Titans at Patriots AFC divisional playoff preview: Three things to know

Nate Davis | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption AFC Divisional Playoff preview: Do Titans stand a chance? SportsPulse: USA TODAY Sports' Lorenzo Reyes breaks down this weekend's AFC Divisional Playoff games.

A preview of the AFC divisional playoff matchup between the Tennessee Titans and New England Patriots

When: Saturday, 8:15 p.m. ET (CBS)

Where: Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.

Line: Patriots by 14

Injuries: Titans RB DeMarco Murray was ruled out again with a sprained knee. The Patriots' issues seem to run a bit deeper. RBs James White (ankle) and Rex Burkhead (knee) missed the final two games of the regular season and are both listed as questionable. RB Mike Gillislee (knee) is also up in the air after missing most of the season's second half, but WR Chris Hogan (shoulder) was removed from the injury report and could play for just the second time since Week 8. TE Rob Gronkowski, who missed last year's Super Bowl march, is full speed ahead.

More: Falcons at Eagles NFC divisional playoff preview: Three things to know

More: Jaguars at Steelers NFL divisional playoff preview: Three things to know

THREE THINGS TO KNOW

1. Patriot nay? This game almost feels like a sidebar given the drama that's enveloped New England in the wake of ESPN's explosive report alleging dysfunction among owner Robert Kraft, head coach Bill Belichick and QB Tom Brady in recent months. Spygate didn't keep the Patriots from going 16-0 in the regular season or reaching the Super Bowl in 2007, and Deflategate didn't derail their bid for a fourth championship during the 2014 playoffs (or a fifth in 2016 when Brady finally served his four-game suspension). Maybe New England now has its latest rallying cry, but this feels a bit different giving the divisive forces are allegedly internal this time around (though the Patriots have predictably tried to shoot down any notion of organizational strife).

2. Brady hunch: The ESPN story also floated the notion that Brady's long-awaited decline may have begun. The 40-year-old's case as the greatest quarterback in NFL history is essentially airtight at this point. But he didn't look like himself in December, when his less-than-stellar play (6 TDs, 5 INTs, 81.6 QB rating) may have cost him a third league MVP award.

However Brady's "struggles" have coincided with a revitalized New England ground game, which exceeded 190 yards in three of the past six games (all three were wins). Dion Lewis, the Patriots' healthiest back at the moment, has been especially good lately. He's accumulated 366 yards and five TDs from scrimmage in the last three games while also handling kickoffs. But daylight could be harder to find against a Tennessee defense that ranks fourth against the run and did a nice job limiting Kansas City's Kareem Hunt to 47 total yards in the wild-card round.

3. So you're saying there's a chance? Tennessee was a prohibitive underdog against the Chiefs, and the Patriots are already being installed as two-touchdown favorites in some quarters. And who can argue given New England's 9-1 record in divisional games at Gillette Stadium?

Still, the Titans possess some elements that could make this a game. Derrick Morgan, Brian Orakpo, Jurrell Casey and Erik Walden are largely unheralded, yet form a quartet of pass rushers that could generate the type of pocket pressure that's key to beating Brady. RB Derrick Henry and a mauling offensive line could crack a Patriots defense that allowed more yards than all but three teams in 2017. And mobile quarterbacks like Alex Smith and Cam Newton were hugely responsible for two of New England's three losses this season. Marcus Mariota fits that mold, too, but he and the Titans can't afford to fall into a deficit that forces them to stray from a balanced approach.

***

Follow Nate Davis on Twitter @ByNateDavis

PHOTOS: NFL wild-card action