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Dallas Cowboys vs Tennessee Titans: Know Thy Enemy

By Terence Watson

Nov 5, 2018; Arlington, TX, USA; Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry (22) runs with the ball against Dallas Cowboys linebacker Leighton Vander Esch (55) at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 5, 2018; Arlington, TX, USA; Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry (22) runs with the ball against Dallas Cowboys linebacker Leighton Vander Esch (55) at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports /
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INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA – DECEMBER 18: Derrick Henry #22 of the Tennessee Titans runs the ball for a touchdown during the second quarter of the game against the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium on December 18, 2022, in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA – DECEMBER 18: Derrick Henry #22 of the Tennessee Titans runs the ball for a touchdown during the second quarter of the game against the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium on December 18, 2022, in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) /

What We’ve Seen from Titans and Possible Offensive Game Plan Against Cowboys

Points Per Game: 17.9

Passing Yards Per Game: 187.7

Rushing Yards Per Game: 125.8

Total Yards Per Game: 313.5

Third Down Conversion Percentage: 36.0%

Red Zone Conversion Percentage: 68.4%

Titans Offensive Strategy vs Cowboys

The Titans know they will be going into this game without quarterback Ryan Tannehill who recently had surgery on his ankle, so they will be leaning on Derrick Henry to carry the load much like he has all season for this team. The dynamic of the offense is going to change drastically with Malik Willis under center for the Titans than when Tannehill was. The more mobile Willis has the ability to give the Cowboys trouble as they will be focused on stopping the wrecking ball that is Henry.

Look for the Titans to exploit this and allow Willis to use his legs to gain yards and keep the chains moving against an aggressive and at times undisciplined Cowboys front seven. Once they start to bite on the Willis options, the Titans can then start to dip into their play-action passing game to try for home run shots with Robert Woods and rookie Treylon Burks. The Titans will also look to utilize their screen game with Henry, fellow running back Dontrell Hilliard, and rookie tight end Chigoziem Okonkwo.

Cowboys Defensive Strategy vs Titans

This could prove to be a tough game for a Cowboys defense that has been struggling as of late to get ball carriers on the ground. The combination of Derrick Henry, Malik Willis, and deep-threat pass catchers make this look like a potential letdown game if the Cowboys aren’t prepared to stop the run this week.

One way the Cowboys will stop this will be to play better contain defense in order to keep the mobile Willis in the pocket and force him to throw the football much like the Texans did to him last week. In that game, the Texans picked off Willis twice after getting pressure in his face and held him to just 99 yards passing on the day.

They were also able to sack him four times in the game, Willis is still a young quarterback that hasn’t caught up to the speed of the game at the NFL level and the Cowboys’ pass rush is going to make things hard on him if they can get in his face.

The other problem for Dallas will obviously be Henry, who’s currently averaging 95 rushing yards per game but has also done a better job in the passing game for the Titans. If they want to control this game they will need to control Henry and do much better stopping the run because right now they are giving up 131 yards a game over the last weeks.

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