Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel’s choice at quarterback for a Week 18 de facto AFC South championship game against the Jacksonville Jaguars seems obvious. He wasn’t willing to make that decision Thursday night, though.
Shortly after a 27-13 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, Vrabel told reporters that he’ll wait to announce whether Joshua Dobbs or Malik Willis will be the Titans’ starter next week.
“Really, it was a great opportunity to evaluate [Dobbs],” Vrabel said of the decision to start the sixth-year veteran against the Cowboys. “You know, we’ll make a decision going forward. I thought he did some great things, I thought he’d certainly like to have a couple throws back, but we’ll kind of see where things are in a couple days.”
#Titans HC Mike Vrabel on the decision to start Josh Dobbs: pic.twitter.com/WmOKJsIT5Z
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Dobbs completed 20 of his 39 passes against the Cowboys for 232 yards with one touchdown and one interception. While he threw a few passes into tight coverage, the Titans offense was able to move the ball for 317 yards of total offense against Dallas.
In three career starts, Willis has yet to eclipse 100 passing yards in a game and has zero touchdown passes with three interceptions.
While Vrabel’s decision to be patient about his decision makes sense, there’s really not much deliberation necessary. The Jaguars should fully anticipate Dobbs leading the Titans at TIAA Bank Field next week.