The Tennessee Titans dropped their third-straight contest in Week 14, losing to the Jacksonville Jaguars, 36-22 — and as a result, Tennessee is rightly moving down in the NFL power rankings of most experts.
We say most because, well, somehow the Titans moved up in a few of the power rankings in our round-up despite their worst loss of 2022.
The first expert we’re checking in on is USA TODAY’s Nate Davis, who has the Titans moving down three spots to No. 19. Here’s what he had to say about Tennessee:
19. Titans (16): They’ve lost three in a row for the first time since 2018, Mike Vrabel’s first season as head coach. Tennessee has now been outscored by 35 points on the season, worst of any team currently above .500.
While the sky feels like it’s falling in Nashville after the Titans failed to respond against a team it normally dominates, Tennessee still has a commanding lead in the AFC South.
That said, things aren’t wrapped up yet, and the potential for a collapse feels more possible than it did just a few weeks ago.
Now, the rest of the round-up, which features two experts actually moving the Titans up, and one of them has Tennessee moving up two spots.
Robert Zeglinski and Christian D'Andrea, For The Win: 13 (-4)
Robert Zeglinski and Christian D’Andrea, For The Win:
Tennessee gave up 20 points via turnover in a game it lost by 14. This threw Mike Vrabel’s offense off schedule, forced his team to improvise more than it wanted, and ultimately gave way to Jacksonville’s first win in Nashville since Barack Obama was President. The key to beating the Titans remains the same — make them play from behind and throw the ball, and you take away their bread and butter.
Barry Werner, The List Wire: 14 (-3)
Derrick Henry had a big game, made some huge plays, and the Titans lost. This is getting to be a tired script for a team that should be opening up lengths in the horrible AFC South.
Mark Lane, Touchdown Wire: 11 (-1)
Like the Buccaneers, the Titans probably won’t lose their division just because of how terrible everyone else’s records are. However, Tennessee is hardly a contender in the AFC unless something drastically changes on their roster.
Vinnie Iyer, Sporting News: 13 (-1)
What was that? The Titans saw their nine-game home winning streak vs. the Jaguars end despite Derrick Henry doing his thing. The lack of a reliable consistent passing game hurts when they get behind.
Frank Schwab, Yahoo Sports: 14 (-2)
Derrick Henry had just 2 yards on three second-half carries after rushing for 119 in the first half. The Titans aren’t going to win like that. The Titans’ next two opponents are the Chargers and Texans, two of the worst run defenses in the NFL, so Henry will have a chance to put up some big numbers.
Josh Schrock, NBC Sports: 15 (-4)
15. Tennessee Titans (7-6): The Titans fired their GM midweek, and then the team went out and laid an egg against the Jags. The ship is sinking in Nashville.
Dan Hanzus, NFL.com: 15 (-6)
After a blowout loss to the Eagles in Week 13, Mike Vrabel told reporters the Titans were at a crossroads. On Sunday against the Jaguars, Tennessee looked like a team that has stumbled down a dark path to nowhere. The shorthanded defense was lit up by Trevor Lawrence, while the offense turned the ball over four times in a 36-22 drubbing by the Jaguars. Three consecutive losses, combined with last week’s stunning dismissal of general manager Jon Robinson, paint the picture of a team in serious trouble. Said Vrabel: “Nothing was good enough today.” The boo birds in Nashville that came out in force by the third quarter strongly agree.
NFL Nation, ESPN: 14 (-3)
The FPI efficiencies are an excellent match for the Titans’ mediocre 7-6 record. Tennessee’s offense has had its share of struggles, especially in the second half, during which it has averaged an NFL-worst 5.2 points. The special teams has 15 field goals — tied for the third least in the league — and its coverage units have struggled, particularly against the Eagles, with rookie Britain Covey returning six punts for 105 yards in Week 13. Meanwhile, the defense has been outstanding against the run (81.3 yards allowed, third best), but the pass defense is allowing 283.7 yards per game, the second worst in the league.
Mike Florio, Pro Football Talk: 16 (-2)
Mike Florio, Pro Football Talk:
16. Titans (7-6; No. 14): It wasn’t much fun while it lasted.
Pete Prisco, CBS Sports: 11 (+2)
What was that against the Jaguars? The defense is awful right now, which won’t win a lot of games going forward, and the offensive line is awful.
Bleacher Report: 11 (-1)
Barring an epic collapse, the Tennessee Titans are going to win the AFC South for a third consecutive season. But that collapse has already begun…
And the Titans are in trouble.
After getting drilled at home by the Jaguars, the Titans have dropped three straight for the first time since 2018. Over the past two weeks, they have been outscored 71-32—and the games weren’t as close as even those lopsided numbers indicate.
Tennessee turned it over four times against the Jaguars, with running back Derrick Henry accounting for two of them. Henry had a huge first quarter before completely disappearing in the second half, and he confessed to reporters afterward that he has to play better.
“I got to be better,” Henry said. “No excuse on that. Just fall on the ball and play another down.”
For head coach Mike Vrabel, the skid means it’s gut-check time for the Titans and their players.
“We are going to have to be able to weather the storm and find out who is willing to give us that extra push here down the stretch,” Vrabel said.
The Titans had better get it together—with two games left against teams with winning records before visiting Jacksonville in Week 18, the last thing Tennessee needs is for that game to mean something.
Conor Orr, Sports Illustrated: 12 (-1)
Conor Orr, Sports Illustrated:
As good as the Titans are, and as spirited as they will be if they are remotely close to their opponent at the end of a game, they are going to struggle to keep up in boat races, even on afternoons where Derrick Henry is cruising to more than seven yards per carry.
Austin Gayle, The Ringer: 10 (+1)
The Titans offense tanks off-script, and their pass defense is getting exposed every week. Tennessee ranks fourth in EPA per play in the first quarter of games; they rank 32nd in the same statistic in the next three quarters. Combine that with a defense that is allowing the second-most passing yards per game of any team in the NFL, and it becomes more obvious why the only team the Titans have beat with a winning record this season is the Commanders. Tennessee is still a safe bet to win the AFC South, but it feels like they’re primed for an early exit in the playoffs.
Jeremy Cluff, Arizona Republic: 17 (-3)
Jeremy Cluff, Arizona Republic:
Lost to Jaguars, 36-22, to fall to 7-6. Tennessee should make the playoffs because of its really bad division, but we don’t think they’ll last long in them.
Walter Football: 14 (-4)
Losing to the Bengals and Eagles was understandable, but a 14-point home to defeat to Jacksonville has to be worrying. That said, the Titans were extremely banged up in that game, so I’d expect them to perform better once they get some players back into the lineup.
Dalton Miller, Pro Football Network: 11 (-1)
Dalton Miller, Pro Football Network:
The 2022 NFL season has been a story of streaks. The Titans rattled off seven wins in eight games, doing so by winning in their patented ugly fashion. However, they’ve now lost three straight games, and, just this past week, fired general manager Jon Robinson.
Tennessee’s receiving corps is underdeveloped, their tackles are bad, the secondary is injured, and they’ve struggled to run the football the way we’re used to seeing from the Titans this season.
