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What You Might Have Missed

Derrick Henry's running, personnel missteps and the ultimately successful division title chase were the leading storylines but not all that happened.

When it came to the Tennessee Titans in 2020, it was Derrick Henry who dominated the headlines. And rightfully so, given all he accomplished after having signed a hefty contract extension during the offseason.

Much attention also was paid to the front office’s failures (in free agency and the draft), to the franchise’s first division title since 2008 and the end of a record-setting run of 9-7 records. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill and wide receiver A.J. Brown were regular topics of conversation as well.

Some aspects of the Titans’ performance might have gone unnoticed or recognized by only a few, however.

Here are a few things you might have missed.

Stephen Gostkowski got a share of an NFL playoff record. The veteran kicker became one of two players in NFL history to appear in the postseason for 12 straight years. He entered the league in 2006 and has been a part of at least one playoff game in all but one of those years and in every year since 2009.

The 36-year-old’s overall experience and the fact that he has made big kicks in big games was a big part of the reason that Titans signed him at the start of the regular season. For what it’s worth, he did not disappoint in that regard as he connected on all of his tries, two field goals one PAT, in his first postseason with Tennessee.

The first 11 times he made the playoffs, of course, he was a member of the New England Patriots. One of his teammates during that time was quarterback Tom Brady, the only other NFL player to appear in the postseason 12 straight years having helped Tampa Bay get there this season. The Buccaneers, unlike Gostkowski and the Titans, advanced to the divisional round.

The Patriots finished 7-9 and did not make the playoffs.

Harold Landry is in good company. Much was made throughout the season – and rightfully so – about the struggles of Tennessee’s defense when it came to quarterback sacks.

The Titans failed to record a single sack in six games, had just one in four others and for most of the season were in contention to finish with the fewest sacks in the league. Ultimately, they ended up 30th with 19 sacks.

Outside linebacker Harold Landry had a team-high five and a half. That was three and a half fewer than he had a year earlier but it made him the third player during the Titans era (1999-present) to be the team’s outright leader in sacks in consecutive seasons. The others to do so were Jevon Kearse (1999-01) and Kyle Vanden Bosch (2005-07).

The big difference is that Kearse was a Pro Bowler in each of those three years and an All-Pro in one (1999), and Vanden Bosch made the Pro Bowl in two of the three years he led the Titans. Landry has yet to earn any such league-wide recognition.

The Titans were outgained for the season. There is no doubt that Tennessee’s offense was one of the best. It finished second in the NFL in yards and fourth in points and scored more touchdowns than any team other than Green Bay.

For the season, though, opponents actually had more total yards. Granted, the difference was minimal – 6,372 yards allowed versus 6,343 yards gained – but for a team that won more than twice as many games as it lost, that was notable.

There were 11 franchises that had at least 11 wins in the regular season, and nine of them outgained the opposition, most by a wide margin. The only one other than Tennessee that did not was Seattle, which was not even among the top half of the league in total yards. Like the Titans, the Seahawks did not make it out of the wild card round.

The last time Tennessee went 11-5 was 2002, and that season it outgained the opposition by 308 yards.

Jeffery Simmons was a league leader. The 2019 first-round pick proved in his first full NFL season that he has a nose for the ball.

Simmons tied for the NFL lead with three fumble recoveries. All three came in Titans victories, beginning in Week 1 at Denver. He also had one against Chicago and one against Detroit.

The only others with that many were Washington defensive end Chase Young, the presumed Defensive Rookie of the Year, and Baltimore safety Chuck Clark. The latter had more opportunities given that he played every snap for his defense (1,046) and Baltimore led the league with 33 forced fumbles. Washington forced 21, the same number as the Titans, and Simmons and Young each played about three-quarters of their team’s defensive snaps.

The last time any Tennessee player had at least three fumble recoveries in a season was 2005, when linebacker Brad Kassell had that many.

Derrick Henry was part of a dynamic duo. No one doubts that the Titans running back and two-time rushing champion is one of a kind. His size, speed and performance (he became the eighth player in history to rush for 2,000 yards in a season) are unmatched in the modern NFL.

However, in concert with Minnesota’s Dalvin Cook, Henry helped make this season the first since 2006 in which multiple players had at least 1,900 scrimmage yards and 17 touchdowns. Henry finished with 2,141 totals yards (2,027 rushing, 114 receiving) with 17 touchdowns. Cook finished with 1,918 yards (1,557 rushing, 361 receiving) with 17 touchdowns. Only New Orleans running back Alvin Kamara and Green Bay wide receiver Davante Adams had more touchdowns (21 and 18, respectively).

Henry expressed great admiration for Cook during the regular season while the two battled for the rushing lead.