Early in the season, probably hardly anyone expected the Tennessee Titans to be going anywhere this year, due to the mediocre play of the offense. Even fewer people expected Ryan Tannehill, the backup at the time to Marcus Mariota, to actually be a relevant name this season. And yet here we are. The Titans are suddenly 8-5 and tied for the AFC South lead with the Houston Texans. And Tannehill is playing arguably the best football of his entire career. If the Titans crawled their way into the playoffs this year with Tannehill at quarterback, that might be the biggest surprise of the entire season. And it’s a development that warrants discussion.
Ryan Tannehill Leading Tennessee Titans Back Into Contention
Where He’s Been
We all (presumably) know that Tannehill is the former Miami Dolphins first-round pick. He remained there from 2012 to 2018, but things never really panned out. Twice in 2013 and 2014, they were in contention, but let things slip away. In 2016, he got injured late in the season, but the Dolphins made the playoffs anyway (and went one and done). Still, it means he’s never played in a playoff game.
At that point, injuries became a huge problem for him. He missed the entire 2017 season and missed five games in the 2018 season. From 2016 to 2018, he only played 24 out of 48 regular season games. Besides the lack of playoff appearances, this likely played a role in him getting pushed out of Miami. This ultimately left him in Tennessee as the backup to the shaky Mariota. It was certainly plausible that he might get playing time at some point due to Mariota having his own recurring injuries. However, it still seemed unlikely that he would replace him permanently.
Mariota’s Struggles
Ryan Tannehill got a chance heavily in part because of the decline of Mariota. After a promising first couple of seasons, things began to go a little downhill. 2017 saw him pass for 13 touchdowns and 15 interceptions – an ugly ratio. However, his rushing ability helped keep him passable, and they did get a comeback win over the Kansas City Chiefs in the playoffs. But 2018 saw him throw for only 2,528 yards, 11 touchdowns, and eight interceptions. And it wasn’t because he missed a ton of games – only a couple. They still almost crawled into the playoffs, but he missed the season finale – leaving them with Blaine Gabbert as the starter in a do-or-die game. It was pretty smart of the Titans to get an upgrade at the clipboard holder position. Even if they still thought Mariota was the future, the lack of a decent backup seemingly cost them a playoff appearance.
The 2019 season actually saw a little bit of improvement out of him – in the sense that he had two great games with three touchdown passes, and a total of zero interceptions going into Week 6. But his other games had been quite pedestrian at best. And the breaking point came in a shutout loss to the Denver Broncos where he posted an ugly stat line of 7-for-18, 63 yards, and two picks before getting benched.
While it was a bench-worthy performance, the rest of the season hadn’t necessarily been. Still, coach Mike Vrabel stuck with Tannehill ever since. Evidently, he felt that Tannehill gave them a better chance to win. And even though Mariota’s season stats weren’t bad, the team was still 2-4. So while it may not have been an obvious move to make, it’s one that has paid off in spades and then some.
Tannehill’s 2019 Play
As previously stated, the Titans started 2-4 with Mariota. Since then, they have gone 6-1, with the only loss coming against the Carolina Panthers, which was also Tannehill’s only not-so-good game that he’s started this season. So far he has 15 passing touchdowns (plus three rushing) and five interceptions. He also has a career high 73.4 completion percentage.
There have been two spectacular games in particular from him this season. One was against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 12, which saw him go 14-for-18, 259 yards and two passing touchdowns plus two more rushing ones in a 42-20 victory. Then most recently there was their 42-21 victory over the Oakland Raiders, which saw Tannehill shred the defense going for 21-for-27, 391 yards, three touchdowns, and one pick.
It’s not even like the supporting cast is any better than the one he had in Miami, if at all. Rookie A.J. Brown has been the only remotely consistent receiving threat. Adam Humphries hasn’t really lived up to the free agency hype. Corey Davis has had a couple of decent games here and there but has mostly been unremarkable. That leaves the tight end Jonnu Smith, who’s been fine but is only out there because Delanie Walker’s been hurt almost all year. And yet, Tannehill is producing and then some. The change seems to be helping Derrick Henry out too, now that teams have to account for both the passing and the running game; Henry has had four straight 100-yard rushing games after having only had one all season beforehand.
Last Word
Of course, there is the question of whether Ryan Tannehill will be able to keep up this level of play – especially when/if they reach the postseason. Still, it’s hard to deny that this team has been all-around better ever since he took the starting mantle. There have even already reportedly been discussions of an off-season extension to keep him locked up as their future quarterback.
There’s still a fair amount of football to be played between now and then. Still, it’s remarkable that Tannehill is even in such a position now. He’s gone from being basically written off to suddenly playing some of, if not the best football of his career. The next Titans game will be a critical division matchup against the Texans (also 8-5). They’re a team with a very capable offense, but a rather exploitable secondary. This will be a big game for Tannehill and the Titans if they want to get control of their playoff destiny.
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