The Slimmest of Margins
The Tennessee Titans could easily consider themselves lucky after needing last-minute efforts to secure victories against the Denver Broncos and Jacksonville Jaguars.
On Monday, head coach Mike Vrabel acknowledged that although his team has played well enough, it needs to be better.
“If we don’t continue to improve quickly, these [games] are probably going to go the other way,” he said. “I think that’s the message that we have to relay to the players. We are happy to be 2-0. … We’re lucky in a lot of ways. There has been a lot of good stuff and stuff we have to clean up.”
Regardless, the Titans have done enough to start the season 2-0 for the first time in 12 years and the third time overall since the Titans era began in 1999. As rare an accomplishment as it may be, each of the previous 2-0 starts have been gateways to two of the franchise’s most successful seasons to date.
When the Titans started 2-0 in 1999, they finished the season with a 13-3 record. Behind quarterback Steve McNair and four-time Pro Bowl running back Eddie George, the Titans defeated the Buffalo Bills, Indianapolis Colts and Jacksonville Jaguars en route to Super Bowl XXXIV, in which they famously came up a yard short on the game’s final play.
The Titans also finished 13-3 in 2008 after winning 10 straight games to start the regular season. While they won the AFC South and earned the conference’s No. 1 seed, the Baltimore Ravens eliminated the Titans in the Divisional Round of the playoffs.
Tennessee is one of seven 2-0 teams in the NFL right now (New Orleans or Las Vegas will join them with Monday night's contest). None has done it in the same fashion.
The Titans defeated the Broncos 16-14 on the road in Week 1. Kicker Stephen Gostkowski, who missed four total kicks in the game, made a game-winning field goal with less than 20 seconds to play. At Nissan Stadium on Sunday, the Titans squeaked past a young Jaguars team in a 33-30 track meet. Gostkowski made a 49-yard field goal with just over a minute left in the game to put the Titans ahead. In the ensuing Jaguars possession, defensive end Harold Landry intercepted a tipped Gardner Minshew pass to seal the deal.
The combined margin of victory is five points, the slimmest among those currently 2-0. By comparison, Baltimore is plus-49, Green Bay is plus-30 and Kansas City is plus-17. The closest to Tennessee is Buffalo at plus-13.
After a run to the AFC Championship game in 2019, it hasn’t been the dominant start many expected from the Titans. The defense has been without a handful of important pieces, especially in the secondary. The offense, particularly the running game, has not been the force it was so often last season.
“I know talk about being 0-2 is a death sentence as far as not making it to the playoffs so I feel good about that. It feels good to win a division game,” safety Kevin Byard said on Sunday. “We have a lot to fix. We have got to be more detailed as a team, as a defense. Obviously, it feels good to have to fix it a 2-0. We have to come back next week and go back to work. It’s a lot we can fix out there.”
And a long way to go.
“Definitely off to a great start,” running back Derrick Henry said. “I don't want to get too caught up in it. I enjoyed this win (Sunday). [We will] make the corrections when we get back in the building and keep improving as a team.”
