The 2018 Tennessee Titans season was the franchise's 49th season in the National Football League and their 59th overall. It also marked the franchise's 22nd season in the state of Tennessee, their first under head coachMike Vrabel, and the first with new uniforms and blue helmets, as they have worn white helmets since the club was based in Houston, Texas. This season marked the third of four straight in which the Titans finished 9–7. The Titans failed to qualify for the postseason after losing a Week 17 win-and-in contest against their division rival Indianapolis Colts.
In Vrabel's first year with the team, the Titans went 3-3 against divisional opponents, sweeping the Jacksonville Jaguars for the second straight year. The Titans also beat the New England Patriots for the first time since 2002. Quarterback Marcus Mariota had a difficult season, going 7-6 as a starter, throwing 11 touchdowns to eight interceptions, and missing three games due to injury. Backup quarterback Blaine Gabbert started three games, including the season finale against the Colts in which the Titans were eliminated from the playoffs. One major highlight was the breakout season of running back Derrick Henry, who rushed for 1,059 yards and 12 touchdowns. This would be the first of Henry's three-straight 1,000-yard seasons. In a 30-9 Week 14 Thursday Night win over the Jaguars, Henry would rush for 238 yards (franchise record) and four touchdowns (tied-franchise record) on 17 carries, including an NFL-tying record 99-yard touchdown run.
Coaching changesedit
In their second full season under head coach Mike Mularkey in 2017, the Titans reached the playoffs for the first time since 2008. The Titans won their first playoff game since 2003 in an 18-point halftime comeback wild card victory over the Kansas City Chiefs, winning 22-21.[1] They were then soundly defeated by the New England Patriots 35-14 in the divisional round.[2] The next day on January 15, 2018, the Titans and Mularkey agreed to part ways, ending his three year tenure as head coach with a record of 20–21.[3] Owner Amy Adams Strunk stated that Mularkey and the front office "saw different paths to achieve greater success," specifically with Mularkey not wanting to change any of his coaching staff.[4] Five days later, the Titans named former Houston Texans defensive coordinator Mike Vrabel as the new head coach.[5] Vrabel became the 19th head coach in franchise history. Two weeks later on January 30, the Titans announce the hiring of new offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur. LaFleur was with the Los Angeles Rams in 2017, and was credited for the development of Jared Goff and a Rams offense that led the league in points on route to an 11-5 record.[6] On the same day, the Titans hired their new defensive coordinator Dean Pees.[7] Pees had retired two weeks earlier with the Baltimore Ravens, citing his comeback with the Titans due to missing the game.[8] Pees served as the Ravens defensive coordinator since their 2012 Super Bowl run, and his 2017 defense led the league in shutouts and takeaways.[9] The next day, the Titans announced several additions to the coaching staff, including quarterback coach Pat O'Hara, secondary coach Kerry Coombs, outside linebackers coach Shane Bowen, inside linebackers coach Tyrone McKenzie, and wide receivers coach Rob Moore.[10]
On January 11, 2018, the NFL announced that the Titans would play the Los Angeles Chargers in one of three London Games at Wembley Stadium in London, England, with the Chargers serving as the home team. It was the Titans' first appearance in the International Series. The game occurred during Week 7 (October 21), and was televised by CBS in the United States. The exact date, along with the network and kickoff time, were announced in conjunction with the release of the 2018 regular season schedule.
^ abKansas City finished ahead of LA Chargers based on division record.
^ abNew England finished ahead of Houston based on head-to-head victory.
^ abcDenver finished ahead of Cincinnati and Buffalo based on strength of victory. Cincinnati finished ahead of Buffalo based on record vs. common opponents. Cincinnati's cumulative record against Baltimore, Indianapolis, the Los Angeles Chargers and Miami was 3–2, compared to Buffalo's 1–4 cumulative record against the same four teams.
^ abNY Jets finished ahead of Oakland based on strength of victory.
^When breaking ties for three or more teams under the NFL's rules, they are first broken within divisions, then comparing only the highest ranked remaining team from each division.
Referencesedit
^Hoffman, Benjamin (January 6, 2018). "Marcus Mariota, With a Play for the Ages, Leads the Titans Past the Chiefs". NYTimes.com. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
^Hightower, Kyle (January 14, 2018). "Patriots back in AFC title game, Titans trip into offseason". APNews.com. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
^Sessler, Marc (January 15, 2018). "Mike Mularkey, Titans mutually agree to part ways". NFL.com. Retrieved January 31, 2018.
^Chavez, Chris (January 15, 2018). "Mike Mularkey, Titans Mutually Agree To Part Ways Despite Contract Extension Talks". SI.com. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
^Shook, Nick (January 20, 2018). "Texans DC Mike Vrabel named Titans head coach". NFL.com. Retrieved January 31, 2018.
^Knoblauch, Austin (January 30, 2018). "Matt LaFleur named Titans offensive coordinator". NFL.com. Retrieved January 31, 2018.
^Wesseling, Chris (January 30, 2018). "Dean Pees named Titans' new defensive coordinator". NFL.com. Retrieved January 31, 2018.
^Mink, Ryan (February 7, 2018). "Dean Pees Says He Wasn't 'Forced to Retire' and Ravens Offered an Extension". BaltimoreRavens.com. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
^Wyatt, Jim (January 29, 2018). "Titans Name Dean Pees DC, Matt LaFleur OC". TennesseeTitans.com. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
^Wyatt, Jim (January 31, 2018). "Titans Add Assistant Coaches to Mike Vrabel's Staff". Archived from the original on February 1, 2018. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
^Wyatt, Jim (March 15, 2018). "Titans Reach Deal with Former Patriots RB Dion Lewis". TennesseeTitans.com. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
^Wyatt, Jim (March 15, 2018). "Titans Reach Deal with Former Patriots CB Malcolm Butler". TennesseeTitans. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
^Wyatt, Jim (March 26, 2018). "Titans Agree to Terms with QB Blaine Gabbert". TennesseeTitans.com. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
^Wyatt, Jim (March 9, 2018). "Titans Plan to Release Cassel, Searcy, Weems". TennesseeTitans.com. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
^Herndon, Mike B. (August 4, 2018). "Report: Titans sign safety Kenny Vaccaro". MusicCityMiracles.com. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
^Wyatt, Jim (August 28, 2018). "Titans Agree to Trade with Ravens, Acquire LB Kamalei Correa". TennesseeTitans.com. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
^ abc"2018 NFL Draft trade tracker: Details of all the moves". nfl.com. NFL. Archived from the original on March 16, 2019. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
^Wyatt, Jim. "Titans Trade for Chiefs DL David King". titansonline.com. Tennessee Titans. Archived from the original on 2 September 2017. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
^Wyatt, Jim. "Titans Reach Deals with 22 Undrafted Free Agents". titansonline.com. Tennessee Titans. Archived from the original on 13 May 2018. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
^Wyatt, Jim (September 3, 2018). "Titans Elect Five Captains for 2018 Season". TennesseeTitans.com. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
^"Titans vs. Dolphins - Game Recap - September 9, 2018". ESPN.