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I never had much doubt that the Titans were going to win Sunday—even when they were down 10–0—and I’m not sure whether that says more about where Denver is or who Tennessee is.The optimist would say it’s a positive for the Titans. And doing what they did, and what they’ve done this year in general, is impressive.
We’ve tread over some of this ground the past few weeks, and you probably know the deal by now. LT Taylor Lewan and DE Harold Landry are gone for the year. WR A.J. Brown was traded to the Eagles. And the past couple of weeks, Tennessee had to scratch by without Ryan Tannehill, who was out with an ankle injury.
Despite all of it, the Titans had won five straight after starting 0–2, and nearly made it six going toe-to-toe with (and eventually losing to) the Chiefs eight days ago at Arrowhead.
Well, Tannehill returned Sunday, with his ankle having progressed through the week (he says he had a good idea he’d play after practice on Thursday and Friday), and Tennessee found yet another way to win after getting him back—throwing the ball over a tough Denver defensive front geared up to stop Derrick Henry to get the 17–10 win.
“I’ve definitely felt better, but the win makes everything hurt a little bit less,” Tannehill told me postgame. “I felt like things were getting to a point throughout the week where I was able to move around a little bit and went out today and warmed up and felt pretty good.”
And the Titans needed him to be close to 100% to beat the Broncos.
Behind 10–0, they got the ball with 2:23 left in the first half and went on a methodical 13-play drive. Tannehill picked up a first down with his legs, four with his arm, and then pulled the Titans to within three with a tight-window throw to Nick Westbrook-Ikhine with 12 seconds left for the nine-yard touchdown.
“I wasn’t good enough early; I wasn’t accurate enough early, had guys with opportunities and was off by a foot a couple times,” he said. “So I had to knock the rust off and get dialed in a little bit, and then we got that two-minute drive going, and I was able to settle in a little bit, find some completions, find some open guys and felt good after that. … And then on that touchdown, they were bringing some pressure there, bringing zero, and I was able to make an adjustment at the line of scrimmage. Nick did a good job of getting an edge on that guy.”
It’d be easier the next time, around a quarter later—when the Titans got the Broncos on a flea-flicker, which turned into an easy 63-yard touchdown.
“We handed it to Derrick there and got them to bite up on the run, and Nick did a good job of selling it and accelerating,” Tannehill said. “I think the corner actually fell down after the toss back to me. So he was pretty open.”
The Broncos would cross midfield only once more, and that was at the end of the game. And so Tennessee improved to 6–3 and kept its division lead at two games.
For their part, the Titans have now won without their left tackle and best pass rusher, and their quarterback, too. On Sunday, they beat Denver without their best defensive player, Jeffery Simmons. And it’s not that it doesn’t matter when those guys go down—it does. More so, this is about how the Titans have managed all this over Mike Vrabel’s five years in charge.
“Yeah, it’s not been ideal,” Tannehill said. “But we battled through a lot last year. You look at what we went through last year; I think we set the record for most guys who’ve suited up for us and played in a game, so it’s not new territory, unfortunately. It’s not the position you want to be in, but we’re a resilient group and a no–excuses group. We try to find a way to win each and every week no matter who’s in, who’s out, what’s going on.
“[Vrabel] sets the tone; he lets us know that there’s no excuses, so we’re going to roll with whoever’s available and ready to help the team. That’s said from Day 1. And then it really gets put to the test, and we see it work.”
They sure have.
