Tennessee Titans vs. Miami Dolphins: Prediction, preview, pick to win

TENNESSEE TITANS (2-2) AT MIAMI DOLPHINS (1-2)

GAME SNAPSHOT

KICKOFF: Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, Hard Rock Stadium. TV: Andrew Catalon, James Lofton, Chris Fischer (field reporter).

SERIES HISTORY: 36th regular-season meeting. Dolphins lead series, 19-16. The Titans, who were off to a 1-3 start last year, jump-started their 2016 season with a 30-17 win over the Dolphins in Miami. It helped spark the team to a 9-7 mark overall, their first winning season in five years.

GAME PLAN: The Titans say they have two game plans ready on offense -- one tailored for Marcus Mariota and another for Matt Cassel. The Cassel game plan obviously would eliminate the read option, though, even if Mariota could play, the Titans likely would not want him risking reinjury of the hamstring on running plays. If Cassel gets the call, the Titans have to run the ball effectively and keep him out of long-yardage situations.

Defensively, the Titans have to do a better job of covering receivers after being shredded by DeShaun Watson last week. A good pass rush would certainly help matters. It will be interesting to see how often the Titans elect to be aggressive up front and leave their struggling cornerbacks in single coverage.

Miami's offense must find a way to get touchdowns. Forget about baby steps, which would be getting in field-goal position, something the Dolphins have done only once in the past two games. Miami needs touchdowns and it doesn't matter whether they come from quarterback Jay Cutler, running back Jay Ajayi, the wide receivers or tight ends. The Dolphins must find something that works offensively.

MATCHUPS TO WATCH:

--Titans WR Rishard Matthews and TE Delanie Walker vs. Dolphins CB Cordrea Tankersley. Miami has been bad at pass defense. Opposing QBs have a 112.4 passer rating, making Miami 30th in the NFL, along with four touchdowns and no interceptions. Matthews and the Pro Bowl TE Walker are capable of doing damage against a suspect unit.

--Dolphins WRs Jarvis Landry, DeVante Parker and Kenny Stills vs. Titans CBs Adoree' Jackson, Logan Ryan and LeShaun Sims/Brice McCain. If Jay Cutler can get them the football, these receivers will test the Titans' beleaguered secondary that struggled mightily against Houston's receivers. Numerous slant routes and other patterns designed to use their size and speed burned the Titans repeatedly last Sunday, and the Titans will continue to see some form of it until they stop it.

FRIDAY INJURY REPORT

TENNESSEE TITANS

--Out: S Johnathan Cyprien (hamstring), WR Corey Davis (hamstring)

--Questionable: QB Marcus Mariota (hamstring)

MIAMI DOLPHINS

--Questionable: DE Terrence Fede (shoulder), CB Xavien Howard (shoulder), LB Mike Hull (shoulder), CB Byron Maxwell (hamstring, foot), DT Jordan Phillips (ankle)

PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: Dolphins SS Reshad Jones. The 2015 Pro Bowl selection has gotten off to a slow start marked by uncharacteristic missed tackles, many of them arm tackles, and poor angles on ballcarriers. Jones' pass defense has been below expectations, too. In the big picture, there's no concern. Jones is a quality player. But this is a defense that needs to make game-winning plays to help a struggling offense, so Jones must be better.

FAST FACTS: Titans QB Marcus Mariota ran for two TDs last week before suffering a hamstring injury. He threw for three TDs and no INTs and also rushed for 60 yards and a TD in his last game vs. Miami. ... Titans RB DeMarco Murray has 384 scrimmage yards (128 per game) in the past three meetings. Since 2013, he leads the NFL with 38 rushing TDs & ranks second with 5,170 rushing yards. ... Miami QB Jay Cutler has completed 35 of 47 (74.5 percent) with five TDs and no INTs in two games vs. Tennessee. ... Miami RB Jay Ajayi ran for a TD in the last meeting. In his past seven home games, he has 727 rushing yards (103.9 per game) and five TDs. His five 100-yard games since 2016 are tied for sixth in the NFL. ... Miami LB Kiko Alonso had 12 tackles in the last meeting. He leads the team with 21 tackles.

PREDICTION: The Dolphins have scored six points in the last two games, or 51 fewer than the Titans allowed last week in a nightmarish display in Houston. Even if Mariota does not play, the Titans have to figure out a way to win this game if they are going to be a playoff contender this season.

OUR PICK: Titans, 20-17.

--Bucky Dent