The Tennessee Titans seem to be unable to handle prosperity.
Following a surprising upset in Houston the week before, the Titans players and coaches were excited and hoping to use the victory as a springboard to “stack some wins.”
But Sunday in Washington, reality raised its head early and in a big way, letting the Titans know that any notion of making a late run toward contention was a pipe dream.
Sunday’s embarrassing 42-19 loss clinched the Titans’ third consecutive losing season for a franchise that somehow lost its way midway through 2022 and still has not recovered enough to give fans any hope and little incentive to show up for the final three home games of this season at Nissan Stadium.
Since defeating the Denver Broncos and Green Bay Packers Nov. 13 and 17, 2022, respectively, the Titans have gone 36 consecutive games without a two-game win streak.
In that time, both stars and role players have come and gone. The organization has changed its general manager, the head coach and starting quarterback while trying to employ a “competitive rebuild” and sneak back into contention.
Alas, that plan is stuck in neutral at 3-9 with five games left to try and find some respectability and/or sign that things are headed back in the right direction.
Fans are often fickle and like to attach blame for a team’s woes. Former general manager Jon Robinson is an easy target with his draft misses in his final three seasons at the helm, plus the dubious trade of A.J. Brown for a very low return on investment.
Some are starting to question current general manager Ran Carthon’s abilities to fix this mess and, of course, the more the losing continues the more some point to first-year coach Brian Callahan while fondly longing for the halcyon days of 7-10 in Mike Vrabel’s last couple of seasons.
Holding up the mirror
The truth is, there are enough losses and embarrassing moments for everyone involved in decision-making for this organization over the last three years to have some of the blame for the organization’s failures – including owner Amy Adams Strunk, whose impulsiveness has helped to play a role in the Titans’ shortcomings.
So, the mission for the Titans for the remainder of this season needs to be a strong self-evaluation from everyone in the organization to try and move this team forward for 2025 and beyond.
Simply put, the product on the field has to be better, especially when state and county money are contributing to the club’s new $2 billion stadium. Sure, you can’t win every year, but fans are entitled to expect better, especially when they will be heavily invested with more than just rooting interest in the game.
In that evaluation process, improvement and a better product are imperative. There is only one team remaining on the schedule with a winning record. But the improvement has to be measured beyond just finishing the season with five wins instead of four.
It has to come with the visible commitment that what is to come over the next couple of seasons is better, more entertaining and simply a superior product to what has been on display for three years now.
Terry McCormick also covers the Titans for TitanInsider.com