Jim Harbaugh praises Tennessee Titans for forcing fumbles

San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh looks on during the second quarter of the game against the Arizona Cardinals at Candlestick Park. The San Francisco 49ers defeated the Arizona Cardinals 32-20. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports

The Tennessee Titans are set to face off against another tough NFC West squad this week in the San Francisco 49ers, and 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh decided to send some praise in the Titans direction for their ability to force fumbles. Recovering fumbles is left to chance a lot of times (differences in hustle are only a small part of the equation), but forcing fumbles is a legitimate skill. Guys like Jason McCourty have a knack for knocking the ball loose, and the Titans have two players in Moise Fokou and Michael Griffin with two fumbles forced each. McCourty and Karl Klug have recovered fumbles for touchdowns as well.

Harbaugh stated that the Titans just might be the best team in the league at forcing fumbles and praised the Titans coaching, via the Sacramento Bee’s Matthew Barrows, “Probably the best team we’ve seen at stripping, clubbing, punching the ball out, creating turnover.Very physical, competitive secondary. A fine football team. Very well coached.”

According to Pro Football Reference, the Tennessee Titans defense has forced seven fumbles this season, and only three teams have recovered more fumbles than them. They were able to force an insane five fumbles in last week’s close loss to the Seattle Seahawks, and another excellent day of forcing fumbles could go a long way in actually pulling off this week’s upset bid of an NFC West team.

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