The big story in the Chiefs’ Week 10 game against the Titans was supposed to be the return of Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes after the reigning NFL Most Valuable Player missed two games with a dislocated kneecap. Mahomes did his best upon his return, riddling Tennessee’s defense for 446 passing yards and three touchdown passes. But the quarterback on the winning side in this 35-32 contest was the other guy — Ryan Tannehill, starting his fourth straight game after the Titans’ coaching staff determined that Marcus Mariota wasn’t getting it done.
Tannehill didn’t blow anybody away with his statistics — he completed 13 of 19 passes for 181 yards, two touchdown passes and no interceptions, adding 37 rushing yards on three carries — but it was his 23-yard touchdown pass to receiver Adam Humphries with 29 seconds left that put the Titans ahead for good, aided as they were by a blocked Kansas City field goal attempt in the game’s final seconds.
Below, Humphries (No. 10) runs what starts out as a slot fade kind of thing, but turns back inside. Cornerback Rashad Fenton (No. 27) can’t keep up, and safety Tyrann Mathieu (No. 32) is leaning outside, so he can’t get there in time. Humphries has an easy play for the touchdown, and Tannehill does a nice job of not only hitting Humphries in stride, but using his head to drag Mathieu outside.
“They went 2-Man (coverage), and I knew if Ryan had time to throw it, I could wait on the seam, and it worked out for us,” Humphries said after the game.
“Well, I think that’s what it comes down to — the quarterback,” Tennessee head coach Mike Vrabel added of the touchdown pass, and Tannehill’s play overall — on the final drive, the Titans went 61 yards in 53 seconds, and Tannehill also scrambled for 18 yards and hit tight end Anthony Firkser for a 20-yard completion. “That’s what we see every week in this league, is those guys managing that drill, that two-minute drill, that tempo procedure. Getting guys where they want them to be. Making guys believe if they do their job, we’re going to score. If we protect, and if we run great routes, and that’s the quarterback’s job – they raise everybody’s level of performance.”
Running back Derrick Henry, who ran for 188 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries, was all too happy to talk about how his quarterback performed in that crucial drive when Henry didn’t touch the ball.
“I think he knew that we would go down there and score. Receivers get open, he’d get it to them, and that’s what we did. I had a lot of confidence that we would, you know. And we did, so I’m happy we were able to get the win.”
“He was big time,” Humphries concluded. “He made plays with his legs, and he was just being poised. He stepped up in the pocket and made great throws, and it was great to see that.”
Traded from the Dolphins to the Titans on March 15 as part of Miami’s roster purge, Tannehill had completed 62.8% of his passes for 20,434 yards, 123 touchdowns, and 75 interceptions over six seasons for his old team. He was never grossly inefficient, but he was generally inconsistent — especially in the pocket, where he had a tendency to bail and run and leave things up to random chance. He had five different offensive coordinators in six seasons with the Dolphins, and for a guy who started only two seasons at quarterback at Texas A&M (he was a receiver in 2008 and 2009 before switching to QB for his junior and senior seasons), that’s a lot of noise to process.
Tannehill had a $17 million cap hit as part of the $77 million contract extension he signed with the Dolphins in 2015. Negotiations between Miami and Tennessee, as well as Tannehill and his team, created a one-year, $7 million deal that could perk up to $12 million with incentives. The Dolphins paid Tannehill’s $5 million signing bonus as part of the renegotiation, which left Tennessee on the hook for a 2019 cap hit of $1.875 million. The Titans also gave up a 2019 seventh-round pick and a fourth-round pick in 2020. In return, Miami sent a 2019 sixth-round pick.
The deal has turned into one of the best bargains of the season, and it’s turned the Titans’ season around. Tennessee was 2-4 when Tannehill replaced Mariota; the Titans are now 5-5. Through the first half of the season, they ranked 23rd in Football Outsiders’ opponent-adjusted metrics; they’re third behind only Baltimore and Dallas since.
And in the red zone, the Titans have become an unstoppable force with their new quarterback. They’ve scored touchdowns on all 10 of their excursions into the red zone. Vrabel has credited Tannehill’s quick release and decisiveness, two things Mariota struggled with before.
“Ryan has an undying belief that we are going to score every time we get down there, and he should,” quarterbacks coach Pat O’Hara concluded. “Every quarterback should. We started working hard on our red zone efficiency in the spring. It’s paying dividends now.”
It’s not just what he’s doing in the red zone, though. For weeks 7 through 10 (the Titans had a Week 11 bye), Tannehill ranks fourth in the NFL in yards per attempt at 8.5, he’s tied for third with eight touchdown passes and he has just three interceptions. He ranks eighth in passing yards with 1,017, and he’s fifth in passer rating at 107.5.
Titans have found success in the red zone in 2019
The team has been highly efficient in the red zone lately, ending 10 consecutive trips with a touchdown.
The Tennessee Titans (5-5) have had plenty of offensive struggles in 2019, especially at the beginning of the season.
But the team has been highly efficient in the red zone lately, ending 10 consecutive trips with a touchdown.
This number serves as the league’s longest active streak, and leads the NFL with a red zone touchdown percentage of 72%.
The Titans have scored a TD on 10 straight trips to the red zone, the NFL's longest active streak, and lead the league with a red zone TD% of 72%. Making the most of those trips in 2019.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) November 20, 2019
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The Titans haven’t been quite so impressive in other areas on offense, averaging 20.3 points (22nd), 319.4 yards (26th), 206.2 passing yards (26th) and 113.2 rushing yards (15th) this year.
Since Ryan Tannehill took the reins from Marcus Mariota in the middle of Week 6’s loss to the Denver Broncos, he’s posted a 3-1 record as a starter and brought new life to a practically stagnant offense.
This season, Tannehill is 97-of-136 passing for 1,161 yards with eight touchdowns and four interceptions.
The 31-year-old also has made some plays on the ground when he needs to, totaling 19 rushing attempts for 83 yards and one score.
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Tannehill and the Titans come off a bye week and a 35-32 win over the Kansas City Chiefs as the team is now back to .500 ahead of the weekend.
The Titans have a combined 105 total points in their past four games, with the latest home victory being their highest-scoring game of the season since Week 1’s 43-13 win over the Browns.
The Titans will face the Jacksonville Jaguars next at 3:05 p.m. CT on Sunday in Nissan Stadium.
Future QB Rankings: Rating all 32 NFL teams’ situations from worst to best
Touchdown Wire ranks the 32 NFL teams in terms of stability and potential at the game’s most important position over the next 3-4 seasons.
Future QB Rankings: Rating all 32 NFL teams’ situations from worst to best
Touchdown Wire ranks the 32 NFL teams in terms of stability and potential at the game’s most important position over the next 3-4 seasons.
Tom Brady might be the best quarterback ever, but he’s not the best in the NFL right now. He certainly won’t be the best in 2022.
He’s human, after all, and at age 42, regression is inevitable even for someone with six Super Bowl rings. That puts the New England Patriots in an uncertain situation at quarterback two or three years down the road. The New Orleans Saints, with 40-year-old Drew Brees under center, find themselves in a similar scenario.
Other teams, such as the Chicago Bears and Carolina Panthers, likely will face difficult personnel decisions at the quarterback position much sooner than that. Only a handful of teams, notably the Kansas City Chiefs and Seattle Seahawks, appear secure in their quarterback situation for years to come.
All this got us thinking about the quarterback situations of the future — and where each of the NFL’s 32 teams ranks in terms of preparedness at the game’s most crucial position.
By quarterback situations, we mean the full overview of each team’s quarterbacks group, including backups and a potential succession plan, if necessary. For this exercise, we will define the future as three to four years down the road.
To help form these opinions, we consulted with a blue-ribbon panel of one former head coach, two former general managers and one current general manager. They were asked for their thoughts on each team’s quarterback situation. They provided insight to inform our rankings.
With that in mind, we present Touchdown Wire’s future quarterback rankings for every NFL team, from worst to first:
32. Miami Dolphins
Earlier this season, many observers accused the Dolphins of tanking to earn the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft and presumably select a quarterback. Since then, Miami (2-8) has been eclipsed by the ineptitude of Cincinnati (0-10) and Washington (1-9), so the Dolphins might not get the first QB off the board. Currently, the Dolphins have Ryan Fitzpatrick and Josh Rosen on their roster. Rosen has failed in his playing time. There’s no way he’ll be back next year. The Dolphins have the option to hang onto Fitzpatrick, 36, who’s currently under contract next season at $5.5 million. It makes sense to keep Fitzpatrick around for one more year to help groom a young quarterback. That could be LSU’s Joe Burrow, Alabama’s Tua Tagavailoa (although his recent hip injury now complicates his draft status), Oregon’s Justin Herbert or Oklahoma’s Jalen Hurts. Two members of my panel said they like Burrow better than Tagovailoa. Either way, it’s going to take some time to develop a young quarterback.
31. Chicago Bears
For the moment, Mitchell Trubisky is Chicago’s starting quarterback. But it doesn’t appear that he will be in that role next year — although he remains under contract and the team holds a fifth-year option on the No. 2 overall pick from 2017. Given his level of play this season, it’s highly unlikely he will receive the option year, and he might not even see 2020 with the Bears — although the cap hit for cutting him would be slightly more than $9 million. The Bears are 4-6 after going 12-4 last year. There’s one main reason for the decline. That’s Trubisky. My panelists say he’s holding the offense back and could end up keeping a good team out of the playoffs. All four panelists agree Trubisky should be nothing more than a backup. Current backup Chase Daniel’s contract expires after this season. So there’s no telling who will be Chicago’s quarterback next year. Maybe the Bears will draft a quarterback. But with a talented roster already in place, the Bears should be first in line to sign New Orleans backup Teddy Bridgewater as a free agent.
30. Cincinnati Bengals
Veteran Andy Dalton has been benched, and the Bengals are giving rookie fourth-rounder Ryan Finley a shot. There should be no turning back to Dalton, even though he remains under contract for 2020 with a $17.5 million scheduled salary. The Bengals can cut Dalton after the season without any salary cap ramifications. It’s too early to judge Finley. Cincinnati is going to end up with an early draft pick and could have a shot at Joe Burrow, Tua Tagovailoa, Justin Herbert or Jalen Hurts. The Bengals will be starting over. But, given their current state, that’s not a bad thing. “Dalton had more than enough time and couldn’t win consistently,” one panelist said. “I have no idea what they have in Finley. But they have to draft a quarterback if they’re sitting there at No. 1 or 2.”
29. Washington Redskins
The current situation is a mess. Veterans Colt McCoy and Case Keenum, who clearly aren’t the answer, each is in the last year of their contract. The Redskins have little choice but to play rookie Dwayne Haskins, who has five interceptions and two touchdown passes, the rest of this season. Call it an audition for Haskins. But this situation is complicated because the Redskins currently have interim coach Bill Callahan, who took over when Jay Gruden was fired. There will be a new coach next year, and he might not like Haskins. With an early draft pick likely, the new coach might want his own guy. Give up on Haskins after only one season? Arizona did it with 2018 first-round pick Josh Rosen after drafting Kyler Murray. All four of our panelists said Haskins was overrated when he was drafted.
3 things to know for Jaguars vs. Titans
The Jags should expect a scrappy Titans team Week 12 after they will be coming off their bye with momentum from their win against the Chiefs.
While their fanbase is still recovering from Sunday’s deflating loss to the Indianapolis Colts, the Jacksonville Jaguars must now let it be nothing more than a moment in the past. Up next for them is a team who may be even more desperate than the Colts were in the Tennessee Titans, who look to be a better team than they were Week 3 when the Jags beat them on “Thursday Night Football.”
All of that said, here are three things to know as the Jags and Titans gear up for their second meeting of 2019:
The Titans have a lot to play for with the No. 9 seed in the AFC
The Titans will come into Sunday’s game with plenty to play for — and quite frankly — more than the Jags. As of Tuesday, they have the ninth seed in the AFC playoff picture with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Oakland Raiders, Houston Texans and Buffalo Bills in their way for a wild-card slot.
Per For the Win, the Titans have a 17.9% chance to make the playoffs. The Jags, on the other hand, have a 6.5% chance after previously having an 18.9% chance previously. A win for the Titans could push them closer to the 20% range if not higher as they are currently favorites over the Jags by 3.5-points, per BetMGM.
Titans favored over Jaguars ahead of Sunday
They’ll look to stay hot coming off the bye week as they face the visiting division rival Jacksonville Jaguars (4-6) on Sunday in Nashville, Tennessee.
The Tennessee Titans (5-5) have evened out their record following a 35-32 victory over the Kanasas City Chiefs.
They’ll look to stay hot coming off the bye week as they face the visiting division rival Jacksonville Jaguars (4-6) on Sunday in Nashville, Tennessee.
The Titans are favored to just that by a point spread of (-3.5), according to Bet MGM.
The most recent clash between the two teams ended in a 20-7 Jags victory in Jacksonville, Florida, but both teams have undergone some changes since that matchup.
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Nick Foles has made his return under center, but the Jaguars offense didn’t exactly ignite upon having him back. Jacksonville’s ground game particularly suffered in last week’s loss to the Colts, with just nine combined rushing attempts for a total of 29 yards.
Play-calling was incredibly questionable, given Leonard Fournette’s meager eight carries. The former LSU standout is one of the most established rushers in the league, so one would think the Jags would want to integrate him far more into their game plan.
The Titans have also made a quarterback switch, benching Marcus Mariota in favor of Ryan Tannehill in the third quarter of Week 6’s shutout loss to the Denver Broncos.
The team hasn’t looked back since, with Tannehill posting a 3-1 overall record as the starter.
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The signal-caller totals 1,161 passing yards with eight touchdowns and four interceptions since taking over.
The Titans and Jaguars are set to kick off at 3:05 p.m. CT on Sunday in Nissan Stadium.
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Titans stand at middle of the pack in Week 12 NFL power rankings
The team has evened out its record, now at 5-5 ahead of this week’s matchup against the division rival Jacksonville Jaguars (4-6).
The Tennessee Titans didn’t see any action Sunday, enjoying a bye week after a 35-32 home win over the Kansas City Chiefs last Sunday.
The team has evened out its record, now at 5-5 ahead of this week’s matchup against the division rival Jacksonville Jaguars (4-6).
The Titans rose slightly in Touchdown Wire’s NFL power rankings for Week 12, standing at roughly the middle of the pack at No. 15. Tennessee was placed at No. 16 last week.
Here’s what analyst Doug Farrar had to say about his placement of the Titans on the list, directly ahead of the Carolina Panthers and behind the Philadelphia Eagles.
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“The Titans have an interesting decision to make at the quarterback position, and one assumes general manager Jon Robinson thought about it a bit during his team’s bye week,” he wrote.
It’s clear the writing is on the wall for former starting quarterback Marcus Mariota, but the future of Ryan Tannehill and the quarterback position in general remains uncertain.
“The Marcus Mariota era is clearly over, as Mariota was benched a few weeks back, and he becomes a free agent at the start of the 2020 league year. But what to do with Ryan Tannehill, who was maddeningly inconsistent through five years in Miami, but has played pretty well in four games as a starter for this team? From Weeks 7-10, Tannehill ranks fourth in the NFL in yards per attempt at 8.5, he’s tied for third with eight touchdown passes and he has just three interceptions. He ranks eighth in passing yards with 1,017, and he’s fifth in passer rating at 107.5. That’s not to say Tannehill is ready for a big-time contract and a multiyear commitment. But he clearly has become smarter and less frenetic in the pocket, and he’s helping his receivers make plays in ways Mariota generally struggled to. The Titans are 3-1 in Tannehill’s starts. At the very least, Tannehill has proven that he can be a valuable bridge quarterback, and with a 2019 cap hit of $1,875,000, that’s as good a situation as you can expect for a franchise that appeared to be in quarterback purgatory.”
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It will be interesting to see if Tannehill and the Titans can keep the momentum going as they take on the Jaguars at 3:05 p.m. CT on Sunday in Nissan Stadium.
Titans were in attendance at Colin Kapernick’s workout
The future remains uncertain at quarterback for the Titans, and it’s clear the team is keeping its options open.
The future remains uncertain at quarterback for the Titans, and it’s clear the team is keeping its options open.
Tennessee was also one of eight NFL teams in attendance at Colin Kapernick’s workout on Saturday.
The workout was supposed to be held at the Atlanta Falcons facility, but Kaepernick changed the location and circumstances last-minute due to his own reservations with what the league was doing.
The Philadelphia Eagles, Kansas City Chiefs, New York Jets, Washington Redskins, San Francisco 49ers and Detroit Lions were some of the other teams that attended.
The original event was set to include 25 teams.
Neither Marcus Mariota nor Ryan Tannehill is signed onto a contract for next year, so it will be interesting to see if the team – or any other club for the matter – would make the move to add the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback to the roster.
Bringing on Kaepernick doesn’t necessarily sound like the best move for the Titans at this point in the season, or at any time between now and next season, given the talent of the 2020 NFL Draft class.
Prospects like Joe Burrow, Tua Tagovailoa, Justin Herbert and Jordan Love have plenty of upside and would probably serve as a better long-term option for Tennessee than Kaepernick would.
The Titans will face the visiting Jacksonville Jaguars next at 3:05 p.m. CT on Sunday.
Why the Titans shouldn’t have any interest in QB Colin Kaepernick
There’s hardly any doubt the Titans will make some major changes at signal-caller between this year and the 2020 NFL season — but Kaepernick probably won’t be and shouldn’t be a part of those plans.
Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick has been one of the most polarizing sports figures of the decade, and he hasn’t given up on a career in the league just yet.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, 24 teams are set to attend his Saturday workout in Atlanta, and those not there in-person have the chance to watch it on video.
More than 24 NFL teams are now expected at Colin Kaepernick’s workout Saturday at the Falcons’ training complex outside Atlanta, per sources.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 15, 2019
The Tennessee Titans are a team with plenty of unknowns surrounding the quarterback position, with the benching of Marcus Mariota and Ryan Tannehill taking the reins in Week 6.
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There’s hardly any doubt the Titans will make some major changes at signal-caller between this year and the 2020 NFL season — but Kaepernick probably won’t be and shouldn’t be a part of those plans.
Casting all concerns about how controversial of a figure he’s been in recent times aside, it’s important to recognize Kapernick’s shortcomings as a quarterback overall.
Kaepernick was trending downward as a passer toward the end of his career, with a cumulative quarterback rating of 52.0 that placed him at No. 30 on a list of 32 quarterbacks.
He was 196-of-331 passing for 2,241 yards, with 16 touchdowns and four interceptions in 2016.
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On a six-year NFL career with the San Francisco 49ers, Kaepernick completed 1,011-of-1,692 passes for 12,271 yards, with 72 touchdowns and 30 interceptions, with a rating of 88.9.
Whether or not Kaepernick gets another chance to prove his worth in the league remains to be seen, but it doesn’t make sense for the Titans to add a mediocre passer like him to their roster at this point.
Titans QB Ryan Tannehill has been efficient up to bye week
It’s bye week for the Tennessee Titans, and the team should be pretty pleased with its change at quarterback to this point.
It’s bye week for the Tennessee Titans, and the team should be pretty pleased with its change at quarterback to this point.
Since replacing starter Marcus Mariota in the third quarter of Week 6’s shutout loss to the Denver Broncos, Ryan Tannehill has posted a starting record of 3-1.
He’s completed 97-of-136 passes for 1,161 yards with eight touchdowns and four interceptions.
The former Miami Dolphins signal-caller was key to leading the Titans to their most recent 35-32 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday in Nissan Stadium, 13-of-19 passing for 181 yards with two touchdowns.
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Tannehill has looked more comfortable and decisive in the pocket than Mariota did this season, and has been a factor in bringing new life to what was a stagnant offense.
“I don’t think we’re playing clean football right now in the first half and that has come back to haunt us,” he said in a TitansOnline report. “We have to be able to come out early and play clean football. There is nothing complicated about it – we just have to be able to sustain drive and get points.”
The Titans’ record stood at 2-4 after Week 6, when Mariota was removed from the helm.
Mariota was 94-of-159 passes for 1,179 yards, with seven touchdowns and two interceptions before the decision to bench him was made.
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The Titans will hope to see continuity from Tannehill as they face the visiting Jacksonville Jaguars at 3:05 p.m. CT on Nov. 24 in Nissan Stadium.