Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - 2021 Tennessee Titans-Coaster Part 3: Complete Recap of Week 14-Divisional Round

Episode Date: February 4, 2022

Tyler caps off a three-part 2021 Titans-Coaster with the final six Tennessee Titans games of the year! First, Tyler goes over a "get right" game against a division rival and a major let down loss. Then, the Titans put things back together with a big prime time win over a worthy competitor and ended one of the longest winning streaks in the NFL! Finally, the Titans barely squeak by in the final week of the season before ultimately bowing out in their first playoff game!Follow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitansFollow the show on Facebook @LockedOnTitansPodSubscribe to the Locked On Titans YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP3332GMOh4y5PX3q9NFybwSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.GetUpsideJust download the FREE GetUpside App and use promo code TOUCHDOWN to get 25 cents per gallon or more cash back on your first tank. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to the Locked on Titans podcast. I am your host, Tyler Rowland. Titans fans, it is a Friday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. And on today's show, it is time for part three of the 2021 Titans coaster. Starting on Wednesday's show, we've been going through every single game of the Titans season, going through all the ups and downs, all the highs and lows from an incredible ride throughout the 2021 year. Today, we're going to cap it off with the last six games of the season. So part three of the 2021 Titans coaster on a Friday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast.

Let's get it. You are locked on Titans podcast. Let's get it. You are Locked on Titans, your daily Tennessee Titans podcast, part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. Titans fans, it is a Friday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. As I said, we are going to cap off the 2021 Titans coaster, go through the last six games of the year. Before we get into that, I do want to let you guys know that today's show is brought to you by GetUpside. It's a free app that anybody who buys gas has to know about.

Just download GetUpside, use the promo code TOUCHDOWN to get $0.25 per gallon or more cash back on your first tank. Also, got to thank you guys for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day. If this is your first ever listen to the Locked on Titans podcast, make sure you subscribe on whatever platform you do stream. You can find the Locked on Titans podcast, make sure you subscribe on whatever platform you do stream. You can find the Locked on Titans podcast everywhere, and it's always free, including the Locked on Titans YouTube channel.

Subscribe over there as well. Smash that notification bell so you know when all of my content goes live. If you're watching on YouTube right now, throw a thumbs up on the video. It is greatly appreciated. Check me out on social media at TicTacTitans on Twitter at LockedOnTitansPod on Facebook. I am your host, Tyler Rowland. Been a Tennessee

Titans fan for well over 20 years. Focus on the X's and O's every single day while also hitting all the biggest news and notes coming out of Nashville. Do want to give you guys just a quick teaser here for what's coming up next week. We are going to have another Mock Draft Monday. We're going to go over some comments from John Robinson talking about Ryan Tannehill.

We got a ton of rumors to go over. There will be free agency. There will be draft. A lot of content coming during the offseason. I am the only Titans content creator that is putting out Monday through Friday daily Tennessee Titans content, so you never want to miss a single episode. But with that being said, let's dive in to the last part of the Titans season, the final six games. We'll begin coming out of the Titans bye week in week 13, and where we left off, the Titans

had an ugly loss to the Houston Texans, an ugly loss to the New England Patriots, filled with turnovers, nine turnovers total in those two games. So coming out of the bye, the Titans really needed a reset. They really needed to get back on the right foot, and they did that. When the Titans need to get right, can't think of anybody better to play than the Jacksonville Jaguars. So the Titans go down to Jacksonville in Week 14 at 8-4, and they dominate and win 20-0 to move to 9-4.

The Titans scored on their opening drive. Drink! Boom, boom, boom. So Deontay Foreman scores coming out. Big Foreman game. He had an awesome game here. Went over 100 yards. The defense just killed Trevor Lawrence in this game.

The Titans had four interceptions all coming in the second half. Jacksonville only ran for eight yards in this game. That's just insane. Combine that with three sacks from the Titans defense, and it was obvious that the Titans were going back in the right direction as a football team. So it wasn't super pretty for the Titans offense, who struggled mightily throughout the

entire season, pretty much as we know now, but the defense just really got it done. Didn't let the Jags do anything. And this was the beginning of the end really for Urban Meyer as head coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars. They didn't give James Robinson the ball barely at all. They couldn't run the ball. They couldn't do anything. The rookie quarterback looked terrible as the Titans forced him to four interceptions. David Long, it was Jayon Brown, Rashawn Evans, Buster Screen, Christian Fulton, all getting interceptions in this game. So just a perfect get-right game for the Titans as they tried to turn the tide on the season and coming off two terrible losses.

But Week 15 was a setback. No other way around it. The Titans go to Pittsburgh play. I know that they ended up making the playoffs, but everyone who watched Pittsburgh all year was like, this isn't a good football team. And for the first half, Pittsburgh didn't look like a very good football team.

I mean, this truly was a tale of two halves for the Titans. The two-faced Titans come through all year long. We saw this. Now, sometimes the Titans came out on top, like week two against Seattle, where they played terribly and then kicked it on the second half. But we saw a couple of times this year and a couple of times in this segment of games that the Titans just didn't get it done in the second half. Didn't always mean that they

lost, but in this game, it sure did. The Titans were leaded 13-3 at halftime. I mean, Pittsburgh literally couldn't do anything other than a first half fumble that set Pittsburgh up for a field goal. Pittsburgh couldn't get anything going at all. The Titans were doing just enough on offense to give themselves a lead, but the defense was really just killing it. And then halftime happened. The Titans come out on offense, and here are their drives in the second half against Pittsburgh. Punt, punt, fumble, interception, fumble, turnover on downs.

So three more turnovers in the second half, total of four turnovers on the day. I mean, the Titans gave the Steelers 12 of their points on only 58 yards because they were turning over the ball so much and putting Pittsburgh in a great spot. I mean, the only touchdown drive Pittsburgh have, they got like 70 yards on three penalties. So the Titans defense, again, being completely let down by the Titans offense who just shot themselves in the foot in the second half. And the real theme for the Titans for turnovers, a turnover on downs, they just keep beating themselves.

The Titans beat themselves all year long, and it was ultimately their undoing at the end of the season. But we'll work our way towards the end of the season. We've got some really fun wins ahead in week 16 and week 17. One of those being a prime time comeback victory that was a lot of fun to watch. So we're going to get into that before we do. I want to tell you guys a little bit more about today's title sponsor, GetUpside. If you're a Titans fan who buys gas, you have to know about this incredible app called GetUpside. My listeners are earning cash back for every gallon of gas. Every time they fill up,

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Titans fans, let's continue part three of the 2021 Titans coaster going week by week through the season, kind of a final season recap in my mind, put a bow on the Titans season. That was all the different moments, ups and downs, everything like that. Before we continue and get into the next two games on the schedule, do want to let you guys know that super week is brought to you by Get Upside. There's no better place to get coverage of the big game than the Locked On NFL podcast, Locked On Bengals, Locked On Rams.

Also make sure you check out the Peacock and Williamson NFL show. They'll have live coverage from Super Week as well, so make sure you check out all those great shows for the best Super Bowl content and coverage you are going to find in the football cognoscenti. So moving forward here. Week 16, the Titans coming off that terrible loss to Pittsburgh. Really bad taste in their mouth. And you're starting to wonder, does this team really got it? Can this team really get it done?

I mean, me personally, during the season when that happened, I was like, oh, the number one seed's out now. We can't worry about that. I mean, losses like that. But the gritty Tennessee Titans, they always came back. When they got punched in the mouth, they always came back. And it was prime time, short week against San Francisco. The Titans come back and win 20-17 at the end. And it was ugly at first.

San Francisco's first drive, it was like a hot knife through butter, man. They didn't even see a third down on their first drive. They just came right in and put it on the Titans 7-0. The Titans couldn't get anything going on offense themselves. Punt, punt, punt to start. Really slow. San Francisco took advantage. They got all the way down to the red zone on their second drive,

and Jackrabbit Jenkins comes up with a huge interception. And I still remember Mike Vrabel talking in his postgame speech to the team, telling everybody, you know, we were losing water. You know, we were in trouble. And Jackrabbit came up with a big interception on a pass intended to George Kittle in the end zone. Monster play there. Now, the Titans weren't able to do anything with it.

The Titans punted four times in the first half. Every drive that they had was a punt. But holding the 49ers to, you know, seven points on their first two drives, even though they went to the red zone twice, holding the 49ers to a field goal on their third drive, I mean, it was a great job by the 49ers to a field goal on their third drive. I mean, it was a great job by the Titans defense to get them out of that first half 10-0. But in the second half, the Titans come out.

They get a field goal. Amani Hooker gets an interception on Jimmy Garoppolo. The Titans go down, score a touchdown, and we got to give A.J. Brown a ton of credit. That play, Ryan Tannehill, third and 23, draws the 49ers off sides, takes a shot downfield to the right side, throwing cross-bodied

and completes it to A.J. Brown down the field. The Titans end up turning that into an 18-yard A.J. Brown touchdown on a post over the middle and the comeback was on. I mean, Ryan Tannehill has a big scramble at the middle and the comeback was on I mean Ryan Tannehill has a big scramble at the end of the game as the Titans are driving to put him in field goal position and once

again as we've seen a lot this season bulletproof Bullock comes through with a game-winning field goal and the Titans win 20 to 17 just an incredibly fun game to watch the Titans were down and they came back. Big effort in the second half from the Titans to make the plays that they needed to make, especially

A.J. Brown, who just showed back up and was like, yes, I am the superstar that you've all been waiting for and that you've needed all along. So it was really nice to see that. And after that game, it was kind of like, okay, when the Titans are healthy, even when it's not pretty, they can get the job done when it matters. And that moved forward to a week 17 matchup against the Miami Dolphins at home. And it was a continuation of that feeling

because the Titans stomped the Dolphins 34 to three. If you recall, the Dolphins were on a seven-game win streak. They were one of the hottest teams in the NFL. And everybody was wondering, can this Dolphins team make the playoffs? How real are they? Well, the Titans answered that question. They are not a real team. And the Titans ended the Dolphins' playoff chase.

And it was just a clean, balanced game for the Titans. I mean, they ran for nearly 200 yards. Ryan Tannehill didn't go crazy, but really efficient. 13 for 18, 120 yards, two touchdowns. The Titans defense had three sacks, two turnovers, forced a fumble on Tua, got an interception on Tua as well. The Dolphins just weren't able to do anything all day long. They had a missed field goal in there as well.

I mean, the Titans really just completely shut down everything that Miami was trying to do in the game. They had nothing to go to. Hybrid coverages was a big thing in that game that I really enjoyed watching on the tape. I mean, it was a dismantling. No way around it. The Dolphins are just not the caliber of team that the Titans were.

And although they had a good little winning streak going and everything, that still didn't make them a playoff caliber team in the NFL and now they fired their coach and I don't really believe in Tua. Tough times for the Dolphins when if they would have just lost to the Bengals the end of 2019, they'd have Joe Burrow and they could have taken Justin Herbert at five. That's a rough spot. Titans aren't in a great spot, of course, because we know about QB purgatory,

but man, the Dolphins are in an even worse spot, let me tell you. That's going to do it for these two games, then we're going to go into the last two games of the season. An ugly win in week 18, and then, of course, a playoff loss for the Titans to end the season. Before we get into that though, I do want to tell you guys about the best tasting protein bars in the galaxy from our friends over at Built Bar. It's a new year.

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Use the promo code LOCKED15. You're going to get 15% off your order. Once again, that's promo code LOCKED15 for 15% off at BiltBar.com. Titans fans, let's cap off the 2021 Titans Coaster, our season recap game by game, week by week. We just talked about the Titans away win, getting back on the right foot against Jacksonville, major setback loss, letting the Steelers come back,

but stepping back up and having a comeback of their own against San Francisco, then dominating Miami. Now, we got to talk about that final game of the regular season, and the Tennessee Titans, with a chance to get the number one seed in the AFC, went on the road against the Houston Texans, and man, for some reason, no matter how bad Houston is, they're always going to play the Titans tough. And they did in this game as well. The Titans were able to win 28-25, but they had to stem a furious comeback by Davis Mills and the Houston Texans.

I mean, truly a tale of two halves. The Titans came out slow again. It was 0-0 at the end of the first quarter, but then Tannehill just went on an explosion. Ryan Tannehill was balling in this game. The Titans scored three touchdowns in the second quarter, went to halftime with a 21-0 lead. I mean, this was a game where the passing offense really came to life. Nick Westbrook-Akina, Anthony Ferkser, Julio Jones, A.J. Brown all had over 50 yards and a touchdown. Ryan Tannehill had four

passing touchdowns on the day, one of his best performances all year. But in the second half, the Titans had a major, major letdown on defense. Davis Mills and Tim Kelly, the now-fired offensive coordinator of the Houston Texans, just diagramming great plays, getting space over the middle, standing tall in the pocket and making throws for Mills. I mean, they were just on fire and the Texans put up 25 points in that second half to really make things dicey for the Titans, but the Titans got one touchdown and they were able to get that touchdown to Julio Jones in the second half after one of the best plays. I mean, this is going to be one of those plays when Ryan Tannehill's career is over,

when this core of the Tennessee Titans kind of changes over to a new core. This is going to be one of those plays that we remember for a long time. Ryan Tannehill avoiding the sack in the backfield, getting out of the pocket, firing a 30-yard strike to Nick Westbrook-Akina for a first down on a critical third down where the tires were really falling off for the Titans.

And Tannehill pulled a Houdini at Ryan Houdini. I mean, that was one of the best plays of the entire season, a great play for Ryan Tannehill, one of the best of his career, one of the best games of his career. He really got the Titans in a spot where they could get that No. 1 seed and get that bye that they really needed at the time, trying to get healthy, give Derrick Henry some extra time, all of that. So, the Titans finished the regular season 12-5.

The number one team in the AFC, and everybody in the Titans community was thinking, here we go, here we go. Finished the season three straight wins. AJ back, Julio back Henry's coming back everybody's healthy on offense and defense ready to go into a playoff game

at home against the Cincinnati Bengals and we're here again folks 19-16 the Titans lose and again Ryan Tannehill three three terrible interceptions, all bad decisions, can't make those throws,

especially the RPO tip-up for an interception. Just have to read the defense better than that. But you combine that with some terrible play calling, like calling that RPO two times and doing nothing with it, like the third down and fourth down, turnover on downs, play calls, going with the read option, then going with the handoff, not doing a QB sneak either time. It's just perplexing that those two things,

the QB play and the play calling, was able to ruin A.J. Brown and Julio Jones going over 200 total yards, the team rushing for 140 yards, the defense tying a playoff record with nine sacks. 200 total yards. The team rushing for 140 yards. The defense tying a playoff record with nine sacks. I mean, it's just truly unreal. It's just truly unreal. And like I've said numerous times,

I don't think I'm ever going to get over it. Especially watching how bad the Chiefs played in that game against the Bengals. It's just going to be one of those all-time what-ifs for the Tennessee Titans franchise. And, you know, unfortunately it's one of those things where as I said when it happened,

kind of leaves you with a lot less hope going into 2022 than you've had going into any recent season. I mean, I had more hope for the Titans to win a Super Bowl going into 2019 than I did going into 2022. So very unfortunate. The Titans go through the Titans coaster, battle through all the adversity,

91 different players on the roster, all the injuries, all the ups and downs, COVID, all the bad games, the ups and downs, COVID, all the bad games. And this is how it ends. But we've gone through the year. And as I've gone through the year, it's just been so obvious, the turnovers. You just can't win consistently and be as good as you want to be when you turn over the ball as much as the Titans did this year. It's just not going to work out. And they were able to survive the turnovers against some bad teams. But at the end of the day, the Reaper came a knocking. And the Reaper was the turnovers. And sent the Titans packing.

Sent the Titans home. Very unfortunate. But that is where the 2021 season ends. Going forward. Next week, we're going to have a Mock Draft Monday. We're going to review John Robinson's comments from the Senior Bowl. We're going to have a little Senior Bowl recap, as well as we kind of start spinning this thing into free agency and draft.

We are going to do awards for the Titans regular season, MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, disappointments, surprises, all of that and more coming next week on the Locked on Titans podcast, so make sure that you guys do subscribe. That's going to do it for me today, though, folks. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Titans.