Just five weeks ago, the Tennessee Titans were a 7-3 team and in full control of the AFC South as they sat with a comfortable lead over the Jacksonville Jaguars and Indianapolis Colts.
Granted, nobody suspected the Titans of being world-beaters by any means and we all knew this was likely a one-and-done team, but at least Tennessee would have a puncher’s chance with a home playoff game.
Fast forward those five weeks and the Titans have lost five games in a row, fallen out of first place, and are on the verge of one of the more epic collapses fans will ever see.
The latest body blow came in Week 16 when the Titans allowed the one-win Houston Texans to notch a victory at Nissan Stadium that included a fourth-quarter comeback.
As we pick up the pieces from the Mike Vrabel era-worst fifth-straight loss, here are some of the biggest takeaways from it.
It wasn't all Malik Willis' fault
Willis didn’t show much (if any) progress in Week 16, but it would be foolish to blame the offense’s poor showing all on him.
Yes, the rookie signal-caller impeded the offense from hitting its incredibly low ceiling, but it’s tough to get on him when we fully expected the raw signal-caller to struggle if given a chance in his first year.
It’s simply an unfair situation for the rookie to be in, plain and simple.
He isn’t ready, his offensive line can’t block and commits too many turnovers, his wide receivers stink, and his play-caller simply refuses to utilize Willis’ best asset right now, which is his running ability.
The experience of starting two more games will be invaluable for the rookie, but on the flip side it’ll be tough to gauge much knowing everything Willis must overcome, which includes himself.
Derrick Henry has a fumbling problem
Henry had one of the biggest blunders of Saturday’s loss when he coughed up the football in Houston territory early in the fourth quarter, thwarting a potential scoring drive for Tennessee.
The fumble also set the Texans up with good field position, which they turned into three points to trim the Titans’ lead to 14-13.
But Henry’s fumbling issues go beyond just Week 16. The Alabama product has six fumbles all season, but four of them have come in the last three contests. And, he has lost three of those four in that span.
As head coach Mike Vrabel said after the game, the Titans just aren’t built to be able to overcome such mistakes. Henry has to get this situation figured out.
Jack Gibbens one of few bright spots
The two biggest standouts on defense on Saturday were Denico Autry and Jack “Dr. Gibby” Gibbens. Of course, Autry making a major impact is nothing new, but Gibbens was a surprise.
After Zach Cunningham suffered yet another elbow injury and exited the game, the 2022 UDFA was deployed and did a fantastic job.
Not only did he notch Tennessee’s lone turnover with a pick, he also made some big tackles, including one to stop Rex Burkhead from scoring a touchdown on the drive after Henry’s fumble.
It remains to be seen if Cunningham will play again this season, but even if he does, Gibbens has earned the right for an extended look moving forward. Should Cunningham sit, the starting job should be Dr. Gibby’s.
The good and the bad of the offensive line
The Titans were missing their two-best starters going into Week 16, with both Nate Davis and Ben Jones on injured reserve. If anything, we thought there would be disastrous showings in their stead, but that wasn’t the case.
If you don’t hear an offensive lineman’s name for an entire game, that’s usually a good thing. Well, that was the case with replacements Jordan Roos and Corey Levin, who started at right guard and center, respectively.
Meanwhile, Dennis Daley did his best impression of a statue on one sack, and Nicholas Petit-Frere allowed another one, negated a 20-yard play with a penalty, and ultimately exited early due to injury.
Titans are in big trouble (and that's putting it nicely)
Let’s be real here: things are extremely bleak for the Titans right now.
Their already struggling and banged-up offense is now run by a young signal-caller who still needs more time to develop, and, despite its best efforts, the defense can’t limit opponents enough to make the offense’s typically awful showings stand-up.
Now, the Titans have a matchup against one of the better teams in the NFL in the Dallas Cowboys in Week 17, a game they almost certainly will lose.
Yes, it’s a meaningless game, but the Titans desperately need a win in order to give themselves at least a bit of a head of steam going into a winner-take-all Week 18 matchup against a Jacksonville Jaguars team that is better.
At this point, the Titans not winning the division and missing the playoffs is more likely than not. My, how far we’ve come.
