The Tennessee Titans are 8-2, tied with the Arizona Cardinals and the Green Bay Packers for the best record in the entire NFL. They haven’t gotten a lot of national media attention, which has a lot of folks in Nashville in a tizzy but that’s neither here nor there. I’d point you to this week’s episode of Football & Other F Words for advice on how to handle that. Point is, there are an awful lot of analysts out there that have no idea what this Titans team really is. You have some people putting ’em at #1 in their power rankings. Others are saying this “isn’t a real 8-2 football team.” For the crowd in the latter group, they don’t buy the Titans because they honestly probably have no idea why the Titans are winning these games because they’ve watched all of five minutes of the Titans all season long. For the crowd in the former group, they get it perfectly. This team is finding different ways to win games all while battling a barrage of injuries coming in at a historic pace. So, since we’ve made it through the hardest part of the Titans’ 2021 schedule, and the Titans navigated it at a 5-0 clip, I figured I’d look back at the defining traits of each game to illustrate how the Titans are doing multiple things to win games.
Bills, W34-31 – This felt like the quintessential Mike Vrabel underdog Titans win. They just kept fighting – it was a tough, gutsy win in which the Titans were able to hang around and get a big stop on the goal line when it mattered most. This was a big Derrick Henry game, as the King ran for 143 yards and three scores.
Chiefs W27-3 – Man, this hasn’t been the case all that often this season, but this game saw pretty much perfect play-calling performances from both coordinators, with perfect execution from the players. It was a flawless performance. This is from my takeaways piece after that game: “This game could not have gone any better for the Titans. Todd Downing and Shane Bowen called their asses off, and it felt like the Titans executed perfectly (Ryan Tannehill interception aside). I dare say that was the best game that either coordinator has called since taking over their respective jobs. It just seemed like from the top down, the Titans had a perfect game plan and knew exactly how to attack the Chiefs in all three phases of the game.“
Colts, W34-31 – The Colts game was defined by opportunistic big plays. The team had to dig its way out of a 14-0 hole in this one, but a 57-yard touchdown to AJ Brown, a pick six for Elijah Molden, and a Kevin Byard interception in overtime did the trick.
Rams, W28-16 – A late, garbage touchdown made this final score closer than the game actually was. But, it was dominance from early on. The pass rush was certainly hitting its stride prior to this game, but for me, it was on this primetime stage that people really started to take notice of just how fierce it was, and that unit really started getting into a rhythm. It wasn’t just the brute force of the pass rush that was so impressive, though. It was the way they got to Matthew Stafford, confused him, and baited him into some bad throws that was particularly impressive.
Saints, W23-21 – The offensive game plan wasn’t particularly diverse, it wasn’t clicking that well, and the Saints were able to make some plays against the Titans secondary. Yet, the Titans were able to win thanks to a few key swings on special teams. It helps that the Saints kicker missed two extra points. But, it also helped that Randy Bullock was perfect on the day, Brett Kern did a good job of punting away from Deonte Harris, and Dylan Cole forced a fumble that stole a possession from the Saints.
So, you had games in that five-game span during which the Titans had to scratch and claw to win, games that they were outright dominant in, games in which the pass rush showed up, a game in which the offense was making big plays, a game that was essentially won by special teams, games when both coordinators called their asses off, and games that they didn’t. All the while, the Titans just kept winning. Whatever they had to do that week to win, that is what they did – it wasn’t just one thing over the course of those wins, though the defense getting consistent improvement certainly helped. This is admittedly an exercise in oversimplification (trying to boil a contest featuring so many variables down to one thing), and maybe this is the case for more teams that I don’t pay as close of attention to in the NFL. But, the bottom line is that this is the mark of a good team – if their bread and butter isn’t working, can they find other ways to win? Indeed, the 2021 Tennessee Titans can. That adaptability, versatility, and confidence is why I think they’re the best team in the league right now, and why I think they can beat anybody, anywhere, any time.
If you haven’t already, be sure to subscribe to The Unofficial Titans Podcast on Apple Podcasts, follow us on Spotify, or wherever you take in your podcasts! Or, you can simply smash that play button on the embed below to catch my game reaction pod after Sunday’s 23-21 win over the Saints:
Listen to “Game Reaction: Titans Fend Off the Saints, 23-21” on Spreaker.Don’t forget to check out our friends at MANSCAPED. We’re gearing up for a fine holiday rush, and we can’t recommend a better gift for the person with balls in your life. Get 20% off your entire order and free shipping with the promo code ‘SOBROSTITANS20’ at checkout.
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley.
Check out the SoBros Shop. Become a Patron. Give us money for no reason. Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter @SoBrosNetwork. Watch on YouTube.
