The Tennessee Titans have finished with a 9-7 record in each of the past four seasons, so it comes as no surprise when a experts project them to finish with the same mark in 2020.
The latest to do so is Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox, who believes the Titans overachieved en route to making a deep playoff run to the AFC Championship Game.
It’s not a stretch to say that the Tennessee Titans overachieved in 2019. They finished with a 9-7 record despite ranking 12th in offensive yardage and 21st in yards allowed. However, a ball-control offense based around running back Derrick Henry and the game management of Ryan Tannehill allowed the Titans to best superior teams, including the Patriots and the Ravens in the postseason.
Successfully following up a Cinderella run to the AFC title game will be a challenge, however. Teams won’t be surprised by Tennessee’s offensive approach, and Tannehill could see a drop-off from his league-high and career-high 117.5 passer rating.
If the Titans want to spark another deep postseason run, they’ll have to be more competitive in the AFC South. They went 3-3 against the division in 2019. They’ll also have to improve a pass defense that ranked 24th.
Houston is still a factor, and the Colts could be an improved squad with Philip Rivers under center. While the Titans should be a tough out if they make the postseason, don’t expect much improvement in the win-loss department.
Prediction: 9-7
What often gets lost in the Titans’ 2019 record is how strong they finished, which made it a tale of two seasons.
After a horrid 2-4 start that saw the team’s offense score just 16.3 points per game with Marcus Mariota as the starter, Tennessee inserted Ryan Tannehill under center, leading to a 7-3 stretch over the last 10 games of the season that saw the Titans score 30.4 points per game, the third-best mark in the NFL.
If you watched the Titans from Week 7 on, their playoff success shouldn’t have been a complete shock. It’s safe to assume that had Tannehill been the guy from Week 1, the Titans likely would have finished with double-digit wins and won the AFC South.
In a year with an abbreviated offseason and so much uncertainty, the Titans are going to “run it back” with much of the same offense that had so much success last season, and that certainly gives them an advantage over many other teams in the league.
[lawrence-related id=41695,41673,41550]
[vertical-gallery id=40761]