Is a Healthy A.J Brown Enough of a Boost for the Titans in the Postseason?
By Peter Dewey
The Tennessee Titans picked up a huge upset win over the San Francisco 49ers in Week 16, and it came when A.J. Brown returned to the lineup.
Now, Brown is going to be even more important for the Titans over the next two weeks, as Julio Jones was placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list on Monday.
#Titans have activated Rodger Saffold and Elijah Molden from Reserve-Covid.
— TURRON DAVENPORT (@TDavenport_NFL) December 27, 2021
They've also added the following players to Reserve-Covid list:
Bud Dupree, Julio Jones, Buster Skrine, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, Caleb Farley.
Brown was dominant on Thursday Night Football, catching 11 passes for 145 yards and a touchdown, and he’s an extremely key offensive piece for the Titans when he’s healthy. Tennessee is just 1-3 with Brown out of the lineup this season, and getting him, and potentially Derrick Henry, back in the lineup is huge for the stretch run.
A.J. Brown has a career-high 16 targets & 11 receptions on #TNF, for 145 yards & 1 TD (and counting)
— NFL Research (@NFLResearch) December 24, 2021
It's Brown's 11th career game w/ 100+ rec yds & 1+ rec TD ...
The only players w/ more such games since he entered the league in 2019 are Cooper Kupp (13) and Davante Adams (12)
The Titans are averaging 23.8 points per game this season, but that number dipped to just 17.5 points per game in the four games Brown has sat out. The Titans are in the driver’s seat in the AFC South after their Week 16 win, and they face the Miami Dolphins and Houston Texans to close out the season.
Tennessee suffered through games without Jones, Brown or Henry, so having any of those three playmakers on offense is obviously going to help them going forward.
Henry may be the most notable, but there’s no doubt that the Titans are a better team (9-2 this season) when Brown is on the field.
WynnBET Sportsbook currently has Tennessee as a 3-point favorite at home in Week 17 against Miami. The total in that game is set at 41.