Comparing the Los Angeles Rams and the Tennessee Titans is a lot like comparing a college senior to a high school freshman.
The Rams (1-0) know what they are. GM Les Snead has been in charge for 13 years. Coach Sean McVay is in Year 9. The team is coming off its sixth playoff appearance in eight seasons even while the roster has been fully infused with new young stars (Puka Nacua, Jared Verse, Braden Fiske) who have supplanted the old guard (Aaron Donald, Todd Gurley, Andrew Whitworth) that helped make the McVay Era special.
The Titans (0-1) know what they want to be. QB Cam Ward is in place. Executives Chad Brinker and Mike Borgonzi are touting their draft-develop-retain strategy. Up-and-comers like JC Latham, Peter Skoronski, T’Vondre Sweat and Jarvis Brownlee Jr., figure to be factors in the future. But nothing’s worked. Not yet, at least.
Now the Titans host the Rams on Sept. 14 (noon CT, CBS) at Nissan Stadium to show the differences between the two squads. Upsets happen all the time, but these Titans beating these Rams would involve the Titans playing way ahead of their own schedule, or the Rams playing down beneath their station. Let’s look at the matchups and advantages.
Titans offense vs Rams defense: Can it possibly be that bad again?
Ward didn’t play terribly in his debut, but the offense as a whole did. The Titans are still penalty prone, still allowing too many pressures, still disappearing in the second half and still short on explosives. Now the Titans have to face a Rams defense that limited Houston’s high-flying offense to nine points by registering 18 quarterback pressures and logging four passes defensed in Week 1.
So many games are won and lost on third downs, and that’s not a good sign for the Titans. The only defense that did a better job of getting off the field in Week 1 than the Rams’ unit was the Broncos’ unit against these very Titans.
That said, it’s hard to imagine receiver Calvin Ridley struggling as much in Week 2 as he did in Week 1, and for as good as the Rams’ front seven is, these Rams don’t have quite the firepower that the Broncos do, meaning the offensive line should at the very least have a slightly easier task.
Advantage: Rams
Titans defense vs Rams offense: Are the turnovers a mirage?
After years of turnover struggles, the Titans led the NFL in takeaways in Week 1, with three on defense and one on special teams. Rams QB Matthew Stafford is no stranger to dangerous throws; per Pro Football Focus he attempted the second-most “turnover worthy passes” in the NFL last season despite only being intercepted eight times.
In reality, though, it’s grasping at straws to think one weekend of good Titans football will be enough to counteract the nearly decade-long advantage of McVay’s scheme. The Titans don’t have the kind of pass rush to disrupt Stafford, and if L’Jarius Sneed is still limited at cornerback, the Titans don’t have the firepower on the perimeter to trail Nacua and Davante Adams all game.
Advantage: Rams
Titans vs Rams betting odds: Favorites, moneyline, over-under
The Rams are 5.5-point favorites per BetMGM sportsbook. The Rams’ moneyline is set at -250 with the Titans’ at +200. The over-under points total is set at 42 points.
Score prediction: Rams 23, Titans 17
The Rams are just the better team. There’s reason to believe the Titans will improve week over week, and Ward has more than a few highlight plays ready to peek through. But the Rams are more complete, more talented and more equipped to win close games late. That happens here.
Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at  nsuss@gannett.com. Follow Nick on X @nicksuss. Subscribe to the Talkin’ Titans newsletter for updates sent directly to your inbox.