The Tennessee Titans were the best team in the AFC during the regular season last year. Tennessee went 12-5 and earned the No. 1 seed in the playoffs. However, anyone could have told you that the Titans were far from a dominant team. Star running back Derrick Henry suffered a major injury that kept him out for over two months, and the team also benefited from having four games against conference cellar dwellers Houston and Jacksonville. Additionally, Tennessee ranked just sixth in point differential in the AFC at +65.
That meant it wasn’t too much of a surprise when the Titans were one-and-done in the playoffs. Tennessee was only a four-point favorite at home against Cincinnati in the Divisional Round, and the Titans ended up losing 19-16 after Evan McPherson blasted a 52-yard field goal as time expired. The Tennessee defense sacked Joe Burrow nine times in the loss, but Ryan Tannehill threw three interceptions and did not play well.
Tennessee Titans Season Win Total
Over 9 Wins -117
Under 9 Wins -103
2022 Tennessee Titans Schedule
| WEEK | MATCHUP |
| 1 | Vs. New York Giants |
| 2 | @ Buffalo Bills |
| 3 | Vs. Las Vegas Raiders |
| 4 | @ Indianapolis Colts |
| 5 | @ Washington Commanders |
| 6 | BYE WEEK |
| 7 | Vs. Indianapolis Colts |
| 8 | @ Houston Texans |
| 9 | @ Kansas City Chiefs |
| 10 | Vs. Denver Broncos |
| 11 | @ Green Bay Packers |
| 12 | Vs. Cincinnati Bengals |
| 13 | @ Philadelphia Eagles |
| 14 | Vs. Jacksonville Jaguars |
| 15 | @ Los Angeles Chargers |
| 16 | Vs. Houston Texans |
| 17 | Vs. Dallas Cowboys |
| 18 | @ Jacksonville Jaguars |
Tennessee Titans Offense
Ryan Tannehill is still the starting quarterback for the Titans, and he has been an above average signal caller with the team. He has been great on play action, but he showed why many people believe that he is not the type of quarterback to take you to the Super Bowl in the playoff loss to Cincinnati. That played a part in Tennessee deciding to take Malik Willis with a third-round pick in this year’s draft. Willis was seen as the top signal caller in the NFL Draft by many observers, but he will need some time to develop after spending his last two seasons at Liberty.
The receiving corps has been revamped after the Titans traded No. 1 receiver A.J. Brown to the Philadelphia Eagles for a first-round pick and third-round pick just before the NFL Draft. Rookie Treylon Burks will be one of the starting receivers now alongside veteran Robert Woods. There is not a lot of depth at this position though, so the loss of either Burks or Woods would really hurt.
Depth is a major issue at running back too. Few teams could adequately replace the great Derrick Henry, but the Titans had a real tough time picking up the slack for King Henry after he was injured halfway through the season. Henry was set to lead the NFL in rushing yards for the third straight season before the injury, and Jeremy McNichols could not adequately replace him. Dontrell Hilliard and D’Onta Foreman had more success in that role, but Hilliard and Foreman couldn’t combine to run for as many yards as Henry did in eight games.
Tennessee Titans Defense
Both defensive ends in this 3-4 defense are solid. Jeffery Simmons is rewarding Tennessee for the team’s faith in him, and he had a banner year with 8.5 sacks and six passes deflected in 2021. Denico Autry is a quality pass rusher on the other side of Simmons, and he had nine sacks last year.
The linebackers are pretty good. Bud Dupree and Harold Landry III are both playmakers, and Zach Cunningham showed that he can flourish outside of Houston. Landry had 12 sacks and 14 tackles for loss last season, but the other three linebackers missed significant time due to injury.
Kevin Byard is one of the best safeties in the league, and Tennessee continues to spend a lot of draft capital on cornerbacks to help the secondary. Caleb Farley was a first-round pick last year and had a good amount of success in his first season, and the Titans drafted Kristian Fulton in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft. Roger McCreary was taken in the second round this year too.
Prediction
It’s certainly fair to be skeptical of Tannehill and the ceiling for the Titans, but this team is good enough to win 10 games in a bad division. Indianapolis should be better, yet both Houston and Jacksonville are expected to be bottom feeders once more in 2022. The Titans have the benefit of playing the Colts early in the season too, and Matt Ryan might not be fully in sync with his new team.
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