The Tennessee Titans picked up an upset victory on Sunday, defeating the Cleveland Browns 31-29 in Week 14. It was the first contest of the season to feature complimentary Titans football in all three phases. Rookie quarterback Cam Ward enjoyed his first multi-touchdown passing game as he defeated longtime friend and competitor Shedeur Sanders in their first head-to-head matchup.
The Titans scored their first opening-possession TD of the campaign. The defense forced multiple second-half turnovers, including an Xavier Woods interception of Sanders. On special teams, James Williams Sr. blocked a punt that was recovered by Mike Brown. Every unit contributed.
The win had a dramatic impact on the Titans' projected 2026 NFL Draft positioning. Entering the Sunday, the Titans were slated to own the top selection. The victory dropped them to No. 3 overall in the real-time draft order, which could eventually hurt Mike Borgonzi's rebuild.
Week 14 win over Browns drops Titans to No. 3 in NFL Draft order at worst possible time
On Saturday, the nation watched Indiana upset Ohio State to claim their first outright Big Ten Championship since 1945. The Hoosiers now enter the College Football Playoff as the No. 1 seed. Starting quarterback Fernando Mendoza looked like a signal-caller capable of going No. 1 overall in the NFL Draft.
The Titans obviously see Ward as their franchise quarterback. If Mendoza continues performing admirably throughout the CFP, he'll position himself as the potential top selection. The Titans could have traded that pick to the highest bidding QB-needy team. The New York Giants, who have Jaxson Dart, are now positioned to possibly do the same after moving up to No. 1 overall.
The Las Vegas Raiders also jumped the Titans in the draft order to No. 2 overall. The Raiders have dropped seven consecutive contests, and ironically haven't won a game since defeating the Titans in Week 6.
The Giants, Raiders, and Titans are all 2-11. Because the Titans' schedule has been historically difficult, their strength of schedule (.573, per Tankathon) has them losing every tiebreaker to the Giants and Raiders.
The Titans need to lose more games than the Raiders and Giants do the rest of the way to climb back above them in the draft order. It's worth acknowledging the Raiders and Giants play each other in Week 17. Sunday's Titans victory over the Browns was refreshing, but the long-term merit can be debated.