Week 9 Match-up: Tennessee Titans vs Carolina Panthers

Kyle Allen vs the Titans Defense

Well, bad news was announced this week as Cam Newton is having to fly out to Green Bay for a doctor to look at his foot. Apparently, all the rehab that he has been doing isn’t making anything really better, so he is having it looked at more thoroughly. This likely means that Cam’s season is one step closer to being over and Allen being the guy who finishes the season. Needless to say after last Sunday’s pitiful performance, people are hesitant to see Allen start again. Sunday is a chance for a fresh start for Kyle Allen. The interception free streak and the win streak are both over. Now, he just needs to focus on coming out in familiar territory and throwing the ball well. Allen had his taste of what an elite defense looks like in last week’s matchup. It will be key for him to not lose confidence and to have a bounce back game.

Get Someone Involved Other Than Christian McCaffrey

The key cog in the Panthers offense has been Christian McCaffrey without a doubt. But, it is clear that they cannot rely on him to continue to be the main contributor to the offense. It is just not realistic. What is going to be key for Carolina in both this match-up and future match-ups is to set the offense up for Allen to get into a rhythm. Help him out by setting up throws for him to make to tight end Greg Olsen. Or try to get their receivers more involved in the offense to set him up for success this week. With McCaffrey being the main contributor, the offense has become too predictable and too one dimensional. These issues need to be fixed if the team wants a chance at the playoffs.

Carolina’s Defense Can Bounce Back Against the Titans

The defense of the Panthers was absolutely shredded to pieces by the run game of the 49ers. The Panthers need to limit big gains. Although Derrick Henry isn’t the most explosive running back the Titans have, he still has the potential to burst off a big game. The run defense needs to step up and prevent the big plays. Second, the Panthers cannot allow Titans QB Ryan Tannehill to get comfortable and make throws because he can hurt defenses if allowed to have time. The Panthers pass rush that has been consistent all season needs to step up once again in this match-up and pressure Tannehill to make mistakes and hurry throws.

Lots of Panthers fans are acting like the season is already over after the blowout loss to San Francisco. Although it was one of the worst losses in franchise history, the season is far from over. The team is still above .500 and they have had some good wins. Carolina has to stay focused because it’s not going to get any easier considering Carolina still has to play the Saints twice, Green Bay, Seattle, and Indianapolis this season. All of these teams are playoff contenders and it will be quite the gauntlet. If the Panthers survive, then it will definitely be impressive considering what the team has gone through this season.

Final Predictions

I believe that Carolina will have a bounce back win this
week and beat the Titans. I think ultimately the Panthers defense is going to
be prepared and bounce back. They were embarrassed last week so there is some
extra motivation to not lose in front of their home crowd. The Titans have had
their struggles this season and even though Tannehill has been an improvement,
he hasn’t been the best thing. As long as the Panthers defense can do their job
by stopping the run and by keeping Tannehill uncomfortable in the pocket then
they have strong chances of winning.

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