Tennessee Titans vs. Dallas Cowboys: Our scouting report, score prediction
The Tennessee Titans have lost more consecutive games than their next opponent has lost all season. That's not usually a great recipe for a slump buster.
The Titans (7-8) will try to end their five-game losing streak against the Dallas Cowboys (11-4) from Nissan Stadium on Thursday (7:15 p.m., NewsChannel 5, Amazon Prime Video). This game doesn't affect the playoff picture for the Titans: Win or lose against the Cowboys, they can still only make the postseason with a Week 18 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. So it wouldn't be a surprise if Titans coach Mike Vrabel rests some of his banged-up star contributors against the Cowboys, especially on a short week.
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The Cowboys are coming off a win against the team with the NFL's best record. The Titans are reeling from a loss against the team with the NFL's worst record. Few teams throw the ball and rush the passer as well as the Cowboys do, lining up advantageously against areas where the Titans have been especially weak.
Here is The Tennessean's scouting report and score prediction for Titans vs. Cowboys.
Titans offense vs. Cowboys defense
The Cowboys have the third-most sacks in the NFL, rank second in sacks per pass attempt and pressure opposing quarterbacks on 24% of their dropbacks. The Titans give up sacks on 10% of their dropbacks, the third-worst rate in the NFL, and have relented 19 sacks during the five-game losing streak.
If the Titans can stay ahead of the chains, though, this might not matter. The Cowboys run defense hasn't been great this year, ranking No. 21 in yards allowed per carry and No. 22 in yards allowed per game. They've allowed 150+ rush yards in five games this season, including losses to the Jaguars, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Green Bay Packers.
If Titans running back Derrick Henry plays -- he's on the injury report this week with a hip issue -- he'll have an opportunity to put up big numbers. But with or without him, the Titans' struggling passing attack and offensive line will have a huge disadvantage against edge rusher Micah Parsons and the Cowboys' front.
Titans defense vs. Cowboys offense
The Cowboys' dominant running back tandem of Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard might have a tough time running against the Titans' defense, which ranks second in the NFL in rush yards allowed per play and per game. But that might not matter given how the Titans' secondary has played, and how many players could be missing.
During the losing streak, the Titans are giving up more than 300 passing yards per game. Starting defensive backs Kristian Fulton and Amani Hooker are both on the injury report. Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott threw for a season-high 347 yards against the Philadelphia Eagles on Saturday and could be poised for a repeat type of performance, especially since the Titans' pass rush has had a tougher time getting to quarterbacks in the second half of the season than it did early.
Score prediction
Cowboys 28, Titans 13: The Titans offense isn't good enough to make the Cowboys play four full quarters. Dallas should be able to slow things down and pack things up in the second half, especially if they're going against the Titans' B-unit of starters.
Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at nsuss@gannett.com. Follow Nick on Twitter @nicksuss.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee Titans vs. Dallas Cowboys: Scouting report, score prediction
