So much of the intrigue surrounding the New Orleans Saints’ home opener with the Tennessee Titans can be distilled down to one matchup: two-time NFL rushing champ Derrick Henry against a Saints run defense that lost its luster a season ago. Can Henry take over this game, or are the investments New Orleans made along its defensive line going to pay off?
It’s kind of difficult to survey the Titans offense last year because Ryan Tannehill was injured and limited to just a dozen games, so take many of these numbers with a grain of salt. The Tennessee offense may bounce back in a big way with a healthy Tannehill under center.
They’ve made moves to upgrade their passing attack, too, by signing a big-time playmaker at wide receiver in DeAndre Hopkins. But their rebuilt offensive line looks like a vulnerability the Saints can exploit. Let’s review each team’s performance from 2022: