NASHVILLE — The Tennessee Titans' 16-15 loss to the New Orleans Saints on Sunday was not the way anybody was hoping or expecting the 2023 season to start.

After an eventful offseason and the most roster turnover in Titans history, there was a palpable buzz in Nashville for the "unveiling" of a new Titans team. But the Titans fell flat on their face. Ryan Tannehill threw three interceptions and Tennessee was one of five NFL teams to not score an offensive touchdown in Week 1 (Bengals, Giants, Cardinals, Texans). Talk about a buzz kill…

After such an underwhelming showing, it's easy to press the panic button. It's easy to lose faith. I'm here to tell you why you should not. Here's a few silver linings from an ugly game in NOLA.

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Same Old Titans?

Contrary to what you may want to believe or tell yourself, Sunday's loss was not another iteration of the "same old Titans" we've known for to past few years. In fact, it was a lot of the opposite. 

The 2022 Titans had few legitimate offensive weapons, a one-dimensional offense with a subpar play caller, were the third most injured team in the NFL (according to BUS), had a bad offensive line, kicker issues, did not rush the passer effectively, and road Derrick Henry way too often.

All things considered, Ryan Tannehill made the most of his situation in 2022 before going down with a season-ending ankle injury. 

But one thing I'm sure of is that the team we all watched on Sunday is not the same team that lost its final seven contests last fall. Are all of the problems fixed? Of course not, but Tennessee showed signs of improvement in many of the areas listed above.

Between Derrick Henry, Tyjae Spears, Treylon Burks, and DeAndre Hopkins, the Titans have plenty of weapons on offense. Seperation was not an issue in New Orleans the same way it was in 2022 – Ryan Tannehill just needs to make his throws. 

Tim Kelly's debut as offensive coordinator was…just okay. Again, the outlook on the Titans' offense is probably a lot different if Tannehill connects with a wide open Chig Okonkwo or Tyjae Spears for long touchdowns. On paper, 15 points and limited touches for Derrick Henry could be reason for criticism, but I think Kelly's scheme was creative and different enough from Todd Downing's to give me confidence in him moving forward.

In other good news, Titans' kicker Nick Folk went five-for-five in his 2023 debut and connected from 50 yards out on his first attempt of the season. A refreshing and reliable change from Randy Bullock. 

Tennessee's defensive front also got after Derek Carr, sacking Carr four times in the game (should have been five with the strip sack/fumble that was called incomplete). Arden Key is as advertised and the pass rush looks much improved.

The 2022 Titans had a starting quarterback that played well despite insufficient help around him. On Sunday, quarterback play was the main thing that did Tennessee in. If Ryan Tannehill doesn't have the worst game of his NFL career, the Titans are 1-0 right now. So no, one can not say this is the "same old Titans" from 2022.

Designed for Parity

Moments after the game ended in New Orleans, Titans right guard Daniel Brunskill was quick the remind his team about the unpredictable nature of Week 1.

In the NFL, it's not uncommon to see unexpected results in the first game of the season. In Week 1 of last year, the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Cincinnati Bengals (who finished 12-4), the Washington Commanders defeated the eventual AFC South champion Jacksonville Jaguars, and Brunskill's San Francisco 49ers lost to the Chicago Bears.

Chicago won the game 19-10, but finished the season 3-14. Meanwhile the 49ers would go on to play in the NFC Championship Game behind their third quarterback.

"It was similar situation," said Brunskill, comparing San Francisco's Week 1 loss to Tennessee's. "We had a young team, a lot of new guys to the team. At the end of the day, it’s the NFL. I think any team can go out there and beat any team, it doesn’t matter if you’re favored by 20 points or not."

"For a one point game to be decided, any play could have changed that outcome. We have a lot to clean up, if we can learn from those things, that’s what’s going to make the season great going froward," Brunskill continued. "The Niners learned a lot and they were able to change their season and go to the NFC Championship. Anything can happen. You can make things happen."

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Keeping in mind what the 49ers did last season and the shocking results we often see in Week 1 around the NFL, I asked Mike Vrabel on Monday why he believes there are more "surprising" results to open the season than later on in the year.

"Because this is a unique league. It's an 8-8 league. 9-8, however you want to put it now with 17 games. But that's what the structure is. The structure is designed for parity," Vrabel told me. "Maybe there's teams that are at full strength, or there's teams that maybe didn't quite prepare or somebody hit some plays that they didn't see in practice, or teams continue to get better as the season goes on. Maybe they threw a different coverage at somebody. The ball security, maybe there's some fumbles or in our case interceptions. The things that we talked about that would really hurt us that show up in week one. Just because you're playing 70 snaps and it's different than training camp and preseason."

There is no denying that playing NFL football in a regular season game is substantially different than practices and should take some getting used to. That's one reason I am such a firm believer in playing starters for some of the preseason.

It's also a reason for Titans fans to pump the brakes and realize that one game result is not an indicator of how your season will turn out.

Was the loss in New Orleans bad? Very. Titans fans have every right to be frustrated and concerned about their team. But if you're a fan looking for a silver lining, take these things to heart. There's still a lot of football left to be played.

Mike Vrabel is looking for the same Ryan Tannehill answers that Titans fans are

Vrabel is in the same boat.