Tennessee Titans @ Jacksonville Jaguars

How the Titans Win …

Thursday Night Football throws us a juicy divisional rivalry in an AFC South which is up for the taking. Following a dominating performance over the Browns in Week 1the Titans were brought back down to earth by the Colts.

Tennessee will need explosiveness in the air with Mariota held to only 154-yards last week. Much hyped free agent pickup Adam Humphries has only three catches for 4-yards total after two games.

Last year Derrick Henry destroyed the Jags with a 99-yard run and he’s currently tied for 2nd in the league yards-after-contact with 90-yards. Mariota is also averaging an impressive 7 yards per carry so far this year.

The offensive line conceded five sacks last week and will need to tighten up and protect against the Jags pass rush to give Mariota as much time as possible.

Despite last weeks loss the Titans forced two turnovers, a pair of sacks and restricted Brissett to 121 passing yards. They’re currently second in pass defence giving up 182.5 yards p/g and tenth in total yardage conceding 317.0 yards p/g.

The Titans will look to exploit the Jag’s leaky rush defence and will look to Cameron Wake – who was AFC Defensive Player of the Week in Week 1 – to put pressure on rookie quarterback Gardner Minshew and look to force turnovers.

Derrick Henry destroyed the Jags on his way to a record 99-yard rushing touchdown in their last matchup.

How the Jags Win …

The Jags are reeling both on and off the field. They’re 0-2 for the season and were inches short of stealing a win against the Texans last week.

Off the field things are a lot worse with Jalen Ramsey reportedly on the trading block after feuding with coach Doug Marrone.

What is going right for the Jags is how sixth-round draft pick Gardner Minshew is performing in place of the injured Foles. D.J. Chark has also exploded out wide.

The pass rush has shown flashes of promise limiting Deshaun Watson to 16 of 29 completions and 159 yards last week as well as three sacks and will need to do very well against the Titans o-line.

The Jags can steal this one by pressuring Mariota in the pocket but they’ll have to get through one of the better o-lines in the NFL.

Houston Texans @ LA Chargers

How the Texans Win …

The Texans go into this one following a 13-12 victory against Jacksonville. They’ll be motivated to try and go 4-1 for the first time under coach Bill O’Brien in his six years at Houston.

In O’Brien’s time the Texans are 32-1 – with 26 wins straight – when keeping their opponents to less than 20 points. J.J. Watt backed up his Week 1 shutout with two tackles, a quarterback hit, and a fumble recovery last week.

Whitney Mercilus is sitting on three sacks and an interception for the year and the pass rush unit is ranked 5th best in the NFL.

Melvin Gordon won’t play as his contract dispute continues.

How the Chargers Win …

The key for the chargers is not to duplicate last weeks horror offensive show in their 13-10 loss in Detroit. Against the Lions they had a fumble at the 1-yard line, two touchdowns nullified because of penalties and blew a chance to win the game as Phillip Rivers threw an interception in the end zone.

The Chargers don’t have a legitimate home ground advantage as they play out the season at the 27,000 capacity Dignity Health Sports Park, before their move to a new stadium in 2020.

Running back Melvin Gordon is continuing his contract dispute and won’t take the field. Undrafted free agent Austin Ekeler has stepped up in his place and is currently second in the NFL in all-purpose yardage.

The Texans already have allowed ten sacks this year. The Chargers pass rush only have two for the year so will be looking to feast on Watson in this one.

Atlanta Falcons @ Indianapolis Colts

How the Falcons Win …

Matt Ryan connected on 26 of 43 passes last week en route to 320 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions in a 24-20 win over the Eagles. Julio Jones had a massive game with two touchdowns and 106 yards receiving.

The loaded wide receiving corps will be key to win with Jones complemented by Calvin Ridley and Mohamed Sanu. The offensive line will need to limit pass rush pressure to limit picks thrown.

The real opportunity will be in the run game. The Colts haven’t been able to plug opposition run games but the Falcons haven’t got going either. The o-line will need to create gaps and shut down the Colt’s pass rush who already have eight sacks on the year.

For the defence, opposition quarterback Jacoby Brissett is safe with the ball throwing his first interception in 167 pass attempts last week. Atlanta will need to find a way to pressure the Colts offence and increase on their four sacks for the season.

How the Colts Win …

After splitting their first two conference games 1-1, the Colts take on the Falcons with both teams coming off victories last week.

On the other side of the ball Indy are well balanced. Jacoby Brissett and T.Y. Hilton are starting to gel and the offensive line is holding up well for to buy enough time for Brissett.

Ryan threw three picks last week and if the Colts can continue their pass rush penetration the Falcons will be in for a long one.

Marlon Mack is currently third in the NFL in rushing with 225 yards. The Colts are tied for second in big run plays of 40-plus-yard runs whilst the Falcons rank near the bottom with defending them.