The Tennessee Titans enter a Week 16 game at Nissan Stadium in Nashville against the Houston Texans in what is the definition of a downward spiral.
The Titans lost their fourth-straight game in Week 15 against the Chargers, which marks the longest losing streak since Mike Vrabel took over as the head coach.
Adding to that, the Titans’ once-comfortable lead in the AFC South is anything but, with Tennessee clinging to a one-game lead over the Jacksonville Jaguars with three games left to play.
And, as has been the case all season long, the Titans are banged-up on both sides of the ball and could be without their starting quarterback for the third game this season (more on that shortly).
We’ll talk about the status of quarterback Ryan Tannehill and more as we take a look at four burning questions for the Titans going into their crucial Week 16 showdown with the division rival Texans.
Will Ryan Tannehill play?
Tannehill re-injured his right ankle in Week 15, an issue that caused him to miss two games earlier in the season. Despite his ability to play through it, Tannehill is reportedly facing an “uphill battle” to play in Week 16.
If Tannehill can’t go, it’ll be rookie quarterback Malik Willis, who has made two starts in place of an injured Tannehill this season, one of which came in Week 8 against the Texans in a 17-10 victory.
As we saw during Willis’ two starts, he’s a downgrade from Tannehill, which is bad news for a Titans passing attack that is already struggling.
The good news is Willis, who played one series in place of Tannehill in the loss to the Chargers on Sunday, looked more comfortable than he ever has, according to head coach Mike Vrabel.
Mike Vrabel said Malik Willis was the most comfortable he's been in a game yesterday. He credits Willis for working through his progressions very well and being decisive. #Titans
— TURRON DAVENPORT (@TDavenport_NFL) December 19, 2022
Hopefully Willis can carry that into Week 16 if Tannehill is indeed ruled out, but chances are he still won’t be able to play up to the level of the veteran starter.
Will other injured starters play?
The Titans were missing four more starters in Week 16, with Denico Autry, Amani Hooker, Kristian Fulton and Treylon Burks ruled out. Also, Zach Cunningham did not return from injured reserve.
As if all those players weren’t enough to worry about, the Titans saw eight more players suffer injuries in Week 16, including Tannehill, Nate Davis, Dillon Radunz, Dylan Cole and Andrew Adams.
While the Titans’ defense played better against the Chargers, we’ve seen this unit typically isn’t the same without Autry, Fulton and/or Hooker in the lineup.
We’ve already talked about the injury to Tannehill, but the offense would be in even bigger trouble if Burks and/or Davis don’t play, as wide receiver and offensive line are the biggest issues for Tennessee on that side of the ball.
The Titans need all hands on deck in order to make things easier for Willis should he start. Right now, it’s doubtful that will be the case.
Will Titans make a change on the offensive line?
The Titans saw solid pass protection early on in Week 15 when they were going with a rotation of Radunz and Dennis Daley, a decision that was surprising to say the least.
But things got worse after the former exited the game with a knee injury and Daley was back to taking all the snaps at left tackle. By the way, he was bad once again.
Now, the Titans might not have an option but to go with Daley should Radunz get ruled out. The only other option is Le’Raven Clark, who Tennessee has passed up for the job before.
Adding to the unlikelihood the Titans make a change, Davis is also dealing with an injury that forced him out of Sunday’s game early, which means Radunz might be needed for right guard if he plays and Davis doesn’t.
The other option there would be to deploy Corey Levin at right guard and Radunz at left tackle, which would obviously be preferable over deploying Daley once again.
If Davis and Radunz both don’t play, I shudder to think what this offense will look behind an even worse offensive line, and with a rookie quarterback under center.
Can Titans stave-off dangerous Texans?
Yes, I called the 1-12-1 Texans dangerous. That’s because they’ve played two of the better teams in the league very tough over the last few weeks. Houston nearly beat the Dallas Cowboys on the road in Week 14, and then forced overtime against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 15.
We’d normally consider this a gimme, but that’s far from the case with how these two teams have looked in recent weeks.
All the pressure is on the Titans here, as a loss and a Jacksonville Jaguars win would put the Jags in first place in the AFC South with just two games left. Even if that doesn’t happen, these two teams seem destined to meet in a winner-take-all Week 18 matchup.
