There’s a team in the NFL that’s made a pretty great turnaround this season without a whole lot of attention. It’s the Tennessee Titans, who went from 3-13 last season to 8-6 this year. Currently tied with the Houston Texans, the Titans have given themselves a chance to come away with their first AFC South crown and playoff appearance since 2008.
Titans didn’t need an overhaul to become playoff contenders
The Titans made small adjustments to make everyone better, and they look like an entirely different team this season.
Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
Back then, Jeff Fisher (yes, 7-9 Jeff Fisher) led them to a 13-3 season in which they lost in the AFC Divisional round to the Baltimore Ravens. That year, Kerry Collins was under center, Chris Johnson was a solid rookie who would turn into a 2,000-yard stud, and Justin Gage was their top receiving threat. That’s a much different makeup than the one they have eight years later.
Now, the Titans are led by promising second-year quarterback Marcus Mariota, who went on an absolute tear from Weeks 5 through 13. He’s also gotten help from running back DeMarco Murray, who is just two years removed from being the NFL’s leading rusher, and a revamped offensive line.
Collectively, just about everybody on the team has made each other better.
It all starts with the offensive line, which has improved immensely
It’s kind of strange that this group is good, considering it was one of the worst last season. They allowed a league-high 54 sacks and were part of a run game that was 25th in the NFL. To be fair, the Titans didn’t have as much talent last season as they did this season, in which the offensive line was blocking for Antonio Andrews, Dexter McCluster, David Cobb, and Bishop Sankey.
Since then, the Titans hired Hall of Famer Russ Grimm to coach up the line, added Ben Jones at center, drafted Jack Conklin, and pick up Josh Kline off of waivers. Those four moves have largely been the start to an improved line. It appeared they might have a setback when Chance Warmack went down with a season-ending injury, but Kline has stepped in and allowed the Titans to not miss a beat. That, along with much greater continuity, has been the base for the rest of the offense’s success.
Mariota has been sacked 21 times, a rate of 1.5 times per game. That’s fourth-least in the NFL, and it’s been a big reason for his improved play. Last season, the Titans gave up over three sacks per game, making life difficult for the rookie quarterback. Now with Murray and second-round pick Derrick Henry in the backfield, the offensive line is looking like one of the most improved groups anywhere in the league.
The running game has also been better as a result
Arguably the one thing that hasn’t received the attention it deserves on this Titans team is the running game. Murray has led the charge here behind their improved offensive line, rushing for 1,224 yards, good for second-best in the NFL.
It’s been a resurgent season for Murray, who rushed for 702 yards in 15 games and eight starts for the Eagles last season.
Murray told The Tennessean that the difference between Philadelphia and Tennessee is the chemistry.
“I just think the staff and my teammates [are] believing in who I am as a person, who I am as a player,” Murray said. “They see the work ethic and they’ve been able to — for me it hasn’t been easy — but those guys blocking as well as they do and the receivers getting open and blocking downfield and the tight ends, everyone’s been ... on the same page.”
But Murray hasn’t done it all by himself. The Titans drafted Henry, the 2015 Heisman Trophy winner, and he’s produced in the 91 carries that he’s received. Henry has 412 yards and four touchdowns, and has provided great relief to Murray when he needs it. The Titans’ two-headed monster in Murray and Henry has also been a contributing factor to the growth of Mariota this season.
Marcus Mariota’s reaping all the benefits
Prior to the season, there was a lot of talk about how Jameis Winston could be in for a big sophomore season, with little attention being paid to Mariota. That was pretty understandable. Winston showed more promise, and the Titans appeared to be heading in the wrong direction. While Winston’s having a strong season with the 8-6 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Mariota is proving why he was a high draft pick, too.
In 12 starts last season, Mariota competed just over 62 percent of his passes, throwing for 2,818 yards with 19 touchdowns and 10 picks. This season, his completion percentage hasn’t changed, but he’s thrown for 3,327 yards to go along with 25 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He’s developed a good rapport with Rishard Matthews, who’s having a career-best season, and rookie wide receiver Tajae Sharpe.
A great chunk of Mariota’s production came between Weeks 5 and 12, when he just played out of his mind. In that stretch, Mariota threw for 21 touchdowns and just three interceptions, completing over 67 percent of his passes, including this 29-yard score against the Bears:
Mariota hasn’t been playing at as high of a level in recent weeks when he’s faced two tough opponents: the Denver Broncos, which boast the No. 2 defense in the league, and a road game against the Kansas City Chiefs. Despite pedestrian numbers from Mariota, they won both of those games, and that should be a somewhat comforting sign for Titans fans. With the game on the line against the Chiefs, Mariota still led the offense down the field for the game-winning field goal.
At the very least, Mariota has looked like the quarterback of the future for the Titans, who may be making the postseason sooner than they expected.
The defense has done just enough to get by
The defense is really the one area where the Titans haven’t improved much, and it’s certainly not the staple of Mike Mularkey’s team. They’re 20th in the NFL in total defense, though they’re closer to the middle of the pack when it comes to points allowed per game.
However, they’re still able to come up with big plays when they need them at times. They’re one of the top 10 teams in the NFL in sacks, led by veteran linebackers Brian Orakpo (10 sacks) and Derrick Morgan (9.5 sacks). The Titans held the Broncos to just 10 points two weeks ago, and their secondary stepped up in a big way last week in limiting Travis Kelce, preventing him from becoming the first tight end in NFL history with five straight weeks of 100-yard receiving games.
The strength of the defense has been their run game, which surrenders 91.6 yards per game on the ground and has allowed just eight rushing touchdowns this season. A good run game and offense is one of the great ways for teams to act as a crutch to lesser defenses, and they have that thanks to Murray and Henry.
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The Titans have two weeks to try to finish their push for the AFC South. Week 16 will come against a Jaguars team that gave the Houston Texans, the Titans’ biggest threat, a scare. Yet, the Titans didn’t have much trouble with the Jags in their first matchup this season, cruising to a 36-22 victory.
If they’re able to win that one, it will come down to a Week 17 showdown against those Texans. The Titans have made improvements in the offseason and as the year has gone along. If they’re able to play their best football down the stretch, we could see them in the postseason for the first time in eight years.
It would be an impressive turnaround for a team that just about nobody expected to be in this position.
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