NFL Week 1 2021: 3 teams on upset alert this Sunday
2. NFL Teams on upset alert in Week 1 – Tennessee Titans
One of the more underrated matchups on the Week 1 slate is Arizona at Tennessee, which could feature a ton of offensive firepower. The Titans made a big splash in the offseason, adding Julio Jones to complement A.J. Brown on the outside, but there are significant defensive questions for Tennessee.
The biggest weakness that the Titans have is in the secondary, which saw starting corners Adoree Jackson and Malcolm Butler depart in the offseason while rookie Caleb Farley, who was drafted to fill one of those starting slots, couldn’t earn the assignment after a slow start to training camp. Tennessee will turn to second-year man Khristian Fulton and Jackrabbit Jenkins to start on the outside, which is problematic when Arizona will have DeAndre Hopkins and A.J. Green to test them.
Another red flag for Tennessee is the team’s recent COVID outbreak which has led to multiple key coaches and players missing prep time for this matchup, including starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill. It is true that there was extra time to get ready for Week 1 with the shortened preseason but losing any practice reps is an issue against NFL competition.
The Titans are favored by just three in this game against Arizona, which has a dangerous quarterback in Kyler Murray that can put up points just as fast as Tannehill and Tennessee can. Don’t be surprised if the Cardinals pull out a win at Nissan Stadium this week.