Packers vs. Titans: 5 things to watch and a prediction for Week 3

The Green Bay Packers (1-1) are headed to Nashville to take on the winless Tennessee Titans (0-2) on Sunday at Nissan Stadium.

Once again, the big pre-game story line is the quarterback: Will it be Jordan Love or Malik Willis under center against a tough, stingy Titans defense? The answer could determine whether the Packers head home Sunday at 2-1 or 1-2.

The Titans might be winless, but it took an unbelievable collapse in Chicago in the opener and some late dramatics from the Jets last Sunday to beat Tennessee during the first two weeks. Brian Callahan’s team has talent around the quarterback position and an experienced defense at every level.

Here are five things to watch and a prediction for Week 3:

Gary’s turn to feast?

Arguably no right tackle in football is having a harder time protecting the passer than Nicholas Petit-Frere of the Titans. Per Next Gen Stats, Petit-Frere allowed 13 total pressures last week against the Jets. His matchup for most of Sunday? Rashan Gary. The Packers did well to contain athletic quarterbacks Jalen Hurts and Anthony Richardson over the first two weeks, but it’s attack time on Sunday. Will the Titans give Petit-Frere extra help against Gary? If they don’t, Gary could have a breakout performance. If they do, it wouldn’t be surprising if interior rushers — like Kenny Clark and Devonte Wyatt — are game-wreckers. Pro Football Focus ranks the Titans worst in the NFL in pass-blocking efficiency entering Week 3, so the defensive front must dominate the action.

Working for every yard

Regardless of who is playing quarterback, the Packers will have to grind for every yard on Sunday. Entering Week 3, the Titans rank first in the NFL in yards allowed, first in yards per play, second in net yards per passing attempt, first downs allowed and yards allowed per drive, and tied for ninth in rushing yards allowed per carry. This is a stout defense that has been hurt — at least in the points category — by a blocked punt returned for a touchdown, an interception returned for a touchdown and a blocked punt setting up a field goal. The Bears had only two legitimate drives for points (both field goals), but the Jets managed three touchdown drives of 70 or more yards. Can the Packers sustain drives against a good defense on the road on Sunday?

Deep shots

Another week of protecting against the deep ball for the Packers defense. Through two weeks, Will Levis (9) ranks behind only Trevor Lawrence and Anthony Richardson (11) in attempts of 20 or more yards. Last season, Levis attempted passes of 20 or more yards on 22.4 percent of his passing attempts, the highest rate in the NFL. Despite shaky protection, Levis wants to hunt the big play — similar to Richardson last week. He’s thrown two touchdown passes and two interceptions on nine attempts over 20 yards this season. The Packers might give up a big play or two on Sunday, especially considering the Titans talent at receiver, but Levis’ willingness to push the ball downfield might give Xavier McKinney and the secondary another opportunity to get a takeaway or two.

Containing Tony Pollard

Through two weeks, Pollard — the former Cowboy — is tied for fourth in missed tackles forced (9), tied for seventh in runs of 10+ yards (5) and tied for fifth in catches (8) among running backs. He looks more like the 2021-22 version of Pollard, which makes sense considering he’s now a full year and a half removed from a broken leg suffered in the 2022 playoffs. The Packers have allowed over 100 rushing yards and several explosive runs to Saquon Barkley and Jonathan Taylor in back-to-back weeks to start the season, so keeping a better lid on Pollard’s impact will be important Sunday, especially if the Titans are struggling to protect Will Levis in obvious passing situations. Tennessee has run 33 times on first down at a clip of 4.7 yards per carry — as opposed to just 18 passing attempts on first downs — so stopping the run on early downs will be a priority.

Josh and Jayden

The engines of the Packers offense, whether Malik Willis starts again or Jordan Love returns from a knee injury, figure to be Josh Jacobs and Jayden Reed. Together, the two have combined for 472 of the Packers’ 806 yards from scrimmage and 15 total explosive plays in two games. Expect Jacobs — who is working through a back injury — to carry the load in the run game, with Reed — who is working through a calf injury — sprinkled in on gadget plays. The Packers need to protect the quarterback position regardless of who starts Sunday. We’ll see if Matt LaFleur can find ways of unlocking the speed and playmaking ability of Christian Watson (three touches, 13 yards) and Luke Musgrave (one touch, six yards) on Sunday.

Prediction: Packers 23, Titans 17 (0-2)

The guess here is that Jordan Love needs to play for the Packers to leave Nashville with a win. As opposed to last week, the Packers can’t expect to run the ball at the same rate or effectiveness level against a stingy Titans front, putting more pressure on the quarterback to create plays in big spots. Defensively, however, this looks like a plus matchup. Will Levis is Jay Cutler-level reckless and plays behind one of the shakiest pass-blocking offensive lines in football. Sack and turnover opportunities could be plentiful. Still, I think this game comes down to the quarterback. If Love plays, Packers by six. If Malik Willis is the starter, Titans by six.

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