Tennessee Titans mailbag: What are realistic playoff expectations with injuries, loss to Texans?

The Tennessee Titans’ six-game winning streak came to an abrupt end with an embarrassing loss to the Houston Texans, one of the NFL’s worst teams. 

So how are Titans fans feeling about their team and its playoff prospects following the dud?  

Beat writer Ben Arthur answers a few questions submitted by fans after the game. To submit a question for a future mailbag, follow Ben Arthur on Twitter @benyarthur and check in after each game. 

It seems we’ve seen both the ceiling and the floor for this team. Which one can we expect for the last 6 games? – Pax Wiemers, @Pax_Wiemers

I'd say it depends on health, Pax. 

The Titans have embodied the ‘Next Man Up’ mentality to the extreme. Entering Week 11, they were on a six-game winning streak — five of the victories came against 2020 playoff teams — despite pacing for an NFL-record for players used.

Sunday’s embarrassing loss to the Texans showed how unrealistic it is to expect the Titans to continue overachieving amid mounting injuries. Even with one of the best defensive performances of the Mike Vrabel era, Tennessee still lost to one of the league’s worst teams.

By the end of the Houston game, Tennessee was down to three healthy receivers. The offense had no Derrick Henry, Julio Jones, A.J. Brown, Marcus Johnson, Geoff Swaim, Nate Davis and Jeremy McNichols. The defense was without a slew of key contributors too, including the unit’s highest-paid player (Bud Dupree), a starting cornerback (Jackrabbit Jenkins) and two starting linebackers (David Long Jr., Rashaan Evans). 

The hope is that some of those players will start tricking  back to practice and the active roster (for those on injured reserve) in the coming weeks. The Titans’ Week 13 bye couldn’t come soon enough. 

Tennessee is a virtual lock to make the postseason and it’s in the driver’s seat for the AFC’s No. 1 seed. But without reinforcements, the team will be primed for an early playoff exit.

TITANS COACH MIKE VRABEL:'It’s going to take all 11' to clean up passing game, INTs

DEFENSE:If depleted Tennessee Titans go anywhere, the defense will have to carry them | Estes

WHAT HAPPENED?:What happened to Tennessee Titans' Ryan Tannehill vs. Texans? 'I have to be better'

Is Miami Tannehill back for good? – smith, @bisquit21

The interceptions issue, which plagued the beginning of Ryan Tannehill’s career with the Miami Dolphins, have resurfaced this year. And it goes beyond his career-worst four-interception performance against the Texans. He had eight picks through 10 games entering the Houston game, more than his full-season totals for 2019 and ‘20. Heading into Monday, Tannehill leads the NFL with 12 interceptions. 

Are they all his fault? No. The quality of personnel he has played with deserves a share of the blame. It has reached a point where Tannehill is throwing to receivers he doesn’t have much experience with. He acknowledged as much after the Houston loss.

The Titans’ most targeted receiver last week was Dontrell Hilliard, a practice-squad running back. And two of Tannehill’s four picks Sunday came targeting rookie fourth-rounder Dez Fitzpatrick, who was on the practice squad to start this season and wasn’t signed to the 53-man roster until Jones landed on IR. Fitzpatrick appeared to have a miscommunication with Tannehill on the route he was supposed to run on at least one of the two interceptions.

All that, of course, doesn’t excuse some of the ill-advised throws Tannehill has made this season. Some of his interceptions were telegraphed passes, like his red-zone interception Sunday that was a near pick-six for the Texans. 

One has to wonder whether Tannehill is feeling more pressure to make things happen in the passing game without Henry in the backfield. And I think the lack this season of a true No. 1 dual-threat tight end like Jonnu Smith, who left in free agency, has hurt the team’s efficiency in the passing game.  

The hope is that Tannehill’s interception can be cleaned up with more reps with the reserves who've been forced to step into bigger roles. The severity of the injuries to A.J. Brown (chest) and Marcus Johnson (hamstring) are unclear, so ideally they don’t miss any time. Jones is eligible to come back the first game after the bye. 

Who do we still believe in this coaching staff … (which) never has their team ready to play against bad teams … – Jerrod, @plateorade 

Playing up to elite teams and playing down to inferior opponents has been a trend for the Titans. Two of their losses this season have come to teams that are currently 2-8: the Texans and the Jets (Week 4). And it’s been an issue in previous years. Last season, the Titans’ loss to the Bengals immediately comes to mind. Cincinnati finished 2020 at 4-11.

I want to say a sense of urgency is lacking in the games against bad teams, but Vrabel and the players haven’t given that indication. They refuted that notion after Sunday’s loss. 

What I do know, however, is that the truly elite teams come to play in the biggest games and beat up on the bad teams. For whatever reason, Tennessee has lagged in doing the latter.

Ben Arthur covers the Tennessee Titans for The USA TODAY Network. Contact him at barthur@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @benyarthur.