Washington Redskins vs. Tennessee Titans NFL preview:
Slumping teams look to reverse fortunes
Both the Washington Redskins and the Tennessee Titans have many issues to correct for the stretch run of the season. The Redskins have to find their identity and do it fast after an embarrassing 59-28 loss
to Philadelphia in Week 10. The Titans have their own defensive issues to correct after losing 29-17 at Miami, despite the Dolphins losing two quarterbacks to injuries.
The Titans have been battling injuries, which has affected their recent performances. Vince Young has been battling a high-ankle sprain since mid-October and has missed a significant amount of playing time.
He has missed two starts and left two games and aggravated the injury in the game he did start in San Diego three weeks ago.
Young will be ready to go Sunday and he will have to regain his rhythm with his receivers. Young has a new weapon in Randy Moss, but due to his injury, he was unable to practice with Moss before Moss’s debut
as a Titan last week. The full week of practice should help the passing game. With Kerry Collins starting last week with an injured finger on his throwing hand, his passes were inaccurate and the Titans’ passing game never got going, even when Young took over
in the second half.
One area where Moss was affective in his Titans’ debut last week was opening things up for Chris Johnson. Teams have been keying on Johnson all season, putting extra defenders in the box to stop the run.
With Moss on the outside, the Dolphins paid extra attention to him, which gave Johnson more room to run. Johnson finished with 17 carries for 117 yards and a touchdown. The Titans will have to feed him the ball more this week, as he’s the catalyst of their
offence.
The Redskins may have even more things to worry about. Washington coach Mike Shanahan benched Donovan McNabb in a recent loss to Detroit, but this past Monday, McNabb was awarded a huge contract extension
worth $78 million. That night McNabb threw three interceptions against Philadelphia. While those weren’t all his fault, the fact is McNabb has already thrown 11 interceptions this season.
Tennessee will have to force more turnovers against Washington. The Titans’ defensive performance will sway depending on the turnovers they can force. The Titans are 25th against the pass this season, but
have 14 interceptions. If they force more from McNabb, the game will get out of hand very quickly.
Another big story to look for in this game is Albert Haynesworth making his return to LP Field for the first time since signing with Washington. Haynesworth spent seven years in Tennessee before bring lured
by a seven-year $100 million contract to play for the Redskins.
The Titans have to be considered the favourites in this game, due to their weapons on offence as opposed to the Redskins. Young is back as the starter and the Titans are 30-16 overall with Young as their
starter. The Titans have also won 12 straight games against NFC opponents. The Redskins are coming off a miserable performance and while they may not give up 59 points again, they look to be in complete disarray.
Prediction: Titans 31-17 Redskins
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