The Tennessee Titans had an uncharacteristic showing in 2022 when it came to penalties, as they were one of the most undisciplined teams in the league in that area.
Under head coach Mike Vrabel, the Titans have usually been good at avoiding a ton of penalties, but that was not the case this past season.
In fact, according to The Football Database, the Titans were tied for the fourth-most penalties (111) in 2022, and they ranked second in penalty yardage surrendered with 956.
Tennessee wasn’t much better the year prior with 103 penalties in 2021, but that ranked tied for 18th. In the three years prior, the Titans finished with 82, 99 and 86 from 2018-20, respectively. It’s important to note, however, that those seasons had 16 games.
Even with those showings the last two years, the Titans remain one of the more disciplined teams in the NFL since 2018.
According to Thomas Leary of Bet Massachusetts, Tennessee has committed a total of 481 penalties since Vrabel’s first year, the 10th-fewest in the NFL. That’s an average of 96.2 per year.
Especially on offense, the penalties always seemed to come at the very worst times. Now, that’s not to say there’s ever a good time for a penalty, but the Titans’ struggling offense had a knack for destroying drives with them, setting back a unit that could ill-afford anymore roadblocks.
The good news is, a historically-disciplined Vrabel squad has a good chance to rebound in the penalties department in 2023. If not, hopefully the Titans have a better offense to overcome them.
