Reflecting on the Ryan Tannehill Era for the Tennessee Titans
Conclusion
The Ryan Tannehill era will go down as a very polarizing one for the Tennessee Titans. He provided a spark of hope in the first few years but ultimately failed to lead this team where they wanted to go, which was winning a Super Bowl.
Ultimately, hoisting a Lombardi is the only thing that really matters as it pertains to team success, and the fact that he was not good enough to do so is something that his defenders like myself will have to live with. But let's take a step back and realize that what he accomplished in Nashville is nothing to scoff at.
Tannehill passed for 13959 yards, 91 touchdowns, and just 39 interceptions in about four total years starting. His overall passer rating of 98.0 goes down as first among all starting quarterbacks in Titans history to this date, so overall, his individual performance was arguably the best of any quarterback who has played in Tennessee.
Aside from that, the overall team had some of the most success they have ever had with Tannehill as starting quarterback.
Under him, the Titans had appearances in two AFC Wildcard games, two AFC Divisional games, and one AFC Championship appearance. They also won two AFC South titles, and easily would have had a third straight had he not gotten injured in 2022.
Just as a reminder this team had not won their division since 2008 before they won it in 2020 with Tannehill.
Lots of Titans fans do not want to hear this, but that is quite a good tenure of accomplishments for any quarterback. As much as it might be cliched, the reality is that winning in the NFL at all is hard, and while he did not win the ultimate prize, Tannehill won way more than he lost in Nashville.
Once again, none of this is saying he was elite, that is not who he is or ever was expected to be. But you can be very solid without being elite, and for as high of expectations as we have developed for NFL starting quarterbacks, Tannehill accomplished way more than many in the NFL have ever been able to.
I truly implore Titans fans to let go of recency bias and realize how fortunate they were to have Tannehill. Under him, they truly had hope when they had endured nothing but pain and frustration for about a decade beforehand, and no hope or playoff wins ever happen if he is not under center.
If Tannehill is under center again this season, he truly deserves all the support from the fanbase, as he has given it everything he has had and then some, and shown great toughness, especially through the injuries.
No matter what happens from here on out, he deserves all the love and appreciation for his contributions to a Titans team that legitimately had a chance to win it all. Thank you for everything 17, thank you for re-igniting an all but broken fanbase and one of the most fun and most memorable stretches in Titans history, and hang your head high for the value of your contributions.