Titans shouldn't be shy about how badly they need to lose to Texans in Week 18 for the future of the franchise
The future of the Titans franchise is in the balance in Week 18, and everybody knows it.
It's all about your quarterback.
That's just the way it works in the modern NFL. No team has learned that lesson the hard way like the Tennessee Titans, who have endured QB play that's ranged from mediocre to catastrophic for the majority of the season. Luckily for them, Week 17 went as well for their draft stock as it possibly could. Tennessee lost to the Jacksonville Jaguars to jump into the 3rd spot, and then the New York Giants pulled a surprise upset over the Indianapolis Colts which moved the Titans up to the 2nd overall pick.
They now sit behind only the Patriots in the draft order, a team who has found their QB of the future in Drake Maye. There's also a chance that the Patriots win this week against the Bills who will rest their starters, vaulting the Titans all the way up to the 1st overall selection in April.
The Stakes
But all of this hinges on the Titans losing in Week 18 at home against the Houston Texans. This one game is all that stands between them and likely landing QB1 in the 2025 draft. Win on Sunday, and you fall down into the 5-7 range. Lose, and you're either picking 1st or 2nd.
The stakes for the future of the Titans franchise couldn't be higher. They must lose. Fans know it. Titans leadership knows it. QB flexibility in an offseason where you reportedly consider figuring out QB to be "Job No. 1" is on the line, and it matters infinitely more than any justification for a win here.
And that's why the Titans shouldn't be shy about needing to lose this week.
Put Your Cards On The Table
Of course, you can't just come out and say it. Why? Well, that's just the way the NFL works. Admittedly tanking is taboo. It goes against the culture of the league. It breaks the game of the meritocracy the league is built upon. In many instances, it's a great way to sow discord in a locker room or amongst your staff. People in this profession are paid to win. They're wired to want to win. It's a touchy subject!
But the pomp and circumstance of it all is silly at times. And for the Titans… these are those times! Everybody understands what's up here. We all know what's at stake. We all know what's in the backs of the minds of each coach, front office executive, and the owner of the team: the pick.
This is the rare situation in which there is no real reason to be coy besides the appearance of it all. Especially with the state of this QB draft class and the free agents who will be available, their hand is almost forced in needing to lose this game. One side of this pro's and con's chart is too overwhelming to deny.
So you'll never hear a coach or a player come out and openly admit to wanting to lose. You just can't say it. But you can do it. It can't be obvious; you can't ask players to take a dive, or to intentionally miss a pass, or call a play that makes no sense in the structure of the game. It's a much more delicate dance.
A Delicate Dance
You have to control what you can control as a staff: who is on the field. This is the way in which the Titans should shamelessly demonstrate their intentions this week.
The Titans are already set up nicely to turn Week 18 into a quasi-preseason game with who they had shut down for injury and who was in the game as backup. Again, you can't just bench Jeffery Simmons and Tony Pollard for no reason. You have to play the game, so to speak. So you look for reasons to keep key players out.
The best course of action is easy: labeling all your moves as just trying to get banged-up cornerstone pieces into their offseason, and looking to see as much from young depth players as you can before the year is up.
The shining first step has thankfully already been put in place by Head Coach Brian Callahan, who announced at his Monday press conference that Will Levis and Mason Rudolph will both be getting snaps against the Texans.
Rotating QBs in the NFL doesn't achieve the aim of winning games, which of course is the point here. You dress it up as wanting to evaluate both and give them both a chance to show off at the end of the year, but the real reason for doing it is obvious.
Coming off of Week 17, you finished the game with 3 of your 5 offensive linemen as backups and/or playing out of position. Perfect. RB Tony Pollard was ruled out before the game with his weeks-long ankle injury, and RB Tyjae Spears left the game with a concussion. There's no reason to bring either of them back for the finale.
On the defensive side of the ball, S Amani Hooker and LB Otis Reese were already down last week, so you keep them down. You can rotate out LB Luke Gifford, who is a rotational depth piece who has been playing quite well the past two weeks, for Jerome Baker or rookies Cedric Gray and James Williams in the name of getting unproven guys some run. DT T'Vondre Sweat has been said to be battling through some nagging injuries for weeks. Perhaps you can justify shutting him down to heal. And maybe his counterpart Jeffery Simmons has some nagging issues of his own, like the elbow ligament he didn't get surgery on when he first tore it midseason.
These are all rational, reasonable suggestions on how to lose this game. They are things the Titans can and should be doing this week to ensure it happens. A key part in this is Brian Callahan, and to a lesser extent Ran Carthon, feeling secure in their jobs. You can't operate like this if there is any chance you're coaching for your livelihood in Week 18. However based on what we've heard reported so far, it seems this isn't something that's in question right now. It stands to reason that Amy Adams Strunk, who is no fool, understands the situation at hand. And surely she herself is enticed by the prospect of drafting 1st or 2nd overall.
Is it a bit bold? Can it be read as a bit shameless? Sure. But what shame have the Titans not already endured this season? One last week, this time doing something that's actually helpful for their future, won't hurt.
