Ryan Tannehill engineered his third fourth-quarter comeback in four starts, and the Tennessee Titans just might be a good football team.
On a day in which Patrick Mahomes threw for over 400 yards for the Kansas City Chiefs, it was Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill who stole the show in a thrilling 35-32 win.
Branded as a first-round bust, Tannehill is in the midst of a career rival in Tennessee, which began last month when the team finally decided they had enough of former No. 2 overall pick Marcus Mariota’s lack of confidence at quarterback.
For the most part, Tannehill has been an adequate game manager for the Titans, doing enough so that his team can win with its usual formula of hard-nosed running and even tougher defense. But against a returning Mahomes who was in his element with a full gamut of pass-catching options, Tannehill needed to make some plays of his own.
Once again, Tannehill showed up when the Titans needed him to make plays.
With less than a minute left, Tannehill scrambled and tossed Tennessee into the end zone, capping off a drive that started in Titans territory with a touchdown pass to free agent signing Adam Humphries.
The former Miami Dolphins quarterback only attempted 19 passes all game, but he made those attempts count. Tannehill completed 13 of them for 181 yards and two touchdowns, taking full advantage of Derrick Henry’s dominant 188-yard, two-touchdown day against the notoriously poor Chiefs linebackers.
Tannehill was the game manager for nearly four quarters, but he was the decisive, talented first-round pick with everything on the line. Nothing epitomized his day more than his successful two-point conversion to seal the game, as he powered his way into the end zone like Henry, showing no fear in putting it all on the line for his team.
Tennessee’s biggest question mark is the passing game, so that’s why it was so important for the starting quarterback to make plays when they were needed. After forcing timely turnovers and hanging in there against Mahomes, the Titans defense doesn’t have any major questions. And Henry is one of the most talented running backs in the league.
What the Titans need to do is build consistency. At 5-5, they are playoff contenders and in the Wild Card race, but it’s unclear if they’re actually good. A win over a Super Bowl contender and MVP candidate at quarterback makes a strong statement, but the Titans also lost to the Carolina Panthers last week and barely survived against two below-average teams in the Los Angeles Chargers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers in their two previous games.
Maybe the Titans are a mediocre team that pulled out a lucky victory over the Chiefs. But it’s extremely difficult to chalk up a win over Mahomes and Andy Reid as “lucky,” especially when looking at how much Henry dominated on the ground and the plays Tannehill made at the end of the game.
The Titans are lurking as contenders in the AFC, and all eyes will be on their upcoming games against the rival Jacksonville Jaguars and Indianapolis Colts, as well as fellow Wild Card contenders in the Oakland Raiders. How they do over their next three games will reveal where Tennessee stands, because they end their season with a gauntlet of games against the Houston Texans (twice) and the New Orleans Saints.