Tennessee Titans: Playoff hopes in serious jeopardy
By Dan Salem
The Tennessee Titans held a commanding lead in the NFL Playoff race until last week. Now with only three games remaining, their playoff hopes are in serious jeopardy.
Overshadowed by the massive snow-out in Buffalo and the ACL tear of Carson Wentz, NFL Week 14 secretly saw the demise and destruction of some of 2017’s playoff hopefuls.
The Tennessee Titans are among a handful of AFC teams fighting to secure a playoff spot. Yet their hopes are now in serious jeopardy, as the competition continues to gain ground and only three tough games remain.
Two brothers from New York, Dan Salem and Todd Salem, debate the Tennessee Titans in today’s NFL Sports Debate.
Todd Salem:
Baltimore lost a heart-breaker in Week 14 to Pittsburgh (as the Steelers continue to win but not cover like Jimmy the Greek is the assistant VP). With the loss, the Ravens fall out of the current sixth spot in the AFC, and into a 7-6 tie with Buffalo and the Chargers/Chiefs. This was a crushing defeat for Baltimore, who… oh never mind. The Ravens final three games of the season are against Cleveland, Indianapolis, and Cincinnati.
That means the Tennessee Titans are in real trouble. At 8-4, Tennessee fell to Arizona in an ugly game. The Titans are just a game ahead of that sixth-place triumvirate and are in deep trouble. With games remaining against the Rams and Jaguars, Tennessee does not have the feel of a playoff team.
Marcus Mariota has not been good this season and was very bad against the Cardinals. It is hard to understand why. He has weapons around him. There were some positive expectations for this team, especially offensively, entering the year. It has collected wins thanks to a good home record and weak road wins. The pieces are here, but they don’t fit.
Overall, this feels like a different team after Week 3’s victory over Jacksonville. The next week, the Titans got blown out by Deshaun Watson and the Texans. Since then, they are skating by, recipients of one of the easiest schedules imaginable, which is masking the actual production of the franchise.
Beyond Mariota, or maybe because of him, the skill players have not lived up to the hype. DeMarco Murray hasn’t had a good year and has been passed on the depth chart by Derrick Henry. Corey Davis has been injured and then invisible in his rookie year. The rest of the receiver corps has been a disappointment as well. This was supposed to be a breakout group. It instead looks broken.
More from NFL Spin Zone
- Dallas Cowboys made the trade everyone else should have made
- Pittsburgh Steelers rookie sleeper everyone should be talking about
- Anthony Richardson putting jaw-dropping talent on display immediately
- Denver Broncos’ stud wide receiver might be out for a while
- Washington Commanders: Three takeaways from win over Ravens
Maybe you think a game lead with three to play is enough to get Tennessee into the postseason, but I don’t feel confident in it against any opponent right now. Playing at home helps it, but the only home games remaining are against perhaps the best team in the NFC, the Rams, and a return date with Jacksonville with the Jags looking for revenge. I don’t like playoff teams who can’t win on the road anyway. This is a suspect squad that has benefited from the easiest schedule in the entire NFL and the worst strength of victory of any current playoff team.
Dan Salem:
Barring the unexpected, the Tennessee Titans will miss the playoffs. They are one of three NFL teams with a winning record and a negative point differential. Buffalo and Green Bay are the other two teams. Furthermore, their schedule does them few favors and despite many people’s feelings to the contrary, I am a firm believer in momentum. Tennessee has none.
The Titans have three good wins on their resume, but two of them came in early September. We can’t knock them for the wins, but I am scared off by this team’s losses. Tennessee was blown out by Houston and Pittsburgh. They also lost to both Miami and Arizona. In their previous two wins they squeaked past Indianapolis and a hobbled Texans team. Nothing about their performance over the last month gives me confidence in their ability to win more than one game down the stretch.
Perhaps the Titans win two or three of their final games. More likely they get one victory, because the Los Angeles Rams are too strong offensively for them to stop. I don’t know if the current Titans can beat the 49ers in San Francisco or the Jaguars at home. With one win over those two games, Tennessee would finish with a 9-7 record. This means they need lots of help to either win the division or hold onto a wildcard spot.
NFL MVP: 10 Serious Candidates with Wentz Out
The Los Angeles Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs have positive momentum right now. So do the Jacksonville Jaguars. Even Buffalo is coming off a hard fought win at home and the Ravens had victory snatched from their grasp. Only Tennessee lost in embarrassing fashion, scoring seven points against the lowly Cardinals. Only the Titans are asking what if. Mariota’s injured knee only exacerbates their growing offensive woes. Tennessee, I dare you to surprise me.