It has been a season of lost opportunities for the Tennessee Titans, and their legacy will be that they wrapped up last place in the AFC South for the first time since 2015.
On Sunday, the Tennessee Titans lost by three points at home for the second consecutive week in their building. In the past, close games like that would usually go the Titans' way, but this fan base shouldn't have any confidence in this team winning close games anymore.
Last week, the club fell in overtime to the rival Houston Texans, 19-16. This past weekend, Mike Vrabel’s club (with Ryan Tannehill at quarterback) had taken a 17-13 lead over the Seattle Seahawks with 3:21 to play thanks to a Derrick Henry two-yard touchdown run and a Nick Folk PAT.
It wouldn’t last long as Geno Smith and the Seattle offense marched 75 yards on 14 plays. The drive concluded with a five-yard TD pass to reserve tight end Colby Parkinson with 57 ticks remaining. The 20-17 setback dropped the team’s record to 5-10. For the first time since 2014 and ’15, the franchise has posted back-to-back seasons with double-digit losses.
It’s been a year full of nailbiters for the Titans, and the majority of them have resulted in less-than-memorable outcomes. All told, 10 of Tennessee’s 15 games have been decided by seven points or less, and Vrabel’s team is 4-6 in those contests.
In their last four games, the Titans have lost by three points in overtime to the Colts, stunned the Dolphins, 28-27, dropped an overtime decision to Houston, and now have this three-point loss to the Seahawks. All told, the team has played three OT games in 2023, defeating the L.A. Chargers, 27-24, back in Week 2 at Nashville.
Back to the recent losses to Houston and Seattle. These followed the Monday night comeback victory at Miami. That victory raised the club’s record to 5-8 and with three home games in the last four weeks, there was still time to salvage a winning season. In fact, the way the AFC South is playing out, a division title would have not been so far-fetched if this team had just played without the poor decision-making and mental errors.
Instead, the team’s offense disappeared to the tune of a combined 33 points with only three touchdowns. Quarterbacks Will Levis (7) and Tannehill (6) were sacked a total of 13 times by the Texans and Seahawks, respectively.
Opportunities lost, indeed.