Can Titans' high-powered offense overcome woeful defense in playoffs?

By John Glennon

The Titans head into Sunday's playoff opener against Baltimore with a collective limp.

It's not the team's injury situation that's a problem, but rather the lopsided disparity between the Titans' offense and defense.

We've seen the Titans' offense produce some incredible numbers this season – becoming the first team in NFL history to generate at least 2,500 rushing yards and 3,500 net passing yards while surrendering 25 or fewer sacks. They averaged 30 points per game in the process. So there's no doubt this unit ranks among the elite of the NFL's 14 postseason teams.

But is it enough to compensate for a historically bad defense, one that's allowed an average of nearly 400 yards per game, surrendered third-down conversions at a rate of more than 50 percent and managed all of 19 sacks?

If the gist of that question sounds familiar, it should, as it's the same one we've been asking of the Titans for most of this season. To the Titans' credit, they've gone 11-5, captured their first AFC South title in a dozen years and earned a home playoff game.

This is the postseason, though, when there are no more Jacksonvilles or Detroits left to plunder, only the cream of the crop in pursuit of the Super Bowl trophy.

Is it reasonable to believe the . . .

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Author: John GlennonMulti-media journalist with extensive expertise covering the NFL, NHL, professional soccer and more, including the Tennessee Titans and Nashville Predators for The Tennessean with articles, videos and podcasts. Strengths include the ability to write quick, concise and thorough analysis, as well as the ability to uncover unique human-interest stories. In working as a reporter, John developed skills that extend beyond the sports journalism world. An efficient and effective communicator, John is confident, calm and productive under deadline pressure and knows the power of the written word. John brings to Broadway Sports a work ethic second to none, an intellectual hunger, and an ability to inform and entertain readers, viewers and listeners. Reach out directly to John at: