For me, Titans-Patriots is the most compelling game of the week. Call me crazy, but I think Tennessee is playing well enough to perhaps put a stake in the heart of the Brady-Belichick dynasty.

For Tennessee to win, it will need a decent game out of Ryan Tannehill. I will concede that I’m still getting used to the idea of him as a viable quarterback, after watching him mostly struggle for years in Miami.

With the Dolphins, he started six games at Foxborough and lost all of them. He threw 10 interceptions versus only 5 touchdowns in those games.

TANNEHILL AGAINST PATRIOTS (road games)
YearResultPctYdsTDIntRate
2012L 0-2857%2350165.8
2013L 17-2752%1922260.8
2014L 13-4162%3461273.5
2015L 7-3664%3000264.6
2016L 24-3171%3872293.5
2018L 7-3855%1000147.9

But Tannehill has shown at least some ability to operate against Bill Belichick defenses. With Miami, he won each of his last four home games against this opponent, with 10 touchdowns and only 1 interception.

(So maybe if they get some unusually warm weather and fly in Adam Gase to serve as a guest coordinator, they could pull something off?)

TANNEHILL AGAINST PATRIOTS (home games)
YearResultPctYdsTDIntRate
2012L 16-2345%1860066.2
2013W 24-2068%31230120.6
2014W 33-2056%1782179.9
2015W 20-1066%35020112.8
2018W 34-3374%26530155.2

But while it’s fun to poke around with numbers from previous season, my interest in Tennessee stems from what Tannehill is doing right now. The Titans put him in the starting lineup in October, and since that time they’ve scored at least 3 touchdowns in every game – 39 touchdowns in the 10 games Tannehill has started.

No other offense (including the Ravens and Saints) has scored 39 touchdowns in its last 10 games. The Patriots have scored only 23.

OFFENSIVE TOUCHDOWNS (last 10 games)
TeamRunPassTotal
Tennessee172239
New Orleans102737
Baltimore122537
San Francisco152136
Tampa Bay92130
Dallas101929
NY Giants62329
Green Bay101828
Kansas City111627
Minnesota101727
LA Rams111526
Arizona131326
Philadelphia101525
Seattle81725
Miami71825
LA Chargers91524
Houston91524
Cleveland61723
New England81523
Atlanta81422
Indianapolis14822
Buffalo71421
Oakland71320
Carolina101020
Detroit51520
NY Jets41620
Cincinnati71118
Chicago61218
Denver71017
Jacksonville21416
Washington7916
Pittsburgh31013

With Tannehill playing efficiently (he finished the season as the league’s highest-rated passer) and Derrick Henry pounding defenses on the ground, the Titans in their last 10 games averaged 406 yards of offense per game – 15 more than any other team that’s in the postseason.

OFFENSIVE YARDS (last 10 games)
TeamRunPassTotal
Dallas132302424
Tampa Bay93336416
Tennessee161263406
New Orleans111290391
Baltimore207179382
San Francisco127270377
LA Rams91294377
Atlanta92304373
Philadelphia127258368
LA Chargers97286367
Seattle142241360
Oakland107267360
Kansas City107259354
Minnesota118235342
Houston117244342
Miami76283341
Green Bay116243340
NY Giants105259338
Carolina104266335
Cleveland117233335
New England109236335
Cincinnati118235332
Jacksonville94251328
Detroit103244327
Arizona125213321
Chicago104231317
Indianapolis136193314
Buffalo124203312
NY Jets86243311
Pittsburgh99198277
Denver97197276
Washington109184269

Get your popcorn ready. This could be a notable game.

—Ian Allan