After Ryan Tannehill struggled mightily against in the Divisional Round loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, the question had to be asked — will the Tennessee Titans look to upgrade at the quarterback position? According to general manager Jon Robinson, the answer is an unequivocal no.
Like many other NFL executives, Robinson is in Mobile, Ala this week scouting the Senior Bowl. Robinson is no doubt trying to find the players to help improve the Titans. He’s not there to look for a new quarterback, though. Tannehill is still his man.
Jim Wyatt of TennesseeTitans.com quoted Robinson, heaping effusive praise on Tannehill.
“I think Ryan is a leader, I think Ryan is tough, I think Ryan has made a lot of great plays for us,” Robinson said, per Wyatt. “He is our quarterback. I don’t know that there is a quarterback who stands in the pocket and looks down the barrel of a blitz and throws the ball as good as he does. I know he works extremely hard, loves his teammates, is competitive. He’s played a lot of good football.
“To have a micro-evaluation over one game is not fair to any player. I think you have to look at the scope of the body of work, and what he has done for this football team since he has been here.”
Indeed, micro-evaluating a player over one game isn’t fair. If we did that for everyone, the Kansas City Chiefs would be looking to replace Patrick Mahomes after the AFC Championship Game. Of course, that’s absurd.
Still, Tannehill was not good against the Bengals.
While Tannehill struggled all game, the Titans had a chance to win. They had the ball in a tie game with a chance to win in the final minute of regulation. Instead, Tannehill threw an interception at midfield. That set the Bengals up to get into position to kick the game-winning field goal as time expired, making the No. 1 seed Titans a one-and-done in the process. Tannehill finished the game 15-for-24 for 220 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions.
We also must remember this is the second straight one-and-done season for the Titans. Worse, both losses came at home. Last year, the Titans lost to the Baltimore Ravens in Tennessee during Wild Card Weekend. In that game, Tannehill was 18-for-26 for 165 yards with a touchdown and interception.
The losses came despite the Titans allowing only 20 points to the Ravens and 19 to the Bengals.
During the 2020 season, Tannehill completed 65.5% of his passes 3,819 yards with 33 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. He backed that up in 2021 by completing 67.2% of his passes for 3,734 yards with 21 touchdowns and 14 interceptions in 2021. Those aren’t league-high numbers but you can do worse. So, it’s not as though Robinson’s faith in Tannehill is unfounded.
But this much is undeniable. If the Titans are going to go on a long playoff run next season, they’ll need better play under center– whether that’s from Tannehill or another quarterback.
[Titans]
