The curious case of the Tennessee Titans 2019 special teams

Reflecting on the Titans’ special teams performance in 2019, and what it means for 2020

When looking back on the Titans 2019 season, and particularly their special teams unit, you’re likely to remember one of two extremes– the frustrating, game-losing lows of the kicking game, or the elite, game-winning play from the rest of the group.

Tennessee’s special team’s group, whichever way you choose to remember it, was the NFL’s ultimate Jekyll and Hyde last season. Amazingly, for a team with a clearly defined team identity like the 2019 Tennessee Titans, they were simultaneously subject to two starkly different sides of the special team’s coin.

Highlight-reel peaks of blocked field goals and coffin corner punts could tend to get lost behind the valleys of, historically speaking, one of the worst team field goal kicking seasons in NFL history. Between the two, it could be argued that the Titans performance on both ends of the spectrum is unsustainable, and that next year the team will revert to a state somewhere in between those two extremes.

But here’s the million-dollar question: what does that mean the Titans’ special team’s unit will look like in 2020? Do those two extremes mean that Tennessee will look completely average across the board with their special team’s play? Or does one version of the Titans’ inconsistent play have a chance to sustain itself going forward while the other version dies out?

Special team’s groups are often the unsung heroes of some of the NFL’s greatest teams, and looking at whether or not the Titans can join those ranks in 2020 deserves a deep dive. So, let’s look at the good, the bad, and what it all means for next season’s team.