The Tennessee Titans were expected to lose to the Dallas Cowboys in Week 17, and while they did just that, there was a silver lining to the losing effort.
The Titans, who entered this game at just about rock bottom, now have a reason for hope in a Week 18 do-or-die contest against the Jacksonville Jaguars for the division title.
The source of that hope?
Journeyman quarterback Joshua Dobbs, who stepped into the starting role just eight days after joining the team and provided an upgrade over rookie quarterback Malik Willis, who started the three previous games Ryan Tannehill missed, but without any success.
Adding to that, the Titans showed fight overall despite not having several key players and gave the Cowboys more of a run for their money than anyone anticipated.
Now, with Dobbs under center and the Titans set to get key players back on both sides of the ball, head coach Mike Vrabel and Co. have a much-needed head of steam going into the most important game of the year.
Having that kind of momentum is just one of four of the biggest takeaways from Week 17.
Joshua Dobbs should start Week 18
It took less than one half of football to realize that Dobbs gives this team a better chance to win in Week 18 than Malik Willis does.
Dobbs rans the offense much better than the rookie, was more decisive and accurate with his throws, and is simply capable of more at this stage in his career. He actually could’ve had an even better game if not for drops.
It certainly wasn’t all perfect, but one thing is clear: Dobbs should remain the starter for as long as the Titans are alive in 2022.
This isn't the end for Malik Willis
A lot of people are reading into Willis getting benched as a sign he might be a bust, but that talk is very premature. I get it, it’s a bad look to have Dobbs stroll in here and outperform Willis, but he’s also got six more years of development under his belt, so that was to be expected.
The truth is, Willis was never supposed to see the field in 2022 but was forced into action because of an injury to Ryan Tannehill, and because Tennessee never brought in a better, more experienced backup.
Making matters worse for the rookie signal-caller, the Titans have about as bad of a situation as a rookie quarterback can step into, stacking the deck even further against Willis.
Now, all of this isn’t to say that the Titans should blindly trust that Willis will be ready to take over in 2023, but we simply aren’t ready to write the Liberty product off just yet.
Self-inflicted wounds continue to be a problem
Along with playing poorly overall, the Titans simply haven’t been able to get out of their own way this season when it comes to self-inflicted wounds.
In Week 17, the Titans had 10 penalties for a whopping 124 yards, some of which was the result of bad calls, but some were just boneheaded decisions, like Tre Avery’s pass interference that netted the Cowboys 51 yards.
The Titans further shot themselves in the foot with a handful of drops and a pair of turnovers.
While the Cowboys are a good enough team to overcome multiple turnovers and mistakes like we saw on Thursday night, the Titans are simply not there. They have to clean things up ahead of Week 18.
Mission accomplished
Nobody expected the Titans to win in Week 17, so the biggest goal was gaining some semblance of momentum ahead of a do-or-die game versus Jacksonville.
Dobbs’ performance gives the Titans the hope they needed, and the fact that the team was able to show plenty of fight on both sides of the ball despite missing several key players was also encouraging.
The Titans aren’t entering Week 18 as world-beaters by any stretch, but there’s no doubt this team has more confidence than it did going into Thursday’s game.
