The Tennessee Titans dropped their fourth-straight contest in heartbreaking fashion after losing to the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 15, 17-14.
This game was much closer than many anticipated when you consider how many injuries the Titans were dealing with coming into this one. Nonetheless, that doesn’t make this result any easier to stomach.
Tennessee at least found a way to become competitive again, something they hadn’t been over the last few weeks.
The Titans ended up scoring a game-tying touchdown with less than one minute to go, but Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert worked his magic at the end of the game, getting his team in field goal range in the closing seconds to win the game.
In the end, Tennessee falls to 7-7 in what was undoubtedly a disappointing performance in practically every possible way.
In spite of the devastating loss, there were a few positive takeaways in this one, as well as the obvious negative ones.
Therefore, without further ado, let’s dive right into this week’s winners and losers following Sunday’s outcome.
Winner: QB Ryan Tannehill’s toughness
You can say there are a lot of questionable aspects about quarterback Ryan Tannehill’s game, but one thing no one can ever question is his heart, toughness, and desire to be there for his teammates.
After having his ankle rolled early in the game, Tannehill was carted to the locker room for treatment before coming back out to finish the rest of the contest.
Ultimately, his efforts weren’t enough to secure the win, but his toughness didn’t go unnoticed and is appreciated, for what it’s worth. Tannehill ended the day with 165 yards, one interception, and one rushing touchdown.
Winner: DL Demarcus Walker
Albeit in a losing effort, the Titans’ pass-rush finally came back to life again on Sunday.
After only producing a combined four sacks over their previous four games, the Titans accounted for three on the day despite being shorthanded on every level of the defense.
Demarcus Walker in particular had another good performance, leading the team with two sacks on the day.
Walker continues to be one of the more surprising bright spots along Tennessee’s banged-up defensive front. Over his last eight games, the Florida State product has totaled 6.5 sacks — a career high thus far for the veteran defender.
In the end, the Titans’ defensive lineman’s impact didn’t change the outcome, but Walker was at least one of the bright spots on an otherwise disappointing afternoon.
Winner: CB Roger McCreary
Titans rookie cornerback Roger McCreary made one of the best plays of the entire season on Sunday afternoon.
After failing to capitalize on an interception opportunity last weekend, the Auburn product made sure not to make the same mistake twice.
As the half was about to expire, the Chargers decided to take a shot toward the end zone, and the rookie cornerback made them pay.
YOOOOOOOOOO 🤯
📺: Watch #TENvsLAC on @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/zsL0JXnI5R
— Tennessee Titans (@Titans) December 18, 2022
McCreary caught the ball along the sideline and realized that he wasn’t going to get his feet in bounds. The rookie defender then made the cerebral decision to toss the ball back into the field of play, allowing safety Joshua Kalu to then finish off an incredible turnover with an impressive toe drag that was set up by the awareness of the Titans’ most recent second-round selection.
Tennessee’s defense desperately needed to get a takeaway after not forcing any recently, and McCreary at least secured that for them in a massive spot.
Loser: Titans’ once-insurmountable division lead
This is the biggest “L” of the Titans’ weekend. Tennessee had the chance to enter the final three weeks of the 2022 season with a two-game lead on the division had they found a way to beat the Chargers.
Instead, Tennessee dropped its fourth-straight contest, allowing the Jaguars to crawl right back into the division race after they secured another win earlier in the day over the Dallas Cowboys.
Truthfully, it’s probably hard to find many outside of the Titans’ fanbase who genuinely still believe that it’s Tennessee’s division to lose.
Barring a sudden drop-off by the Jaguars, it’s starting to look like a Week 18 showdown in Jacksonville will determine division supremacy for the 2022 season.
The fact that the Titans are even in this situation is both disappointing and disheartening.
Tennessee has to find a way to get healthy as soon as possible so they can get back to their winning ways. Otherwise, this could end up becoming one of the worst collapses in franchise history.
Loser: Dennis Daley and Dillon Radunz’s opportunity
To the surprise of absolutely no one, Dennis Daley allowed another back-breaking sack on Sunday afternoon.
This time, the sack pushed the Titans to the brink of Randy Bullock’s field goal range, resulting in a missed kick that would have probably been good from where they initially were.
The Titans at least made the effort to change things up, allowing Dillon Radunz an opportunity to play left tackle, which he did so admirably.
The North Dakota State product wasn’t perfect by any means, but it seemed like he was a clear upgrade in a small sample size. Unfortunately, Radunz suffered a knee injury, which forced Daley back onto the field.
There’s no telling how serious it was at this time, but it was a disappointing ending to the optimism and excitement that last year’s second-round selection temporarily provided.
This offense’s ceiling will remain limited as long as Daley is “protecting” Tannehill’s blindside.
Loser: Titans’ wide receivers
This continues to be one of the most disappointing developments of the Titans’ season.
Even the most casual fan knew coming into the year that the Titans’ wide receivers room desperately needed an influx of talent.
Their solution was to trade away their one consistent weapon, essentially swapping out a superstar for a rookie with the team in the midst of a championship window.
This unsurprisingly made an already suspect wide receivers room even worse, and the team is paying the price for it as the season wears on.
With rookie Treylon Burks sidelined with a concussion, the team has absolutely no consistent target out wide.
Robert Woods is a shell of what he once was, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine continues to prove that he’s better suited as a role player, and the rest of the room is made up of mostly perennial practice squad players.
The team’s top two available receivers struggled to separate from their nearest defender throughout the game, something that’s been far too common all year long.
According to Next Gen Stats, both Woods (1.22 yards) and Westbrook-Ikhine (0.59 yards) failed to average even 1.5 yards of separation on the day.
Needless to say, the Titans need Burks’ on-field return to be sooner rather than later if they’re going to have any chance of salvaging this passing offense.
If the Arkansas product is unable to return in the near future, it’s probably a safe bet that this group won’t be on many “winners” lists going forward.
