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NASHVILLE –Ryan Tannehill made a triumphant return from injury in the Tennessee Titans’ 17-10 victory over the Denver Broncos on Sunday at Nissan Stadium.

Just how the veteran quarterback will feel like Monday morning – or in four days, when the Titans travel to Green Bay – remains to be seen.

“I’ve felt better in my life,” Tannehill said. “But the win tastes good. I’ll tell you that much.”

Tannehill had missed the Titans’ last two games due to an ankle injury, which brought an end to his franchise-record streak of 49 straight quarterback starts.

The passing game struggled mightily in his absence, as rookie quarterback Malik Willis completed a combined 11 of 26 throws for 135 yards and an interception in the two contests.

But Tannehill’s return on Sunday didn’t exactly produce a magical or immediate transformation.

He completed just three of 10 passes for 35 yards in the first quarter, nearly was intercepted when he stared down Nick Westbrook-Ikhine on one and had another batted down by Denver defensive lineman Dre’Mont Jones.

In fact, the Titans ran just 22 plays on their first six drives, totaling all of 56 yards.

Everything seemed to change, however, on Tennessee's final drive of the second half. That's when Tannehill connected on eight of 12 throws for 49 yards, including a perfectly placed nine-yard touchdown toss to Westbrook-Ikhine that cut Denver’s lead to 10-7.

“Things were ugly early,” Tannehill said. “The guys hung with me and kept battling. We just found a way to start making some plays and taking advantage of some looks that we were getting. We made some big plays, especially down the stretch when we needed it.”

Added coach Mike Vrabel on the second-half drive: “Ryan was decisive. We protected him. We got into a good flow.”

Tannehill came through with a number of important second-half throws, hitting Westbrook-Ikhine on a 63-yard flea-flicker touchdown, and connecting with tight ends Austin Hooper and Chig Okonkwo on three critical third-down completions.

He wound up throwing for 255 yards overall, his third-highest total of the season.

But when all was said and done, Tannehill’s day might just have been defined by a play that didn’t even involve a pass.

It came in the closing seconds of the first half, with the Titans driving for that first score. Pressured in the pocket, the gimpy-legged Tannehill nevertheless took off up the middle, scrambling for 11 yards that set the Titans up in first-and-goal.

“Yeah, definitely hadn’t tested (my running ability in practice) and it didn’t feel too good,” Tannehill said. “But necessity there. Pocket got muddy. Things weren’t too clean downfield and I was able to squirt out of there.”

Said receiver Treylon Burks: “He gave effort and finish through the whole game. He was mentally tough, physically tough and he made plays when he needed to. He kept the offense together the whole time.”

The next challenge for Tannehill is to make sure that scramble – and the rest of Sunday’s hard-hitting contest – won’t hamper the 10-year veteran when the Titans battle the Packers on Thursday.

“It will be interesting to see how I feel in the morning,” Tannehill said. “But like I said, everything feels a little better when you win.”