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Mike Vrabel has yet to experience a losing season since taking over as head coach of the Tennessee Titans before the 2018 season. He has a career 31-21 regular-season record entering Week 5 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Vrabel has also led the Titans to postseason berths in two out of three seasons, including a trip to the AFC Championship Game in 2019.
But since he’s been at the helm in Tennessee, Vrabel’s Titans have yet to beat a rookie quarterback.
In 2018, Tennessee lost 13-12 to the Buffalo Bills and Josh Allen, the seventh overall pick in the NFL draft that year. In September of the following year, the Titans lost to a Gardner Minshew-led Jaguars team, 20-7.
And, perhaps the two worst losses in recent memory had rookie quarterbacks under center for Tennessee’s opponents — the Titans lost to Joe Burrow and a one-win Bengals team in 2020, and Zach Wilson and the winless Jets last week.
In all, the Titans are 0-4 versus rookie quarterbacks during the Vrabel era (H/T @league_winner on Twitter).
Since Mike Vrabel became the Head Coach in 2018, the #Titans are 0-4 against rookie QBs.
-Lost to Josh Allen & the Bills in 2018
-Lost to Gardner Minshew & the Jaguars in 2019
-Lost to Joe Burrow & the Bengals in 2020
-Lost to Zach Wilson & the Jets this past Sunday
— League Winners (@league_winner) October 6, 2021
This stat is interesting to say the least, but it’s also relevant because the Titans are facing another rookie quarterback in Trevor Lawrence on Sunday, and could have as many as five more games against first-year signal-callers following Week 5.
Lawrence was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft, but has been a mixed bag through the first four weeks. The Clemson product owns a 57 percent completion rate, 873 passing yards, and a 5-to-7 touchdown-to-interception ratio.
Lawrence did a better job taking care of the football last week against the Cincinnati Bengals and posted a 70 percent completion rate, but he also posted lackluster production with 204 yards and no passing touchdowns.
Some of his damage came on the ground, though, as he finished with a career-high 36 rushing yards and one touchdown — and as we know, one of Tennessee’s biggest issues has been quarterbacks with mobility.
The Titans are 4.5-point favorites entering Sunday’s contest with the Jaguars. After losing to the winless Jets last week, there’s plenty of room for concern against Titans’ division rival, a team still looking for its first win.
But something has to give on Sunday — either Mike Vrabel notches his first win against a rookie quarterback, or the Jaguars tally their first win of the 2021 season.
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