The Tennessee Titans have made the NFL playoffs in three of the last four seasons, including one visit to the AFC Championship. None of these Titans teams are ever going to blow you away on paper, but once the season begins things just seem to click. Things really got going in 2019 after the Titans traded for Ryan Tannehill, their now franchise quarterback. The Titans have to be shocked by the production from Tannehill, but he has been helped in large part by some elite offensive weapons and a solid offensive line.
Running back Derrick Henry and wide receiver A.J. Brown have both developed into elite players at their respective positions. Now add Julio Jones to the mix and find it's hard pressed to find a better trio of weapons on offense. The offensive line should be about average and the defense will likely finish in the bottom 20 again. We know what to expect out of the offensive weapons, the line, and the defense for the most part. That brings us to our X Factor in Tennessee.
Titans X Factor: Ryan Tannehill
Tannehill may have just recently broken out into a top quarterback, but he isn't exactly a young up and coming guy. He is now 33-years old and entering his 9th NFL season. There's no doubt the talent is there and no doubt he's had his best seasons of his career recently, but now Tannehill has to prove he can do this consistently. The Titans have the team to make another run at the Chiefs in the AFC, but is Ryan Tannehill for sure the franchise quarterback the Titans have lacked for a long time?
With the addition of Julio Jones, the offense is among the best in the NFL in terms of talent. Derrick Henry, A.J. Brown, Julio Jones, and Anthony Firsker will need to be led by Ryan Tannehill. Before being acquired by Tennessee, Tannehill was your typical stat padding quarterback who couldn't actually win when it mattered most. Tannehill would give you 4,000 yards with 25 touchdowns but somehow never could get past 8-8. Basically, Tannehill was the Kirk Cousins of 2014.
The Titans will also need Tannehill to step up because it doesn't seem like Tennessee has the defense to pick up a slumping quarterback. The Titans were the only team to finish in the bottom ten for points allowed and still make the playoffs last year. The same thing could very well happen again this season but is getting to the playoffs still enough? The expectation for a team that just went all in for Julio Jones, the best wide receiver of the last decade, should be meeting Kansas City for a rematch in the conference championship. Most people are talking about the Bills or the Ravens as the second best AFC team behind the Chiefs, but the Titans are ready to surprise everyone once again.
We all know Derrick Henry will play like a top three running back in the NFL. We all know how good A.J. Brown and Julio Jones will be. The big question on offense is how far will Ryan Tannehill take them? If the Titans want to have another crack at the Super Bowl then Tannehill will absolutely need to step up once again.
Follow Us
Subscribe