Tag: Titans vs Jets

Titans’ Harold Landry hoping to turn pressures into more sacks, turnovers

“That’s just the first step to getting sacks, but I think they’ll come,” Titans OLB Harold Landry said.

Entering Week 4 of the regular season, Tennessee Titans outside linebacker Harold Landry looks poised for a breakout season. In the Titans’ win last week against the Colts, Landry tallied a career-high 12 pressures, five of which resulted in a hit on the quarterback.

The former 2018 second-round pick out of Boston College has 1.5 sacks through the first three weeks of the season and he knows that continued quarterback pressures will lead to more success.

“That’s just the first step to getting sacks, but I think they’ll come,” Landry said following the Titans 25-16 victory over the Colts. “I just feel like I just gotta keep being relentless getting to the quarterback and [the sacks] will come.”

After recording 4.5 sacks during his rookie season, the Spring Lake, North Carolina native tallied a career-high nine the following year. While his sack production dropped in 2020, Landry nearly replicated his statistics in tackles and tackles for loss.

He’s led the Titans in sacks each of the last two years and does all the little things right. Aside from pressuring the quarterback, Landry has been involved in batting passes down, recovering fumbles, and covering receivers out of the backfield.

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Last year, he led Titans’ linebackers in pass coverage, allowing just 5.3 yards per completion on at least five attempts.

“I think his instincts, his awareness, his execution of the game plan is perfect [especially] on that third down last week of what we were trying to get done… just in the pass rush, he’s playing well whether he’s on the line of scrimmage, off the line of scrimmage, and I’ve always liked him. Just gotta keep going,” Titans head coach Mike Vrabel said of Landry.

The Titans have just seven sacks heading into their Week 4 matchup with the New York Jets. Quarterback Zach Wilson has been taken down 15 times thus far, most in the NFL, and the Jets’ offensive line leads the league with a 38.5 percent pressure rate allowed.

Everything certainly lends toward the Titans’ pass rush having a successful week. Of course, continued pressure on the quarterback leads to turnovers, something the defense has yet to create more than once.

After finishing with the best turnover margin (+11) a year ago, Tennessee is at a -6 after three weeks, the second-worst mark in the NFL.

Turnovers have been the hot topic this week, partly because Jets quarterback Zach Wilson leads the league with seven interceptions. Landry and the Titans’ pass rush has to find a way to create turnovers.

“It’s definitely a big emphasis for us on defense,” Landry admitted. “We’ve had guys come close, but obviously the more attempts you have, the more chances the ball is gonna come out.”

The Titans and Jets will kickoff from MetLife Stadium at noon CT on Sunday.

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What Titans are saying about Jets ahead of Week 4 matchup

The Titans are emphasizing not overlooking the Jets ahead of their Week 4 matchup.

These next two weeks are very winnable games for the Tennessee Titans, with the team facing the winless New York Jets and Jacksonville Jaguars. However, these matchups are easily overlooked, which can lead to them being blemishes on a team’s overall record.

We learned on Wednesday that the Titans could be without wideouts A.J. Brown and Julio Jones for Sunday’s matchup with the Jets.

Tennessee will probably lean on their bread on butter in running back Derrick Henry, but the franchise still has capable role players at wide receiver in Chester Rogers and Nick Westbrook-Ikhine.

The Titans may also get a look at wide receiver Josh Reynolds, who was a healthy scratch last week against the Colts, and fellow wideout Marcus Johnson, who was designated to return from IR on Wednesday.

Defensively, this game feels like a great matchup for the Titans’ front-seven to get after Jets rookie quarterback Zach Wilson, who has been sacked 15 times already. The Jets’ offensive line ranks as the worst in the league through the first three weeks, allowing a 38.5 percent pressure rate.

That said, the Titans cannot commit unnecessary penalties or continue to turn the ball over at the rate they have been going. Turnovers and not taking New York lightly were common themes this week.

Here’s a look at what the Titans have been saying about the Jets ahead of Week 4.

6 burning questions for Titans ahead of Week 4 game vs. Jets

The health of the Titans’ wide receivers is one burning question for Week 4.

Moving on to Week 4 in the regular season, the Tennessee Titans open up as big favorites against an 0-3 New York Jets squad still trying to define their season.

With a 2-1 record and in first place, the Titans will go on the road to New York and Jacksonville before returning home for a huge showdown on “Monday Night Football” against the Buffalo Bills.

The Titans and Jets have not met since December 2018, when the Marcus Mariota-led team won 26-22 at Nissan Stadium. In 2015, the Titans lost handily at the Meadowlands, 30-6, but they’ve won the last three out of five contests against the Jets.

Aside from Week 1, the Jets haven’t been in either of their other two contests. In fact, they’ve scored just six points combined over the last two weeks and just 20 points in 2021. On paper, the Titans are and should be the favorites.

Here are six questions to keep tabs on leading up to Sunday.

Mike Vrabel lists Titans’ 3 keys to victory vs. Jets in Week 4

On “The Mike Vrabel Show,” the Titans head coach listed his three keys to victory versus the Jets.

Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel isn’t one to mince words, and despite topping the Indianapolis Colts 25-16 last Sunday, he was visibly frustrated with his team’s performance in the postgame press conference.

With a 2-1 record, and with the team sitting atop the AFC South division, the Titans turn to their Week 4 matchup with the winless New York Jets, which marks the first of back-to-back road games, both of which Tennessee should be favored to win.

But the Titans still have to go out and execute their plays against the Jets and Jacksonville Jaguars if they want to head back home with a 4-1 record for a “Monday Night Football” primetime game with the Buffalo Bills in Week 6.

There’s been a mix of good and bad through the first three weeks, and Vrabel identified three areas that the team will need to emphasize to secure a win against the Jets on Sunday.