In-depth Analysis: Will the Miami Dolphins Illuminate the Titans on their Next Clash?
The Miami Dolphins will look for their 10th season victory when they host the Tennessee Titans on Monday Night Football at Hard Rock Stadium. Tua Tagovailoa’s career-worst performance was against the Tennessee Titans in 2021. According to reports, this was the tipping point in his and former coach Brian Flores’ relationship, with the rookie quarterback retaliating against the now-fired head coach.
A lot has changed since that game, and this is an excellent opportunity for Tagovailoa to work out some demons in front of 15 million people on Monday Night Football. Let’s take a closer look at this Titans team to determine where Miami will have the upper hand.
Kevin Byard (their long-time all-pro safety and team captain) and Jeffery Simmons were the Tennessee Titans’ two top defenders at the start of this season. Simmons suffered a knee injury that would likely keep him out for several weeks after being dealt to the Philadelphia Eagles. In their most recent loss, the Titans struggled to handle a vaunted (joking) Colts passing attack.
The Titans main corners are Kristian Fulton, Sean Murphy-Bunting, and Roger McCreary. Murphy-Bunting and Fulton have had some major struggles this season (especially Fulton who has allowed a 129.3 QB rating in coverage this season). They like to run some form of man coverage on about a third of their defensive snaps, but don’t really have the guys to do it right now.
Up front, they still have a talented defensive line that is headlined by Denico Autry, Teair Tart, Harold Landry, and Arden Key. Without Jeffery Simmons, they are likely to struggle to pressure the QB, but they won’t be pushovers in this department either. One of the more interesting matchups to watch in this game will be Miami’s middle of the field throws against the Titans line backers Azeez Al-Shaair and Jack Gibbens.
After watching Will Levis in preparation for this game, I think there are a lot of similarities between Sam Howell (the last QB they faced) and Levis. Of course, Howell is in his second NFL season, but the two players have high end physical traits and aren’t afraid to take shots. The differences are that Howell may have better surrounding talent in the passing game, while Levis has an offense that relies more heavily on their running game. Lets take a look at where Levis can be dangerous.
Some of these throws are downright impressive. If you’ve ever heard draft people say that the “ball explodes out of his hand,” this is what they mean. Levis is still struggling with the more nuanced skills that the position requires, but he has the physical ability to be a difference maker. That ability combined with his gunslinger mentality, gives the Titans a chance each week.
With that said, the Titans are surely going to try and ride Derrick Henry in this game. They’ll want to keep Miami’s offense off the field and set up some of these play action shots to give Levis more time in the pocket and easier reads down the field. If Miami can stuff the running game, they’ll have a good chance at forcing Levis into bad decisions and turnovers as the game progresses.
Mike Vrabel’s teams tend to adopt his tough-minded mentality and play style. The Dolphins offense has struggled the most against opponents who are physical at the line of scrimmage and throw off their timing-based passing strategy. In McDaniel’s debut season with the team, they were crushed by a Chargers defense devoid of quality and star players.
While we haven’t really seen anything like that this year (they’ve struggled against good & talented defenses), this would be the sort of team to come at them and not back down. I still expect Miami to lean on their running game, but it will be interesting to see what happens when they take some shots down the field. Equally as interesting will be seeing how the Titans plan to play Miami. For a team that likes man coverage, it would be surprising to see very much of it after what happened against the Commanders.
I think the image of “Titans football” may more intimidating than the actual team they’ll be fielding on Monday Night Football. Some of that is due to injuries and moving on from older players, but they’ve also struggled to develop talent behind their veterans. This is a team transitioning from their old guard and trying to find an identity. Will Levis is a really talented young quarterback, but is still struggling to see the entire field and be consistent with his accuracy to all parts of the field.
This game could go in a number of different directions. I believe the offense will score in this one, especially because they are playing at home. If the defense can keep Levis in check as they did Howell, this may become ugly before halftime. Levis will make some plays for Tennessee, but I believe he will fall short against a resurgent Miami Dolphins club. On Monday Night Football, Miami triumphs 35-17 and is one step closer to an AFC East division title.
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