The Tennessee Titans found a way to lose yet another close game in Week 16, dropping their contest against the Seattle Seahawks, 20-17.
The Titans put up more of a fight than expected, considering how short-handed they were — and especially on defense — but in the end they just weren’t good enough to win once again.
On the bright side, the Titans will almost certainly improve their draft spot, which was at No. 9 going into this game.
Tennessee could finish the week as high as No. 5, which would put them in range to grab one of the top left tackles in the 2024 draft.
Because a win was the best result for a Titans team that desperately needs the highest draft pick possible, you could label the “losers” as actual “winners” for helping Tennessee fall on Sunday.
But we’ll stay the course and use our traditional method. Here’s a look at the Titans’ winners and losers from Week 16.
In between: The offensive line
Derrick Henry had plenty of room to run on Sunday, but pass protection was not good enough and that only made things worse for a rusty Ryan Tannhill. The group upfront had more false starts and gave up six sacks and several pressures, although a few were on Tannehill for holding the ball too long.
Loser: QB Ryan Tannehill
Tannehill looked rusty with some missed some throws and he failed to see a streaking Treylon Burks for what could’ve been a big play on a flea flicker.
He also held on to the ball too long in some instances, and especially on the final drive, which helped seal the game. Granted, pass protection wasn’t good, but Tannehill didn’t do much with what he was given, either.
Winner: RB Derrick Henry
After historically bad production in Week 15, Henry was the beneficiary of improved run-blocking, but he also ran the football much better.
His 88 rushing yards were the fifth-most he’s had in a game this season and he found the end zone twice, with one touchdown coming through the air.
Loser: CB Tre Avery
Avery was the victim on both of the Seahawks’ touchdown passes and one of them came on a play in which he committed a blatant pass interference. As if that wasn’t enough, he also committed a late DPI to put Seattle in position to score the game-winner that came against his coverage.
Of course, it was always going to be an uphill battle for Avery in what was a tough matchup. However, that doesn’t change the fact that he wasn’t able to step up when the Titans needed him to.
Winner: TE Chig Okonkwo
Chig had a team-high 63 yards and was on the receiving end of Henry’s pass, which was the first time the second-year tight end has found pay dirt this season.
After a brutal start to the year, Chig has found his stride lately and is now up to 458 receiving yards, a new single-season career-high for him.
