Memories of Last Season's Mile High Low Point Linger

The Tennessee Titans surely have not forgotten their meeting with the Denver Broncos last season at Empower Field at Mile High.

Perhaps nobody remembers it more than starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who took over for then-starter Marcus Mariota early in the third quarter.

“We had a couple conversations on the sideline but didn't really know if I was going to get the nod or not,” Tannehill said on Wednesday. “Then my number was called, and I was excited to go in and play, do what I love doing. Unfortunately, we weren't able to get really anything going in that game, so definitely a bad taste in our mouth from our performance last year.”

That bad taste stems from being shut out by the Broncos defense. The 16-0 loss not only marked the second time the Titans were held scoreless in a game since October 2018, but also their worst offensive performance of the 2019 season.

Denver held the Titans to a dreadful 204 yards of total offense and intercepted three passes (Mariota had two, Tannehill had one). Tannehill took over for Mariota as nothing more than an established NFL quarterback who could win some games.

At that moment, the prospects for the offense with him in charge didn’t appear to be any better than the 26-year-old dual-threat Mariota, who had struggled leading up to and into that game. By game's end, Tannehill had completed 13 of 16 passes for 144 yards.

To add insult to injury, star running back Derrick Henry mustered just 28 yards on 15 carries.

“We've definitely discussed our performance last year,” Tannehill said. “We watched the tape again going back and preparing for this game. Definitely doesn't feel good to go back and see our performance last year. Got to give credit to them, they did a heck of a job of crowding us, of containing us, and we just didn't execute good enough.”

However, last year’s lowlight against Denver could have very well been the turning point of the season for the Titans.

From that game on, Tannehill, who eventually won Comeback Player of the Year honors, led the Titans to a 7-3 record en route to a deep playoff run, which ended against the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship game. In those 10 regular season games, Tannehill threw for 2,598 yards and 22 interceptions. In the playoffs, he completed 36 passes on 60 attempts for five touchdowns and just one interception.

All of that ultimately led the Titans to put their faith in Tannehill for at least four more seasons.

“I think it's about being a professional. It's about taking advantage of your opportunities but being prepared for when that may come,” Vrabel said of Tannehill’s performance last season. “Continuing to improve, understand our system, letting it work for him, being accurate, being decisive with the football. Hopefully as we move on here to this season, which is the most important one, that some of those same things will continue to show up and will even be better.”

After spending the better part of his first six NFL seasons as the Miami Dolphins starting quarterback, the 32-year-old Tannehill admitted being thrown into the lineup in the middle of last season was different for him.

But in the end, he found a rhythm.

“I found some consistency that gets me prepared for each and every game,” Tannehill said. “I feel really good going into the game mentally and physically, and I figured that out a few years ago, what works best for me, and then just kind of carried that through.”

In less than a year, a lot has changed for the Titans and Tannehill. They now can hope all of it leads to a better result in the Mile High City on Monday Night Football.

“What happened last year has no effect on what happens this year,” Tannehill said. “We have to be able to go out and like I said, play our game, play consistently from start to finish. They're a good defense, good team, solid on defense. They’re sound fundamentally. They’re sound in where they're at and not giving you much, so you're going to have to go out and earn it.”