My Two Cents: Tannehill Wasn't Good, But Pumps the Brakes on Benching Him

NASHVILLE — There is a perfectly good reason why Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel has faith in quarterback Ryan Tannehill, despite the veteran's struggles in the Week 1 loss to the New Orleans.

Vrabel knows that Tannehill can win games as the quarterback of this team. And do you know why?

Because he's seen it before. A lot.

Tannehill is no Hall of Famer, not even close. But he's still capable of winning games in the NFL. Even in the worst performance of his 146-game NFL career, he was still just one play away from of winning last Sunday in the 16-15 loss to the Saints.

So to all those fans who want to move on from Tannehill right now, just pump the brakes a little. That was just one game, one out of 17.

Need one more very solid reason for stopping the whining about Tannehill?

He's still the best quarterback on this team right now.

And that, too, is not even close. So, please, let's move on. We are, as Tannehill said Wednesday, ''on to San Diego.''

Tannehill met with the media Wednesday, and was all done talking about the Saints loss. That was three days ago, and there are no magic erasers. It's done, it's in the books, and it's not going away.

It's time to move on. Tannehill is, and Joe Fan should, too. It's on the Los Angeles Chargers and the home opener on Sunday at Nissan Stadium in Nashville. Tannehill's slip-up of calling them ''San Diego'' isn't something I'm going to rip him for because I keep doing it myself, too.

“Guys, I just want to move on to San Diego,” Tannehill said during his media availability on Wednesday. “I’m not going to answer any more questions about what happened Sunday. What happened Sunday, happened. I’m not happy about it, no one in this building is happy about it, but at the end of the day, it’s over, we can learn from it, we can move on and if you have any questions about (the Chargers), I’d be more than happy to answer.

"It definitely wasn't my best day, obviously. A lot of areas where I can be better, and I am excited to be better in those areas this week.''

Some fans didn't like Tannehill's handling of the question, basically dismissing any further talk about last Sunday's game and not showing any accountability. I had no problem with it, because he was fully accountable after the game on Sunday. You can't beat a dead horse. You learn from it and move on, getting ready for the Chargers and the home opener, which is a huge game now.

The Titans need a win in the worst way, because it's been a long, long time. Their last regular season win came 303 days ago, on Nov. 17, 2022 in Green Bay. They've lost eight games in a row.

And that's a streak that really needs to end.

Tannehill can't have another three-interception, zero-touchdown performance, which was a rarity in and of itself. It's only happened once before, and that was way back in his rookie year in Miami in 2012, when he still didn't know what he was doing.

That was the frustrating part of Sunday's performance, because he's 35 years old now and he does know what he's doing. The 28.8 quarterback rating, though, was the worst of his career.

So, going forward, he's set a very low bar.

“It will definitely be easy to be a lot better than that,” Tannehill said. “It was tough to watch that film, and I’ve watched it I think five times, went through everything multiple times and looked at the errors where I can be better, where we can be better. I am excited to move forward.

"You want to get it all fixed. You want to go out and play good football, and that's what I need to do this week. There's a lot of areas where I want to be better and am looking forward to being better this week."

There's a lot of fan angst over Tannehill — and Vrabel too, for that matter. But he is NOT getting cut, NOT getting benched, NOT being moved on from. That's not happening, for one simple reason. As I mentioned above, Tannehill is still the best quarterback on this team, and in mid-September of 2023, it's not even close.

Second-year man Malik Willis and rookie Will Levis are simply not ready to win NFL games. Levis has been hurt, bothered by a thigh injury, which is too bad because he was making a lot of progress before getting hurt up in Minnesota.

Willis, who got just about all of the playing time in the final two preseason games, did some nice things but he had too many killer turnovers. Vrabel hates that.

Vrabel, in mid-September, simply doesn't has enough faith in the second-year quarterback to throw him out there in games that matter. That's why Tannehill will start on Sunday, and that's why the Titans are fully expecting to win, despite being 3.5-point underdogs at home.

Tannehill still gives them that best chance.

As I said on Monday, for as poorly as he played against the Saints, they were still just one play away from winning. Do we think Tannehill is still capable of making one extra play? I still am. They had plenty of chances on Sunday, and all they needed to do was finish one of those five scoring drives with a touchdown instead of a field goal and they win.

And the narrative would have been completely different this week.

Forty-plus years of doing this job, and I've always said this about the NFL. You get three hours of football on a Sunday and then an entire week to talk about it. It's overwhelming.

So for now, let's just let this season play out a bit. We do not have to worry about who starts at quarterback for the Titans in 2024. It's a non-issue at the moment.

Tannehill and the Titans need to be 100 percent focused on the Chargers, and winning on Sunday. The future doesn't matter, and last Sunday doesn't matter anymore, either. It's one day at a time. This season is a long way — a very long way — from being over. There's no need to do any benching this week.

So, yes, let's go. It's on to San Diego. (Say it with me with a smile.)

My Two Cents: Tannehill Wasn't Good, But Pumps the Brakes on Benching Him — For Now

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