Green Bay Packers: Don’t Overlook Titans’ Passing Game

While Derrick Henry will draw a lot of attention, the Green Bay Packers can’t forget about the Tennessee Titans’ passing game.

With Derrick Henry in the backfield, who leads the NFL with 1,679 rushing yards and 15 rushing touchdowns, he is obviously going to draw a lot of attention from both teams and their fans. As I discussed earlier this week, the Green Bay Packers’ run defense has been trending in the right direction since the Minnesota game; however, they certainly haven’t faced a back like Henry during that span or an offense as potent as Tennessee’s.

Although Henry may be a big part of why this Titans’ offense is one of the more productive units in the NFL, he is far from the only reason. And if teams become too singularly focused on stopping Henry, Ryan Tannehill and the Tennessee passing attack is more than prepared to take full advantage.

Tannehill’s top-2 targets are Corey Davis and AJ Brown, who have combined for 116 receptions, 1,826 yards, and 15 touchdowns this season. They are both top-15 in yards per reception, they are both top-5 in passer rating when targeted, and Brown ranks ninth out of 112 receivers in yards after the catch. In fact, given their success this season, I don’t think it’s hyperbolic to say that this just might be the best receiving duo in the NFL.

As a unit, the Titans’ passing game is ranked second by Football Outsiders’ DVOA metric, behind only Kansas City and one spot in front of Green Bay. While Tannehill doesn’t throw downfield very often — he ranks 34th out of 39 quarterbacks in deep ball percentage — these receivers know how to create big plays. According to Sharp Football, Tennessee’s explosive pass rate ranks as the 11th best in football.

With so much focus oftentimes on Henry, Tennessee uses that aggressiveness to their advantage, and Tannehill has become one of the more productive quarterbacks off of play-action. He leads the NFL in passing yards with 1,580, and his 10.2 yards per attempt is the most as well. His 12 touchdowns are the fourth most, and his passer rating ranks 10th.

Now, fortunately for the Green Bay Packers, they have Jaire Alexander, who is putting together an All-Pro caliber season. He’s been targeted 59 times and has a completion rate of only 52.5 percent, and is allowing just 10.3 yards per catch. However, Alexander can’t cover both sides of the field at the same time, so it is going to be vital that we see Kevin King bounce back on Sunday.

King is coming off of two of his worst performances of the season against Detroit and Carolina. In those two games, he allowed 10 receptions on 12 targets for 186 yards and 15.5 yards per catch while being called for three penalties. If he doesn’t button-up his play, the Tennessee passing game will pick on him.

Heading into Sunday’s matchup, expectations shouldn’t be that Green Bay is going to stop Derrick Henry; rather, the goal should be to contain him, which is certainly no easy task. Henry is going to put up yards, but unfortunately, he isn’t the only player in this Titans’ offense that Mike Pettine and company will have to worry about. The trio of Tannehill, Brown, and Davis can do plenty of damage on their own through the air.