Titans alarming Week 1 trend Mike Vrabel can’t keep ignoring
NASHVILLE — After losing to the New Orleans Saints by a score of 16-15 in the 2023 season opener, the Tennessee Titans can no longer ignore an alarming Week 1 trend. Titans starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill was 16-for-34 with 198 passing yards, no touchdowns, and three interceptions on Sunday. It was his first game with […]
NASHVILLE — After losing to the New Orleans Saints by a score of 16-15 in the 2023 season opener, the Tennessee Titans can no longer ignore an alarming Week 1 trend.
Titans starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill was 16-for-34 with 198 passing yards, no touchdowns, and three interceptions on Sunday. It was his first game with zero touchdowns and three interceptions since he was a rookie in 2012. By passer rating, it was the worst performance of Tannehill's career.
In Tannehill's NFL debut, his passer rating was 39.0. Last season in Buffalo, it was 32.7. On Sunday, it was an abysmal 28.8.
While Tannehill's day on Sunday was truly an all-time low, Tennessee's Week 1 struggles as an offense are nothing new.
With Ryan Tannehill as the starting quarterback and Mike Vrabel as the head coach, the Titans are 1-3 in Week 1 games and are averaging just 16 points per game in those openers. But as we all know, Tennessee is still adamant about not playing their starters during the preseason.
2020: Titans 16, Broncos 14
2021: Cardinals 38, Titans 13
2022: Giants 21, Titans 20
2023: Saints 16, Titans 15
The correlation between not having starters take preseason snaps and the lackluster regular season starts on offense can no longer be ignored. Especially when your quarterback looks as uncomfortable as Tannehill did on Sunday.
Outside of the three interceptions, Tannehill missed two wide open receivers down the field that could have resulted in long touchdowns. Tight end Chig Okonkwo and running back Tyjae Spears were both running free, but Tannehill was out of rhythm and let the opportunities go to waste.
Tannehill has never thrown a pass in the preseason with the Titans when he was slated to be the team's starting quarterback. In 2023, Tannehill took three snaps against the New England Patriots, but handed the ball off all three times.
The Titans' starting quarterback said after the game that a lack of preseason reps was not a factor in his performance. But, if you ask me, the numbers speak for themselves.
The Titans defense was exceptional on Sunday. Could the game have been changed by some bad calls going Tennessee's way? For sure. But this one rests primarily on Tannehill's shoulders.
It's time for Mike Vrabel and the Titans to learn from the past and react accordingly. Preseason reps matter, and that has never been more clear than right now.
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