Most Valuable Player: The Defense
I know, I know, it’s kind of a cop-out to choose an entire side of the ball as a team’s Most Valuable Player, but how exactly can you choose just one guy out of this group when we know great defense is the effort of many, and not just one?
The Titans defense is the only reason this team is even thinking about making a playoff run this season. Despite horrific offensive play for much of the first half of the season, the Titans defense has continued to play at a high level and is one of the best in the NFL in 2019.
Granted, Tennessee’s ranks against the pass (16th) and run (12th) don’t necessarily jump off the page at you, but this unit has kept the Titans in games by allowing just 16.9 points per game, the fourth-best mark in the league this season. Only one team has scored more than 20 points against Tennessee’s defense, also.
Adding to that, the Titans are forcing three-and-outs 38.1 percent of the time (fourth-best) and are one of the best third-down defenses, allowing an opposing success rate of 33.3 percent (sixth-best). And let’s not forget their incredible goal line stand that led the Titans to victory in Week 7.
The Titans would be heading for a top-five pick without their defense, and there is simply no arguing that.