Tennessee Titans not feeling national love entering 2022
The Tennessee Titans were the AFC’s top seed last year, and now many pundits don’t see a playoff team. Is the judgement of Tennessee fair?
One year, getting a bye week in the AFC playoffs. Next year … watching it all from home?
This seems to be the message from many national pundits entering the 2022 NFL regular season regarding the Tennessee Titans, despite employing the same head coach, quarterback, running back, offensive line and defensive stars.
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No, the Titans aren’t a completely different team with a bunch of departures via free agency and retirements. The only significant player going out was receiver A.J. Brown, who was traded for a first-round pick to the Philadelphia Eagles, with that choice becoming Arkansas star Treylon Burks.
So why the sweeping feeling of sell, sell, sell on the Titans? A few things.
For starters, it’s impossible to believe in quarterback Ryan Tannehill. After winning a pair of playoff games in 2019 — in which he threw for less than 200 combined yards — Tannehill is 0-2 in the postseason with a pair of ugly home losses. Last year, the Titans saw their season end with Tannehill throwing three interceptions, with two coming on the first and last offensive plays of the game for Tennessee.
In the regular season, Tannehill threw for 21 touchdowns against 14 interceptions. It’s hard to see the Titans winning 12 games again with their quarterback having such a ratio, especially without Brown on the outside to threaten defenses.
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Additionally, can Derrick Henry bounce back and stay healthy? Henry only played eight games last year after dealing with a foot injury that kept him out for a majority of the campaign. Now 28 years old and with 900 regular-season carries since the start of 2019, can Tennessee continues to rely on what has been the engine of its offense in the Tannehill era?
Finally, how good are the Titans in comparison to the rest of the AFC? Last year, they handled the Kansas City Chiefs and beat the Buffalo Bills, the two top teams in many eyes for both last season and the upcoming one. Can they do it again? Additionally, there’s also the Bengals and Baltimore Ravens to consider, along with the improved Indianapolis Colts (in the AFC South, no less) and the entire AFC West.
Perhaps Tennessee can make another run to a top postseason perch and this time finish the job in January. And if the Titans do, they’ll leave plenty of doubters in their wake.
