Your team just took down the defending NFC Champs with your backup quarterback. Of course they should win against the hapless 5-9 Titans playing their backup quarterback, right? Nothing will come easy for these Seahawks. There has been nothing about the Seattle season to suggest they can feel comfortable against any opponent.

The Titans have rebounded a bit from a 3-7 start to win two of their last four games, with their only two losses coming in overtime. One of those wins was against the Miami Dolphins on the road. Four of their five wins have come at home, where they are 4-3 on the year. They did just lose their gunslinger rookie quarterback in Will Levis to injury, but have the luxury of bringing a longtime starter off the bench, who threw for 347 yards the last time he played the Seahawks a couple years back. They still feature one of the most fearsome runners in the league in Derrick Henry and a dangerous receiver in DeAndre Hopkins. And their defensive line has one of the best interior disruptors around.

Those are more than enough reasons to be wary of this matchup for the Seahawks. None of that is to say this is a good Titans team. They are not. They do almost nothing well, aside from an oddly elite red zone defense and a stout run defense. Their offensive line is a mess. The offense has scored 17 points or fewer in 9 of their 14 games.

Seattle will not need to be their best to win, but they cannot afford anything close to their worst. It will take a good offensive performance and solid run defense to come home with a victory.

The way this works: Each offense will be pitted against the opposing defense and compared on an array of key statistical attributes based on their respective rank in the NFL. The tables that follow show the rank of each unit for each of these categories.

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Seahawks Offense vs Titans Defense

Titans key advantages on defense

How such a mediocre defense has the best red zone performance in the league is one of the mysteries of football. It is likely a combination of good run defense and just some awful competition. The AFC South is home to some of the worst teams in a poorly performing league, and they are going up against the NFC South this season, which is in the running for worst division.

Jeffrey Simmons is a difference maker on the interior. He has missed the last two weeks with a knee injury, and his status is unclear for this one. Harold Landry III can create some pressure off the edge. Safety K’Von Wallace has stepped in for veteran Kevin Byard, who was traded to the Eagles, and played well.

Despite being decent against the run, they have given up 158 and 148 yards on the ground the last couple of weeks. They have seen decent slot corner play from Roger McCreary.

Seahawks key advantages on offense

The Titans have had trouble creating turnovers, especially through the air. They recently lost starting cornerback Kristian Fulton to the IR, and replaced him with an even worse player in Tre Avery. Sean Murphy-Bunting has not been much better on the other side.

Part of their weakening against the run is the absence of Simmons, but may be due to DT Kyle Peko going on the IR last week. That left a duo of Jaleel Johnson and Quinton Bohanna manning the middle of the defense.

Seattle seemed to find something in the run game against the Eagles. Any semblance of a rushing attack would be a huge boon in this one. D.K. Metcalf has been asserting himself the past couple of months, and should have terrific match-ups in this one.

Geno Smith returning would create the potential for a more dynamic attack. Tennessee should not have enough defenders to matchup with the playmakers on the Seattle offense, especially if the Seahawks offensive line can win the battle in the middle.

Titans Offense vs Seahawks Defense

Titans key advantages on offense

Derrick Henry almost single-handedly beat the Seahawks a couple years back with 182 yards on 35 carries, and that was after he had been mostly shut down in the first half. He is having a less explosive year, and is nearing 30-years-old, but Seattle has struggled to tackle and Henry is hard to bring down.

Tannehill will start, and has struggled, but he’s going to revel the chance to prove he still is worthy of a starting spot. Hopkins gives him a dynamic target. Tyjae Spears can be a playmaker in space as well.

Seahawks key advantages on defense

The Titans lost their left tackle, Chris Hubbard to IR, and have turned to a 6th round rookie in Jaelyn Duncan to take over that spot. Duncan has struggled a lot. Dillon Radunz is not much better as a pass blocker on the right side. This should be a game where Boye Mafe finally gets back into the sack column after a drought. He was more productive last week.

Seattle has enough corners to slow down this receiving corps, even if Devon Witherspoon cannot play. Look for Michael Jackson to get more snaps again as they need every bit of physicality on the field against Henry.

Leonard Williams and Jarran Reed should have a favorable matchup inside.