led by Gino Smith that that's the main problem, right? You can't have a sustained drive. You can't get any rhythm on offense. You can't do anything, right?

I mean, you're just not getting out of your own way. And so the Raiders need to figure out how to not do that. At some point, Gino's just got to decide, I'm not going to turn that rock over, right? I know he's a guy that wants to stretch the ball down the field. I know he's a guy that wants to be aggressive. He wants to have a big explosive plays. But right now, that's not okay for you. You're not cutting it.

So you got to go ahead, take what's there, take the checkdowns at time, throw the ball to the running back out of the backfield. You got to take the layups, right? It's almost like he's got to go ahead and see the ball go through the hoop of few times before he decides he's going to throw the ball around the yard. So it's all about turnovers with the Raiders, man. If they want to give themselves any kind of chance in this game or any other game the rest of the season, it's all about turnovers. You limit your turnovers, you increase your chance to win. You have more turnovers. You're going to decrease

your chance to win. Again, basic math. It's really simple. One plus one will always equal two. It's just that simple. Yep. You're 100% right. And the Raiders turnover differential is significantly worse than the Titans. They're minus six right now on the season. second to last in the NFL, and the Titans are kind of middle of the pack, kind of evened out because I got so many turnovers in week one. But a concerning trend is the Titans have turned a ball over on offense every single game this year, two against Denver, one in the next three weeks, two last week. And I know one of those, Cam Ward, we joke, Cam Ward so good that even his interceptions

turn into touchdowns for the Titans. But realistically, stuff like that's not going to happen all year. So if you keep turning over the ball, you're going to be in a terrible position. The last thing that I do think is a key to victory for both teams is running the football. When you have a young quarterback in Cam Ward who, you know, hasn't seen everything at the NFL level and there's a good pass rusher and Max Crosby, who if he knows it's a pass and he can just pin his ears back, it's going to be tough to deal with him no matter how well you're playing. And then the Raiders, when you have a quarterback that's not playing well,

giving them easy opportunities and short third downs that he doesn't have to feel the need to create those plays. I think that'll be big to Tony Pollard just has some fumble issues, but I think the Titans offensive line is slowly getting it together. What's the status of the Raiders run game? And do you think that they can take advantage of a Titans run defense that isn't all that great at times? Yeah, I do. And that's definitely going to be a big key for the Raiders is to continue to get Ashton, Jentee and Rahim Moster going in the running game, right?

And Genti has been really good, even though I know some people will look at the stats and be like, oh, he's not all that, but he's been playing really well. He's been, you know, really breaking out, and especially in that Chicago Bears game a couple weeks ago, really had a big-time performance, including a 64-yard play that he took to the house. It was fantastic and, you know, just seeing him up close to personal. He's so much fun to watch.

You'll enjoy it. Even watching from a position of wanting to see Tennessee win the game, you'll enjoy watching Ashton. He's just one of those players. So that'll be fun. But, yeah, they'll definitely try to lean on their run game as they should. And a lot of times they get Trey Tucker involved in the run game as well with the little Jet Sweets.

I mentioned that earlier in the end of rounds. They like Trey Tucker a lot. They're going to try to use his speed to their advantage, get him involved in. And I think that that's really something that they'll lean heavily on. Again, trying to keep Gino from making mistakes. I'll say this, though, another side note, Tyler, another key to this for the Raiders is special teams. Special teams has never been an issue for the Raiders. Matter of fact, it's always been a strength of this team.

It has been everything but that this year. It has been a disaster. They've had a field goal block. They've had a punt block. They give a big time kick returns. They've had a kick return last week for a touchdown. down. They got called back for a holding penalty, but that was one that got housed. They had one a couple weeks ago. They got housed. I mean, they're just, they're not very

special on their special teams. So that's something to pay attention to. If Tennessee could take advantage of the Raiders weaknesses, they just signed a former linebacker that was in Seattle. He was on the Pittsburgh practice squad, pure special teamer. And Pete Carroll told me on Monday when I asked him about special teams, he said, look, I need more defenders on special teams because we're not getting it done. So they go out and get a linebacker that he's very familiar with to add to the special team. So they know that's an issue. Everyone in the league knows it's an issue.

That's definitely somewhere in Tennessee could take advantage. Well, for Raiders fans listening who the name probably wouldn't stick out on the depth chart or anything like that when you're looking, but rookie out of Florida, Chim Ray DK, Chim DK, he has been, I think the Pro Bowl returner in the AFC through five weeks. He had a 66-yard kickoff return last week. He has had a monster return. One got called back in week two where he took. took a punt to the house and it was a terrible decision by the linebacker to block in the back

five yards behind the returner who has already passed him. But the Titans return game has been very good this year. So if you're a Raiders fan, you got to look at Chimrae D.K. And be like, they can't let him get going because he has shown that he can make big plays. And for the Titans, you look at that. If special teams can be a benefit to them and swing the game, that would really help them win on the road as well. So great call out there, Q, to talk about special teams.

That could be a place to give the Titans some optimism and the Raiders some worry. So they need to be ready for that on both sides. But that's going to do it for today's crossover Thursday edition presented by prize picks. Part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. I am your host of Locked on Titans, Tyler Rowan, for the host of Locked on Raiders. My boy, Q, your boy, as well. We all get to keep Q as our boy there. Thanks so much for tuning in.

And again, we'll have another episode for you guys tomorrow to get you even more ready for this matchup. But thanks for tuning in. It's crossover Thursday.