The Tennessee Titans’ Week 17 loss to the Houston Texans gave us a taste of just about everything that has plagued the team during the 2023 campaign, which will thankfully come to an end next week.
There was horrendous pass protection and run-blocking, a quarterback got hurt as a result of the former, and the Titans managed to shoot themselves in the foot with bad penalties, a turnover and shoddy play-calling.
The defense was awful between the 20’s, but the unit did buckle down in the red zone, as it has all season long.
The only silver lining of Sunday’s result was the fact that the Titans helped their quest to get the highest draft pick possible. That, along with a lot of cap space, will greatly aid in the roster overhaul Tennessee needs.
We’ll talk about all of those topics and more as we take a look at the biggest takeaways from the Titans’ 11th loss of the season.
Will Levis shouldn't play another snap
The Titans dodged a bullet in Week 17, as it appears the foot injury Will Levis suffered after taking a sack isn’t serious.
However, it’s a stark reminder that this offensive line cannot be trusted to keep Levis safe. As a result, the rookie signal-caller shouldn’t play another down in 2023, even if he’s healthy enough to go in Week 18.
I get the argument for getting him as many reps as possible, but not all reps are created equal and the rookie won’t get many quality ones with the kind of pass protection this unit is offering.
Expect to see either Ryan Tannehill or Malik Willis under center when the Titans close out their season against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.
Enough of Treylon Burks
Burks had an opportunity to make a big play on the Titans’ opening drive when Levis hit him right in the hands with a perfect deep ball after the Arkansas product got behind the Texans’ secondary.
Unfortunately, Burks wasn’t able to come up with the catch, which is just the latest example of why the Titans can’t trust him as anything more than a depth receiver (No. 3, at best) moving forward.
In fact, I wouldn’t have an issue with Tennessee trading Burks for a draft pick, even though they’d be selling him for pennies on the dollar and would likely only net a Day 3 selection in return.
One way or the other, I’m just about done with Treylon Burks.
There are no words left for the offensive line
The offensive line did what many feared it would do, which was get Levis hurt.
The group upfront gave up six sacks in total, with Ryan Tannehill being the victim on five of them. Adding to that, five of the six sacks surrendered were among the 20 fastest given up in all of Week 17, per Next Gen Stats.
#Titans surrendered 5 of the league's 20 fastest sacks over the weekend, per @NextGenStats.
Derek Barnett had the quickest Houston sack, taking down Tannehill in 3.23 seconds.— John Glennon (@glennonsports) January 1, 2024
The offensive line also struggled mightily in run-blocking over the final three quarters. So, long story short: it was just another week at the office for this awful group.
The Titans enter the offseason with a ton of work to do. Peter Skoronski is the only name this coaching staff can write in pen in terms of 2024 starters and even he has played poorly down the stretch.
The defense deserves credit
Of the 26 points the Texans scored in Week 17, 19 of them were given up by the defense after Houston scored a defensive touchdown. And, of those 19, seven of them came on a drive that was extended by a boneheaded penalty from outside linebacker Caleb Murphy, who ran into the punter to give the Texans a first down.
Granted, Tennessee was not good between the 20’s, both in coverage and run defense, and the pass-rush was quiet, but the badly short-handed defense did halt C.J. Stroud and Co. on two of their three red-zone trips and held them to just 3-11 on third downs.
Going into Week 18, the Titans now sport the No. 1 red zone defense in the NFL, according to Team Rankings.
Nobody is going to proclaim this a successful season for a Titans defense that many thought could be elite, but there’s no question the unit held up its end of the bargain enough for Tennessee to be better than 5-11.
Two veterans notch impressive feats
While individual stats are the last thing Titans fans are worried about right now, it is worth mentioning that Derrick Henry and DeAndre Hopkins both crossed the 1,000-yard mark in Week 17.
Considering how badly the offensive line has played and the injuries at the quarterback position, those feats are even more impressive than they otherwise would be.
Assuming he wants to return, Hopkins, who is under contract for another year, should be locked-in for 2024 as Levis’ top target.
Henry’s situation isn’t as clear. The star running back will be a free agent in March and looked to have lost a step in his aged 29 season. But the fact that Henry broke the 1,000-yard mark despite that and the awful run-blocking shows he still has something left in the tank.
If the Titans do bring him back, it has to be at a much cheaper price and with the understanding that Tyjae Spears will be getting more touches in an offense that will also shift away from Henry as the focal point.
Unfortunately, I’m not sure I can trust this coaching staff to do that with him still on the roster, so I wouldn’t mind Tennessee letting Henry go — and I’d probably prefer it.
A win for draft positioning
With the loss, the Titans now have a set range in which they can finish in the 2024 NFL draft order. The highest Tennessee can go is No. 4, while the lowest is No. 8.
For the Titans to get to No. 4, they’ll need a loss to the Jags and wins by the New York Giants, Arizona Cardinals and Los Angeles Chargers. The Cards (4-12), Giants (5-11) and Chargers (5-11) sit in Nos. 4, 5 and 6 going into Week 18.
Securing a top-five pick would almost certainly guarantee that the Titans leave the draft with one of the two best left tackles in next year’s class.
It would also keep the Marvin Harrison Jr. dream alive, although I think the Titans would need to trade up to at least No. 3 to get him.
There is definitely a scenario in which the Titans land Joe Alt or Olu Fashanu beyond the No. 5 pick, but that will depend upon teams in front of them taking quarterbacks and defensive players.
