The Tennessee Titans season has unofficially been over for more than a week, but that hasn't stopped some people from trying to find the positive in the season.
To be fair, there are a few positives from his season that Tennessee Titans fans should be a little excited by. Harold Landry looks like he is back to 100% and that means that the Titans pass rush in 2024 should have their star EDGE back.
Similarly, Denico Autry is having a career season and if the Tennessee Titans want to bring him back for another season they would have one of the best EDGE trios in the NFL with Landry, Autry, and Arden Key. Speaking of Key, he has quietly gotten to six sacks this season, and he looks like he can be a nice piece for this roster going forward.
Throw in the development of young players like Roger McCreary, Will Levis, Chig Okonkwo, and Tyjae Spears, and this isn't a complete black hole of a season.
However, one "positive" that I can't stand, and one that you shouldn't tolerate, is that the Tennessee Titans are close to being a good team because they have lost so many one-score games.
Tennessee Titans coaches have to stop praising losses
On Tuesday, Mike Vrabel once again discussed the one-score losses from this season:
#Titans HC Mike Vrabel on all the one-score losses: I think we're close, we've been close a lot of times. ... We've just had too many plays that get you beat
— Jim Wyatt (@jwyattsports) December 26, 2023
The truth is, they aren't close. Next year the Titans are going to have to find 11 new starters and part of that is because of Jon Robinson and part of that is because Mike Vrabel and Ran Carthon gave out so many one-year contracts last season for some reason. That got them through 2023, but it didn't make them better and it didn't solve any problems.
When you look at the point differential, the Tennessee Titans have the 9th-worst point differential over the last two seasons (-108) and the 8th-worst point differential this season (-47).
Every team in the NFL plays close games, that is why you see single-digit point spreads from Las Vegas every week. No team in the NFL is predicted to lose games by 9 or more points each week, which means that every team can say "Well if we just won the close games we would have been in the playoffs!"
Everyone knows that the NFL is a league that sells parity and hope, and that is exactly what is happening with the Tennessee Titans right now.
If you want to be hopeful, be excited about Will Levis and what he might look like if Ran Carthon can have a competent offseason (whether Mike Vrabel is still around or not). All of the cap space and a high draft pick should get fans excited, but this nonsense about playing close games has got to stop. It is pure "copium" and fans have got to stop framing close losses like they are good things.