The battle of 1-4’s, Las Vegas Raiders and Tennessee Titans Tale of the Tape

The battle of 1-4’s, Las Vegas Raiders and Tennessee Titans Tale of the Tape

For the second time this season, the Raiders face a team that has the same record, but feels like they’re trending and feeling a little bit different about each other. This time, week six, it’s the Tennessee Titans. We break them down and more on Thursday’s edition of the Locked On Raiders podcast for October 9th, 2025. You are Locked on Raiders, your daily Las Vegas Raiders podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. And welcome in, Raider Nation, into another edition of the Locked On Raiders Podcast. Thank you so much for making the show your first listen of the day. We definitely appreciate you if you’re catching the show wherever you find your favorite podcast or checking us out by way of the YouTube page. We appreciate both. show grows each and every day because of your support and the great job that my man Ari does behind the scenes making sure we look good and sound good each and every day. So, we shout him out. We appreciate him. He’s on Twitter, Aries. You can hit me up as well at your boy Q254. And we got the Lockdown Raider podcast voicemail line for you at 707654-4693. On Thursdays, we don’t have calls or texts. It’s all about the next opponent. This time it is the Tennessee Titans. So, segment number one, it’s all about the storylines. Biggest story lines between Tennessee and the Raiders. Segment number two, biggest matchups between the Titans and the Silver and Black. And of course, segment number three, we’ll close things out. Keys to victory. What is it going to take for the Titans to improve to two and four or what is it going to take for the Raiders to improve to two and four? That’s how we do each and every Thursday across the network here on the Lockdown Podcast Network. Crossover Thursday is what we call in just get you a little bit more familiar with the next team on the schedule. Crossover Thursday is brought to you by Prize Picks. Download the Prize Pix app today. Use promo code locked on NFL to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup. So, let’s go a and jump right into it. Segment number one, Tyler Roland, host of Locked On Titans and myself talking about the biggest storylines with the one and four Titans and the one and four Raiders. Here we go. Let’s do it. Honestly, Q as the away team, I’ll give myself my own southern hospitality here and start out with the Titans. It’s all about can they keep it going? like, can the Titans get on a winning streak here after starting out 0 and4? Things were really ugly. But if you go in, you beat the Raiders on the road, that’s two big wins out west against the Cardinals in a crazy comeback that was quite fluky. But if you can build on that and actually get a non fluky win that’s just a true this is how you win football games, it would kind of make things feel a lot better for the Titans even after that 0 and4 start. So, desperation should still be at an all-time high. Urgency should still be at an all-time high. Winning that game against the Cardinals shouldn’t change anything. So, the Titans need to find a way to go streaking here. You know, Tyler, I’m glad you brought that up and especially that victory over the Cardinals because it was super fluky. I mean, you just don’t see that. But, they got the W no matter what. And you know what I’ve been saying to Raider Nation all week long is the Titans coming in at 1 and4 and the Raiders at 1 and4. They look two different one and fours, right? They got the same record, but it feels like they’re totally different. where the Raiders are riding a four-game losing streak, got a lot of questions, and the Titans, at least they know that they have their franchise quarterback, they trust in Cam Ward, and they know that it’s going to be some bumpy roads along the way, but they’re building something. So, it does feel like there’s more optimism with the Tennessee side of one and four than there is optimism with the Raiders side of one and four because nobody in Raider Nation, Pete, Carol included, expected the Raiders to be one and four after five weeks. Yeah, I think there is some level of hope and seeing some of the things that we saw in that victory over the Cardinals. Cam Ward coming up clutch at the end and playing his best football of the season in a big moment. Calvin Ridley finally breaking out and having a good game. The Titans offensive line having a good performance, their best performance of the season. Some of the young players on defense like a Cedric Gray stepping up to play and then Jeffrey Simmons and Legarius needed the stars on defense playing like stars. One of the big things the Titans have been saying is our best players need to play like our best players and that actually happened. Calvin Ridley, Legarius, Jeffrey Simmons, the offensive line, Cam Ward, like that actually happened in this game. So, there is a level of optimism and hope and I know you know Raider Nation probably not feeling quite as well there. I know that Gino Smith, it seems like, you know, I’m I’m not watching every game, but it seems like there might be some struggles there that could have fans feeling kind of down on this team. Yeah, when you talk about some struggles, how about nine interceptions to lead the league right now? Yeah, that’s that’s definitely some big struggles right there. And that wasn’t again, Tyler, that wasn’t expected, right? I mean, I’m there at training camp, I’m there at practice, I’m seeing all of this and I’m seeing this come together thinking, okay, this is going to be a pretty competitive team this year. And especially listening to everything that Pete Carol said, but to see Gino pressing and really even the game that they won against New England, he threw an interception in that game. But to have multiple interceptions, you know, three in in a couple games and then two in a couple games, it’s like what what’s going on here? So to me, I think, you know, the biggest story line for the Raiders is trying to settle Gino Smith down, trying to get him comfortable, trying to get him to not do too much, trying not to get him to force the ball into double and triple coverage. Like that kind of stuff is not good football, period. And and you’re the quarterback. You’re the guy they traded for to be the quarterback. you know, may maybe not five, six years down the road, but at least the next few years they expected him to be the franchise quarterback, but right now you’re questioning like, hey, is this guy gonna even make it through the the rest of the season because he’s turning the ball over at such a rapid pace. So, people are calling for Kenny Pickicket. And when is when does that happen? Like, when do people start calling for Kenny Picket, right? I mean, you know, when when that goes hap when that happens cuz Tennessee hasn’t had their franchise quarterback forever. They’ve gone through some quarterbacks as well. So, you know, when guys start calling, people start calling for the backup quarterback, you know, things are bad. And so for right now, the Gino Smith and the Raiders things are bad. Yeah. Especially if you don’t have like a young rookie backup that like fans are excited to see like the Jackson Dart situation or a Tyler Shuck in New Orleans or you know when you’re asking for Kenny Picket who clearly is not a guy. Now I know that a lot of people are probably like well Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield and Daniel Jones like maybe I don’t know if Kenny Picket is that kind of guy. He didn’t have that kind of he might not be much worse though. You know what I mean? Like I mean that that and that’s and that’s kind of the rationale. I was like, well, I mean, what Gino, what’s Gino doing? He’s not lighting the world on fire, so maybe give someone else the chance. Honestly, I think that the Raiders might have to do that if if Gino keeps on turning the ball over at a massive rate. I mean, they might have to. They have the bye-week after week seven. They could easily go into the by-week and make a decision then, but I I don’t think that that’s what Pete Carol wants to do, but man, you can’t turn the ball over two, three times a game and think that you’re going to keep your job. You know that. Yeah. Yeah. Q, you know just as well as I do that in the NFL, most of it is about not beating yourself. Like it’s so complicated of a game that the team that doesn’t beat themselves often is the team that can find a way to win. In your opinion, what is the problem for Gino Smith? It’s a new offense. Does he just not seem comfortable? Is he not seeing things or are some of these interceptions maybe just bad luck at the time? It just seems like it’s bad quarterback play, right? It just seems like he’s locking in and deciding that this is where I’m going to throw the ball. he’s predetermined I’m going to Jacobe Myers or I’m predetermined I’m going to Dante Thornton or Trey Tuck or whatever the case may be and he’s staring down his his wide receivers and he’s just he’s making young quarterback in the league type decisions when he’s not a young quarterback in the league, right? And so it’s just it’s baffling to me why these these mistakes keep happening and then he’ll stand at the podium and talk to us each and every week and say, “Hey, I got to be more efficient. I got to be smarter with the ball. I’ve looked at the film. I know what I need to do better. I know what I did wrong.” like he’s saying all the right things, but somehow Tyler between Wednesday, Thursday, Friday practice and then game day on Sunday, it’s just not translating. And I honestly I have no idea why that is. And you know, we did our our tier uh you know, our little tear exercise here on the Lock Podcast Network and and and I teared the Raiders as I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed. And and the reason I did that is because I just don’t I didn’t expect this. And and I don’t think that anyone that saw this team, especially head coach Pete Carol with the skins on the wall he has, expected this to be the outcome early in the season. One and four. Not just one and four, but the way that you’re losing, getting beat down multiple times. Yeah. Well, the Titans know all about getting beat down by the Colts. Boy, they look like a good football team. That’s that’s pretty crazy. But I’m with you. I I admit, you know, doing the locked on NFL podcast and talking about all these teams, I thought the Raiders, I didn’t think they would make the playoffs, but I figured they would be scrappy. They would be competitive. They would be in games. and it just hasn’t hasn’t worked out that way. But one player that can keep the Raiders in games is Max Crosby. And he has a chance to absolutely wreck this game. So when we talk about the matchups, that’s one that we’re definitely going to be focusing on here on a crossover Thursday. Biggest story lines right there for both the Raiders and the Tennessee Titans both coming into this game at Allegian Stadium on Sunday with the overall record of 1 and4. Uh, you know, with the Tennessee Titans having their rookie quarterback, knowing that there’s going to be some bumps in the road, knowing he’s learned how to play the NFL game, just feels like it’s a little bit different than the Raiders 1 and4 who, as they’re currently riding a four-game losing streak, trying to figure out what in the world is going on. How in the world are they going to get back into the dub column, feel good about this game, they’re favored in this game, but of course, they’ve got to handle their business. So, how will they handle their business? What will be the key matchups to look forward to? That’s what Tyler Roland and myself will talk about in segment number two of today’s Lockdown Raiders podcast. Before we get to that though, we do want to tell you about one of the great sponsors we have here on the show and that is Mazda. Mazda delivers confidence with every ride. With more IHS top safety pick and awards than anyone else from footwork to breath work, athletes they sweat all the details. Mazda brings the same attention to how they craft every single model. Model crafts. Mazda crafts cars for those who do more than simply move. You can feel the Japanese craftsmanship and every detail, the metallic accents that they have, Napa leather upholstery. They’ve got a lot to enjoy in each and every Mazda. You can make everyday drives feel like anything but. From smooth handling to great controls with all-wheel drive standard and every crossover SUV, you could drive with confidence through almost any season. Like the players, Mazda sweats every detail. Because when you make every move count, impossible becomes irrelevant. Mazda, move and be moved. [Music] All right, Raider Nation, here we go. Segment number two of today’s Locked On Raiders podcast. You heard about the biggest storylines between the Titans and the Raiders in segment number one with Tyler Roland and myself. Now, it’s time to jump into the biggest matchups. You heard what Tyler said talked about Max Crosby. Trust and believe. We’re going to be talking about a couple 98s, Jeffrey Simmons and Max Crosby as some of the biggest matchups to look forward to in this game coming up on Sunday. Let’s go ahead and jump into it right here. Segment number two of today’s Locked On Raiders podcast. All right, Q. Let’s continue today’s edition of Locked On Titans, Locked On Raiders. It’s crossover Thursday, part of the Locked On Network. Your team every day. We talked about the big storylines, kind of the big talking points for both these teams coming in. Obviously, you know, the Titans want to keep things going, the re raers want to get things back on track, but one of the ways that the Raiders can get things back on track is probably with Max Crosby wrecking the game plan. And I think similarly for the Titans, Raiders probably have to worry about Jeffrey Simmons a little bit. I know we’ll get into all that different stuff, but what’s the number one matchup that stands out for you? Yeah, I mean, Jeffrey Simmons against the, you know, the Raiders offensive line because this thing is still trying to come together. I mean, it’s just, it’s really that simple. It’s it’s really about the trenches when it comes to the Raiders. You want to see if that offensive line could start to work together and gel as one unit. I mean, they were they started out with the offensive line that had Colton Miller as their left tackle. Now he’s on IR. So, they’re already on their third different version of their offensive line. And last week, it actually wasn’t it wasn’t the the end all beall for them. It wasn’t the detriment. It wasn’t what hurt them. And so, I want to see, okay, now can these guys start to come together? Can they start to gel and play at a higher level? And you know, everyone knows that Ashley Genti U is the is the hot shot young kid that everyone’s looking at that wants to make big plays and and he’s coming along pretty well. I like what I’ve seen from him so far. Looks like he’s getting better, but going to need those guys up front to do their job. So, uh, you know, just I think it’s all about that offensive line and and you know, just like Max Crosby is a game record for the Raiders. Well, Jeffrey Simmons is that game record for the Titans as you know. So, the Raiders have to have that guy circled and said, “All right, don’t let that guy beat you, right?” and and and then you have a a slight chance, but still, I mean, he’s that sticky good. I don’t think you stop him. I think you just try to contain him a little bit or slow him down a little bit and give yourself a chance. So, yeah, it’s definitely going to be in the trenches for the silver and black. They’re going to be circled looking at Jeffrey Simmons and saying, “Yeah, don’t let that guy beat us up.” That that’s it’s that simple as far as I’m concerned. Well, if I’m honest with you, the Titans edge rush group is not very good. So, if you can handle Jeffrey Simmons and slow him down, you have a great chance to give Gino Smith time to get things back on track. What would be your read on the interior offensive line of the Raiders so far? I always liked uh Jackson Powers Johnson. I know that maybe there’s been some up and down play there, but Jordan Meredith at centered uh at the other guard spot. Would you say that they’ve Do you have confidence that they’ll be able to handle this opportunity against Simmons? No. No. Because it’s it’s a it’s a work in progress. Like JPJ is fantastic. I like JPJ a lot. He’s a hard-nosed dude. Like he’s a tough guy. Uh Lincoln Kennedy calls him a mim, a mer in the middle, right? I mean, he’s just kind of that guy. But Jordan Meredith is just learning the center position. Never played it until this year. So, he’s still learning. So, there’s times that you’ll see him get beat immediately, and that’s not good. Dylan Porum at the left guard’s position, he’s played okay, but he’s not playing great. And when you have a guy in the middle like Jeffrey Simmons who could literally just wreck your game, that’s when you really get concerned. So, that’s where my concern is. Normally, I’d say, “Yeah, okay. Not not too big of a concern as long as the edge rushers aren’t beating up on the offensive line.” Well, this time it’s the interior that I’m concerned about. The one good thing about it is I think it could be something where you see a lot of outside runs by Ashley Genty, right? Trying to get him to the outside, trying to have him break contain as quickly as possible to try to run away from Jeffrey Simmons. Like, oh man, where’s he? Go the other way. Right. So, I think that that’s something that you might be able to see a lot of. I think you might see a lot of heavy of the run game, even getting Trey Tucker involved in the run game, some end rounds and some jet sweeps, whatever the case may be. I think you could see a lot of that implemented by Chip Kelly. But yeah, the interior of the offensive line concerns me because Jeffrey Simmons is that staked it good. Yeah, he has been I I mean absolutely ridiculous through the first five weeks. He’s played at a defensive player of the year type level. I think he’s been the best interior defensive lineman in the NFL so far this year. I do want to ask before I go to the matchup that I’m looking for, which I’ve teased so much. It’s Max Crosby. How can you not talk about that? But Brock Bowers, he played a little bit and then they kind seems like they’re pulling him back so he can get healthy. He’s listed as week to week. As far as I know, he’s not on IR or anything, right? What are the odds that you think he’ll play in this game? I think maybe 25%. I don’t I don’t think he’s going to go. Honestly, I think he’s going to sit until at least the uh until the by-week, which is week eight for the Raiders. I just I don’t see him getting better. Like he he wanted to play after week one. That’s when he got injured. He wanted to play during that game. They didn’t put him back in, but they did let him play the next couple weeks. And then last week against the Colts, he sat out. And I just think that he’s going to have to rest that knee. And and it’s better to have him for the long haul than it is to have him for the short. Well, got to have him this week, right? I mean, no, just he’s he’s he’s one of your your big-time players. Him, Ashton Genty, Max Crosby. You make sure that you take care of those guys, right? he makes sure that those guys are are are healthy uh if they get somewhat banged up and and could risk injury long term. So, I don’t think Brock Bowers is going to go. I know that there’s going to be more towards the end of the week as far as more testing to see how he’s feeling, but my gut feeling says he doesn’t go. My gut feeling also tells me AJ Cole, the punter, doesn’t go either. And uh the new punter that they signed to the practice squad will actually be in his place because he suffered ankle injury after he got a punt blocked on on Sunday against Indianapolis. Just a bad bad bad performance. That was rough. And and a couple of years ago, the Titans had a pretty good punter on Ryan Stonehouse and they gave up a bad blocked punt and it wrecked his knee and he wasn’t able to come back right. He was never right again. He’s out of the league right now after that. It, you know, that can be devastating to these kickers who we have to remember these kickers are not the level of athlete and that the other players are to be able to come back and deal with that stuff. But you’re right. I think that outside runs could be huge. The Titans have been better against outside runs this year with more physical edge rushers, but they really struggled with outside runs and stuff like that last year. So, the Raiders might be able to pick that scab a little bit, but I do want to talk about the Titans offensive line because that’s the matchup that I’m looking for with Max Crosby. Crosby is an absolute game wrecker. The Titans offensive line played better last week, but the reality is the Cardinals pass rush doesn’t have a Max Crosby. Josh Wet, good player, very, but he’s not he’s not the Condor, man. He’s not Max Mad Max out there who’s one of the top two or three edge rushers in the entire league. And the way they use him on stunts and get him looping to the inside and doing stuff like that, it’s not just one guy. But the Titans have been without top 10 pick from last year, right tackle JC Laam for four games now. and Ali Udo, their backup tackle, has had good moments, but he’s not on the level that you expect a JC Laam to be. Laam is an injury guy who we’re looking at, is he going to play? He kind of got going last week. There’s hope that he’s going to play this week, but that’s the number one matchup that I’m looking for because if you’re the Titans, your offense will not survive if you let Max Crosby get going. So, I know he’s a great player, but what’s his level of play been so far this year? man, he’s taken it to another level. He really has. And I know this coaching staff has asked him to do more things than he normally has done. And they’ve even had him drop in coverage, which I’m not a big fan of, but that’s a whole another conversation. I think that attacking the quarterback is probably his greatest skill set. That’s just me. I’m not a coach, but I’m just saying, just going out on a limb there. Uh, but look, this guy is now batting balls down. He had an interception the other day. I mean, he’s doing things that I’ve been asking for a while. Like we all know how good Max is and and how he could game wreck like you mentioned, but does he make those differencem plays like the Miles Garris, the TJ Watts, the Michael Parsons where you know that you have to have a play Mad Max is going to be the guy to go get it. This year you’re starting to see him evolve into that guy where he’s taking his game even to another level where I think he knows, hey man, a lot of this is on me. I’ve got to be better because well, these guys, they’re not quite up to my level yet, so I’ve got to go and work a little bit harder. and he’s accepted that challenge to his credit. So, you know, it doesn’t always show up in the stat line in the stat sheet, but he’s been working his tail off. He’s been doing everything. He’s really good at stopping the run. Uh that’s a part of his game that he’s evolved really the last few years. Uh and you just see him flying in on play after play after play. It’s wild. As soon as the ball snapped and handed to the running back, all of a sudden, you see 98 just flying. It’s like Superman flying across the damn field and all a sudden you see him getting a tackle for loss. It’s it’s incredible to watch and how he’s able to consistently do that. But that’s that’s what he’s been doing. So, I got to give Max so much credit for continuing to evolve his game. And now he’s asking his brothers. He’s asking Adam Butler, he’s asking Tyreek Wilson, he’s asking Malcolm Coun, you know, hey man, Jonah Lulu, hey man, can you guys, you know, step up and and and and come and join the party as well. So, it’s really it’s never going to be about Max. It’s going to be about the rest of the guys who decide that they want to be part of the party because he’s going to do his job game in and game out. Yeah, I was going to ask you about that. I know Coun is coming back from an injury, so don’t want to, you know, put too much on him. But outside of Max Crosby, is there anybody else to worry about? How are those guys playing? Well, they haven’t played at the level that they need to play, that’s for sure. Adam Butler, uh, he’s been given the opportunity once Christian Wilkins was released to really be the guy in the interior and he’s doing okay. Uh, Jonah Lulu is actually leading the team in sacks with three right now and and you know, he’s he’s okay. Uh, but nobody is standing out. Nobody is just all of a sudden, you know, that Robin to Max’s Batman. And that’s what the Raiders have been looking for forever when they signed Chandler Jones, when they drafted Tyrie Wilson, when they slid Malcolm Couns into that spot. Like somebody like they got the bat signal out there, but nobody’s answering the call, right? They’re just who could be the guy that can run side by side with Max Crosby and compliment him. They haven’t got that guy yet. And so I don’t know who that’s going to be or when that guy is going to arrive. But somebody needs to help him out because he’s again, he’s given everything he’s got, leaving it all out there on the field and then some, but somebody else is going to have to do some of the heavy lifting, too. And right now, nobody has really stepped up to do that role yet. The Titans are in the same boat, man. You have Jeffrey Simmons, you have your Superman, you need your Batman to complete your world’s finest, and the guy has just not stepped up. Hasn’t been found. And that’ll be interesting to see which offensive line can handle the top guy because the rest of the the crew really isn’t super threatening. But with that being said, those are the matchups that we’re paying attention to in this one. Now, we need to talk about the keys to victory. And I think for both teams at this point, it’s going to be all about turnovers. Game records is what we’re talking about there in segment number two. Jeffrey Simmons is exactly that. Just does it from the interior when Max Crosby does it from the edge position. So, yeah, those are two guys, both number 98, that you have to focus in on, right? Those are the guys that could single-handedly take over the game. Jeffrey Simmons is a guy that could be in Gino Smith’s, you know, lunch every single snap if he wants to. A guy that can make running the ball for Ashton Genty miserable. So, he’s a guy to definitely circle, watch out for him. Where is he going to be at all times? And how to make sure that he’s slowed down a little bit. You’re not going to stop him. You know, you only can help to contain him. Is that what they say, right? That’s what they say about Max Crosby as well. So definitely a matchup when it comes to dudes on the defensive line for the Titans and the Raiders trying to get and and wreck the game for the opposing team. So that’s uh I think a huge matchup. Definitely something to pay attention to. Well, we’ll give you the keys to victory. What is it going to take for the Tennessee Titans to improve to two and four? What will it take for the Raiders to improve to two and four? We break that down next in segment number three of today’s Lockdown Raiders podcast. 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What will it take for the Titans and the Raiders to come away with their second win of the sun of the season? Remember, it’s crossover Thursday presented by Prize Pix. Download the Prize Pix apps today. Use the promo code locked on NFL to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup. So, let’s go ahead and jump right into it. What is it going to take for Tennessee? What is it going to take for the Raiders? What do you need to watch out for in particular? What do both teams need to be aware of going into this game? We’ll break that down here in segment number three of today’s Locked On Raiders podcast. All right, Q. Let’s cap off today’s edition of Locked on Titans, Locked On Raiders, Crossover Thursday, part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. Thanks for making us your first listen. And as a reminder, we’ll have even more preview of this game for you guys on tomorrow’s episode. So, make sure that you come back and check that out. But, we talked about storylines, we talked about matchups, now we need to talk about kind of the keys to victory in this one. And Q, as I’ve been saying, I think it’s turnovers. You mentioned Gino Smith’s issues. He’s got nine interceptions leading the league. Uh the Titans have had a couple of fumbles. Cam Ward has had some interceptions. Not all of them are 100% on him, and some are at the end of games where he’s trying to make stuff happen, but nonetheless, turnovers often, especially with two teams who aren’t great teams right now, turnovers can swing things one way or another. And I I think it’s pretty obvious that whoever wins the turnover battle in this one is going to be in a great position to take home the victory. Yeah, there’s no doubt about it, man. Tyler, a lot of times I’ll try to go into great detail on how the Raiders could get the victory and all these keys, offense, defense, special teams, coaching, like try to really break it down, make it make a lot of sense. Sometimes it’s really simple. Sometimes it’s basic math. Don’t turn the damn ball over, right? It’s just it’s just that simple. The Raiders are turning the ball over at such an alarming rate led by Gino Smith that that’s that’s the main problem, right? You can’t have a sustained drive. You can’t get any rhythm on offense. You can’t do anything, right? I mean, you just you’re just not getting out of your own way. And so, the Raiders need to figure out how to not do that. At some point, Gino’s just got to decide, I’m not going to turn that rock over, right? I know he’s a guy that wants to stretch the ball down the field. I know he’s a guy that wants to be aggressive. He wants to have big explosive plays, but right now, that’s not okay for you. you’re not you’re not cutting it. So, you got to go ahead take what’s there, take the checkdowns at time, throw the ball to the running back out of the back field, you got to take the layups, right? It’s almost like he’s got to go ahead and see the ball go through the hoop a few times before he decides he’s going to throw the ball around the yard. So, it’s it’s all about turnovers with the Raiders, man. If they want to give themselves any kind of chance in this game or any other game the rest of the season, it’s all about turnovers. You limit your turnovers, you increase your chance to win. You have more turnovers, you’re going to decrease your chance to win. Again, basic math. It’s really simple. One plus one will always equal two. It’s just that simple. Yep. You’re 100% right. And the Raiders turnover differential is significantly worse than the Titans. They are minus six right now on the season. Second to last in the NFL. And the Titans are kind of middle of the pack, kind of evened out because they got so many turnovers in week one. But a concerning trend is the Titans have turned a ball over on offense every single game this year. Two against Denver, uh, one in the next three weeks, two last week. And I know one of those Cam Ward, we we joke Cam Ward’s so good that even his interceptions turn into touchdowns for the Titans, but realistically that’s stuff like that’s not going to happen all year. So if you keep turning over the ball, you’re going to be in a terrible position. Uh the last thing that I do think is a key to victory for both teams is running the football. when you have a young quarterback in Cam Ward who, you know, hasn’t seen everything at the NFL level and there’s a good pass rusher and Max Crosby who if he knows it’s a pass and he can just pin his ears back, it’s going to be tough to deal with him no matter how well you’re playing. And then the Raiders when you have a quarterback that’s not playing well, giving him easy opportunities and short third downs that he doesn’t have to feel the need to create those those plays. I think that’ll be big, too. Tony Pard has some fumble issues, but I think the Titans offensive line is slowly getting it together. What’s the status of the Raiders run game? And do you think that they can take advantage of a Titans run defense that isn’t all that great at times? Yeah, I do. And and that’s definitely going to be a big key for the Raiders is to continue to get Ashton Genty and Raheem Moster going in the running game, right? And and Genty has been really good. Even though I know some people will look at the stats and be like, “Oh, he’s not all that.” But he’s been playing really well. He’s been uh you know really breaking out and especially in that Chicago Bears game a couple weeks ago. Really had a big- time performance including a 64 yard uh play that he took to the house. It was fantastic and you know just seeing him up close and personal. He he’s so much fun to watch. You’ll enjoy it even watching from a a position of wanting to see Tennessee win the game. You’ll watch you’ll enjoy watching Ash Jetty. He’s just one of those players. So that’ll be fun. But yeah, they’ll definitely try to lean on their run game as they should. And a lot of times they get Trey Tucker involved in the run game as well with the little jet sweeps. mentioned that earlier in the end of rounds. They like Trey Tucker a lot. So, they’re going to try to use his speed to their advantage, get him involved, and I think that that’s really something that they’ll lean heavily on. Again, try to keep Gino from making mistakes. I’ll say this though, another side note, Tyler, another key to this for the Raiders is special teams. Special teams has never been an issue for the Raiders. Matter of fact, it’s always been a strength of this team. It has been everything but that this year. It has been a disaster. They’ve had a field goal block. They’ve had a punt block. They give up big time kick returns. They’ve had a kick return last week go for a touchdown. They got called back for a holding penalty, but that was one that got housed. Uh they had one a couple weeks ago that got housed. I mean, they’re just they’re not very special on their special teams. So, that’s something to pay attention to if Tennessee could take advantage of the Raiders weaknesses. They just signed a former linebacker that was in Seattle. He was on the Pittsburgh uh practice squad. Pure special teamer. and and Pete Carol told me on Monday when I asked him about special teams, he said, “Look, I need more defenders on special teams because we’re not getting it done.” So, they go out and get a linebacker that he’s very familiar with to add to the special teams. So, they know it’s an issue. Everyone in the league knows it’s an issue. That’s definitely somewhere Tennessee could take advantage. Well, for Raiders fans listening who the name probably wouldn’t stick out on the depth chart or anything like that when you’re looking, but rookie out of Florida, Chimray DK. Chim DK, he has been, I think, the Pro Bowl returner in the AFC through five weeks. He had a 66-yard kickoff return last week. He has had a monster return. One got called back in week two where he took a punt to the house and it was a terrible decision by the linebacker to block in the back five yards behind the returner who was already past him. But the Titans return game has been very good this year. So if you’re a Raiders fan, you got to look at Chim Ray DK and be like they can’t let him get going cuz he has shown that he can make big plays. And for the Titans, you look at that if special teams can be a a benefit to them and swing the game, that would really help them win on the road as well. So, great call out there, Q, to talk about special teams. That could be a place to give the Titans some optimism and the Raiders some worry. So, they need to be ready for that on both sides. But that’s going to do it for today’s Crossover Thursday edition presented by Prize Picks, part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. I am your host of Locked On Titans, Tyler Roland, for the host of Locked On Raiders, my boy Q, your boy Q as well. We all get to keep Q as our boy there. Thanks so much for tuning in and again we’ll have another episode for you guys tomorrow to get you even more ready for this matchup. But thanks for tuning in. There it is. There it was. That’s the crossover edition right there. Tyler Roland, host of Locked On Titans. Does a fantastic job. Really appreciate him and his efforts each and every time that we get the chance to, you know, join forces, get to catch up with him in Indianapolis at the scouting combine every year. Really good dude, very passionate about the Tennessee Titans and I can definitely appreciate that. So shout out to Tyler. Definitely appreciate him getting his Howard Coell on for us uh this week and just having a lot of fun on the crossover edition. So the Titans one and four, the Raiders one and four, something’s got to give coming up on Sunday at Allegian Stadium. Coming up tomorrow, we’ll be back. Obviously, we’ll give more detail keys to victory for the silver and black, what they have to do in particular to make sure they come away with the victory. Right. will also let you hear an interview that myself and Vinnie Bosenor did in the Raiders locker room on Wednesday. As a matter of fact, afternoon with Jack Bes, a guy that I expect to see a lot more snaps coming his way on uh starting on Sunday. He already had an uptick, but I think you’re going to see even more coming up on Sunday. So, you’ll hear that interview as well. We’ll have news and notes. We’ll get back to calls and texts. We’ll have a locked and loaded show to close out the week, close out uh you know the the the week six as far as preparation heading into the weekend and get you ready for the Tennessee Titans coming up on Sunday. So we’ll do that tomorrow to close out the week. So until then, Ready Nation, take care of yourself, take care of your family, love on your family. Most importantly, as always, just win, baby.

It’s time to officially turn the page to Week 6 and the Tennessee Titans.

Tyler Rowland, Host of Locked On Titans, and I will talk about the biggest storylines, the biggest matchups and the keys to victory for two teams with the identical record, that feel like they are very different. We do this here on Crossover Thursday.

The battle of 1-4’s, Raiders and Titans Tale of the Tape

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVgPs0As0pzp6zsYJLB7zNA

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