COLUMN: The Titans Lost the Game That Didn't Count, Can They Win the One That Does?
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Titans lost the game that didn't count on Sunday. Are they good enough to win the one that does count next week? Outside of an obscure scenario involving the Colts, Sunday's game against the Saints did not affect the Titans' playoff chances one way or the other. In contrast, because […]
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Titans lost the game that didn't count on Sunday. Are they good enough to win the one that does count next week?
Outside of an obscure scenario involving the Colts, Sunday's game against the Saints did not affect the Titans' playoff chances one way or the other. In contrast, because the Jets beat the Steelers on Sunday, the Titans' Week 17 finale means everything.
If the Titans beat the Texans next week, they will be the AFC's sixth seed in the postseason.
It's fair to wonder, based on the Titans' performance against the Saints in Week 16, whether they will be able to get the job done.
THE TITANS' GOOD
Despite the loss, the Titans did accomplish a handful of good things in Sunday's game.
Tannehill, aside from some bad moments in the face of pressure, continued to play well.
His 36-yard touchdown pass to WR Tajaé Sharpe in the third quarter on a third-and-one was arguably his best play of the season.
While rolling to the right, he stopped to evade pressure and delivered a dart to Sharpe.
"He did a great job of navigating through all the traffic downfield because it was a mess on the far side," Sharpe said. "He just found me, and I was able to get out of the back door and score."
Sharpe was also a positive for the Titans on Sunday, and he has been for most of the season. He scored two touchdowns and continued to be a very reliable target on third down.
"Tajae's come up big for us," Tannehill said.
"He's a guy who's got a lot of range. He's long, he's got a great stride. He can do it all for us—we put him at every position. He really opens up a lot of things for us."
Another good development for the Titans came in the first half when offensive coordinator Arthur Smith did a great job of scheming around the fact that the Titans were without Derrick Henry, who was inactive due to a hamstring injury and "an organizational decision."
To make up for the lack of chunk plays spurred on by Henry's absence, Smith found ways to get the ball into the hands of the Titans other biggest big-play threats, WR A.J. Brown and TE Jonnu Smith
Brown recorded a 49-yard rushing touchdown on a reverse play in the first quarter, and Smith took an intermediate pass for a 41-yard score.
Perhaps the best—and most surprising—development for the Titans on Sunday was the emergence of OLB Derick Roberson. The rookie pass rusher who's spent a majority of this season on the practice squad burst onto the scene with 2.5 sacks.
THE BAD
There were, however, plenty of negative developments for the Titans as well.
Arguably the worst of those developments was head coach Mike Vrabel's decision-making just before halftime.
The Titans had the ball at their own 9-yard line with 2:05 left in the second quarter and three timeouts. After a chunk play that got a first down to the 24-yard line, the Titans elected to run the ball three straight times and drain the clock.
Vrabel, someone who frequently prides himself and his team on being "fast and aggressive," was meek in that situation.
"They were getting the football in the second half, and we just wanted to make sure that we were sound and smart with the football," Vrabel explained after the game.
"That's what the thinking was: you want to be smart with the football and score more points, but you also don't want to leave Drew Brees a couple of timeouts and 1:45."
The Titans' pass protection was also not very good. QB Ryan Tannehill was sacked five times and was running for his life for a good portion of the game.
While Tannehill admitted after the game that he could have and should have gotten rid of the ball on some of those plays, much of the blame falls on a poor performance from the Titans' offensive line.
"Two of those were from the call being different from what I was doing," LT Taylor Lewan said. "That's a miscommunication on my part, and I need to be a lot better."
"I need to do a better job of knowing what the call is."
Also concerning was the fact that the Titans weren't able to finish what they started, both offensively and defensively, in the first half.
The Titans quickly built a 14-3 lead in the second quarter and had several opportunities to build on that lead heading into halftime. They couldn't get it done.
As a result, the Saints climbed right back into the game and made the Titans pay. Before long, the Titans were the team trying to dig out of a hole.
"We got out to an early lead, and we couldn't sustain that through the second quarter," Tannehill said. "I think that's what hurt us.
"Yeah, we got out, but in the second quarter we've got to be better offensively and keep that momentum going."
THE VERDICT
A lot of the Titans' offensive problems should improve when Henry returns next week.
But Henry probably isn't going to make Lewan use the correct pass protection techniques. His return likely won't prompt Vrabel to not make sheepish in-game decisions.
Now that the Titans' 6-1 Cinderella stretch is over, we know exactly what they are: a competitive team with a handful of flaws.
Making the postseason will almost definitely require overcoming those flaws next week in Houston, a place the Titans have not won as a franchise since New Year's Day, 2012.
It's a tall task, and it's perhaps an unlikely one.
But if the good outweighs the bad, something that didn't happen for the Titans against the Saints, they certainly have a shot.
MORE:What's Behind the Transformation of the Titans Offense
Cover image: Christopher Hanewinckel/USA Today
