Sometimes, it's not how you start. It's how you finish. The Tennessee Titans would be the first to tell you that.

The Titans started the year 2-4. Hope was lost. Marcus Mariota didn't look like the answer. The offense was anemic. Mike Vrabel was going to have to wait until year three to make the playoffs.

Then, everything changed. The Titans sat Mariota, siding with the backup, Ryan Tannehill. That executive decision paid dividends. Tennessee is going to the postseason after a one-year hiatus.

With Tannehill at the helm, the Titans would proceed to win seven of their last 10. The 31-year-old once-Miami Dolphin would go on to look the part of one of the NFL's best, leading the league in passer rating entering Week 17 with a 116.5. His 130.8 passer rating in Sunday's win will only boost that.

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Now, the Titans are hot, despite losing two of their last three. They will face a team that many didn't expect to be in the wild card round: the New England Patriots, who don't have a first round bye for the first time since 2009.

Oh, how a few months can change everything. For a team that once looked the part of a bottom-dweller is in the playoffs. They have their quarterback of the future in Tannehill. They have the NFL's leading rusher in fourth-year back Derrick Henry. They have their coach in Vrabel.

However, for the Titans, now is not the time to rest. The Patriots are angry after dropping a must-win game to the Miami Dolphins. They will face them next weekend in Foxboro.