From 7-3 To 7-10....The Titans Choke Away The Division And A Playoff Spot To The Unimpressive Jaguars
What a way to go out for the Titans! On November 17th the Titans beat the Packers to improve to 7-3 and were in clear control of the AFC South. No way they weren't going to make the playoffs.
Fast forward to January 7th and the boys are planning golf trips and cleaning out their lockers. 7 straight losses to end the season at 7-10 and they are watching the Jaguars celebrate in Jacksonville as AFC South champions.
On November 17th the Jags were the team that was dead and waiting to be put out of its misery, welp, they pulled an Undertaker and came back alive. The Titans just didn't have it the last few weeks. Injuries to....well everyone. Lewan out at LT, Ben Jones out at C, Nate Davis out at RG, Ryan Tannehill out at QB, too many injuries to overcome. And when you realize they signed Josh Dobbs like 18 days ago and he is starting what is essentially a playoff game...not great! When Dobbs comes in and starts over Malik Willis, what does that say about the rookie.
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Derrick Henry did everything he could, he really did. But at the end of the day you're going to need more offense than the future Hall Of Famer. You need receivers you don't trade the to the Eagles. You need offensive linemen. It just wasn't in the cards for the Titans as they cough up the division. I thought the Titans defense was AWESOME for the most part, they really held the Jags playmakers and limited their big plays. But it just wasn't enough because the offense for Tennessee was super limited, especially in the second half.
I do want to give credit to Josh Dobbs. That dude balled out. He impressed me a TON with how he played the last 2 weeks in terribly difficult circumstances. Sure he had a pick and a fumble, both were tough plays. For him to come in from the Lions and make starts against 2 good defenses in the Cowboys and Jags in tough situations, he played his ass off.
And they had this game in check, they really did. Until the Jags D came alive in the 4th quarter. It wasn't Trevor Lawrence who missed SEVERAL open receivers for touchdowns, it was the Jags D who stood up and stood tall for the game changing play. The Jags offense was......not impressive. That is what hurts.
It's fitting that the Titans season basically ended with an unblocked defender coming off the edge. It's just perfect. Again, this was a team that was 7-3 and was making it work with what they had....to a team who had the most games missed due to injuries missing the playoffs at 7-10. It sucks because the window was there last year, and it's obviously slammed shut now. Tannehill isn't the guy, Willis isn't the guy, Todd Downing is an awful OC who should be fired, Vrabel is the man, Henry is the GOAT, and the defense needs to get better. Last year was the year to do something. Were they going to make a run through the AFC this year? Hell no. They were going to get a division champion T shirt and be home in a week. So it does suck they coughed up the division but this team wasn't going anywhere.
Tough end to what looked to be a promising season halfway through, but that is the Titans way. At least they have Derrick Henry. Now we root for the Jags to get their teeth kicked in because they truly didn't look that good tonight. 20-16, Titans lose in a real heartbreaker.