The 2018 season was the Tennessee Titans' 49th in the National Football League (NFL) and their 59th overall. It also marked the franchise's 22nd season in the state of Tennessee, their first under head coach Mike 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 changes 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. They were then soundly defeated by the New England Patriots 35–14 in the divisional round. 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. 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. Five days later, the Titans named former Houston Texans defensive coordinator Mike Vrabel as the new head coach. 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. On the same day, the Titans hired their new defensive coordinator Dean Pees. Pees had retired two weeks earlier with the Baltimore Ravens, citing his comeback with the Titans due to missing the game. Pees served as the Ravens defensive coordinator since their 2012 Super Bowl run, and his 2017 defense led the league in shutouts and takeaways. 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.
Notable acquisitions On March 15 the Titans signed two notable former New England Patriots players, running back Dion Lewis and cornerback Malcolm Butler. The two reunited with current cornerback Logan Ryan, who also played for the Patriots, in which their last season in New England together was capped off with a Super Bowl comeback win. Lewis was most known for his performance in the 2017 season, and Butler was most known for his game-winning interception in Super Bowl XLIX. The Titans signed their new back-up quarterback on March 26, seven-year veteran Blaine Gabbert, after releasing Matt Cassel earlier in the offseason. On August 4, the Titans signed safety Kenny Vaccaro following Johnathan Cyprien's season-ending ACL tear. On August 28, shortly before their final preseason game, the Titans traded their sixth round pick in the 2019 NFL draft to the Baltimore Ravens for outside linebacker Kamalei Correa.
Draft
2018 Tennessee Titans Draft Round Selection Player Position College 1 22 Rashaan Evans ILB Alabama 2 41 Harold Landry OLB Boston College 5 152 Dane Cruikshank S Arizona 6 199 Luke Falk QB Washington State
+ 2018 Tennessee Titans Draft Trades Draft Pick Year Round Overall Team Received 2018 1 25 to Baltimore Ravens Received Baltimore's 2018 first-round selection (No. 22 overall) and 2018 sixth-round compensatory selection (No. 215 overall). 4 125 2018 2 57 to Oakland Raiders Received Oakland's 2018 second-round selection (No. 41 overall). 3 89 2018 5 162 to Baltimore Ravens Received Baltimore's 2018 fifth-round selection (No. 152 overall). 6 215 2018 7 243 to Kansas City Chiefs Received defensive lineman David King.
Undrafted free agents 2018 Tennessee Titans Undrafted Free Agents Name Position SchoolAustin BarnardP/KSamfordCameron Batson WRTexas TechDeontay BurnettWRUSCDalyn DawkinsRBColorado StateNick DeLucaILBNorth Dakota StateMatthew DiazOTWagnerMatt DickersonDEUCLANico FalahCUSCSharif FinchOLBTempleRico GaffordCBWyomingElijaah GoinsCBOhio StateJoshua KaluCBNebraskaRyan McKinleyCBMontanaElijah NkansahOTToledoMike RamsayDTDukeLarry Rose IIIRBNew Mexico StateDevin RossWRColoradoAaron StinnieOGJames MadisonJordan VeasyWRCaliforniaAkrum WadleyRBIowaDamon WebbSOhio StateEthan WolfTETennessee
Source:
Made regular season roster
Staff
Final roster
Team captains Marcus Mariota (QB) Delanie Walker (TE) Jurrell Casey (DE) Wesley Woodyard (LB) Daren Bates (ST) Source:
Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 at Green Bay Packers L 17–31 0–1 Lambeau Field Recap 2 Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 14–30 0–2 Nissan Stadium Recap 3 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 6–16 0–3 Heinz Field Recap 4 Minnesota Vikings L 3–13 0–4 Nissan Stadium Recap
Regular season
Schedule 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 regular season schedule.
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 September 9 at Miami Dolphins L 20–27 0–1 Hard Rock Stadium Recap 2 September 16 Houston Texans W 20–17 1–1 Nissan Stadium Recap 3 September 23 at Jacksonville Jaguars W 9–6 2–1 TIAA Bank Field Recap 4 September 30 Philadelphia Eagles W 26–23 3–1 Nissan Stadium Recap 5 October 7 at Buffalo Bills L 12–13 3–2 New Era Field Recap 6 October 14 Baltimore Ravens L 0–21 3–3 Nissan Stadium Recap 7 October 21 at Los Angeles Chargers L 19–20 3–4 Wembley Stadium Recap 8Bye 9 at Dallas Cowboys W 28–14 4–4 AT&T Stadium Recap 10 November 11 New England Patriots W 34–10 5–4 Nissan Stadium Recap 11 November 18 at Indianapolis Colts L 10–38 5–5 Lucas Oil Stadium Recap 12 at Houston Texans L 17–34 5–6 NRG Stadium Recap 13 December 2 New York Jets W 26–22 6–6 Nissan Stadium Recap 14 Jacksonville Jaguars W 30–9 7–6 Nissan Stadium Recap 15 December 16 at New York Giants W 17–0 8–6 MetLife Stadium Recap 16 Washington Redskins W 25–16 9–6 Nissan Stadium Recap 17 December 30 Indianapolis Colts L 17–33 9–7 Nissan Stadium Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries
Week 1: at Miami Dolphins
Due to two weather delays, the game lasted for 7 hours and 10 minutes, the longest game since the AFL–NFL merger in 1970.
Week 2: vs. Houston Texans
Week 3: at Jacksonville Jaguars
Week 4: vs. Philadelphia Eagles
Week 5: at Buffalo Bills
Week 6: vs. Baltimore Ravens
Week 7: at Los Angeles Chargers NFL London Games
Week 9: at Dallas Cowboys
Week 10: vs. New England Patriots
This was the Titans first win against the Patriots since 2002.
Week 11: at Indianapolis Colts
Week 12: at Houston Texans
Week 13: vs. New York Jets
Week 14: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
Week 15: at New York Giants
Week 16: vs. Washington Redskins
The Titans were the only AFC South team to defeat all four of their NFC East opponents in 2018.
Week 17: vs. Indianapolis Colts
In this "win or go home" game, not having their starting quarterback, and having no answer to Marlon Mack proved to be the deciding factor, as the Colts won 33-17, ending Tennessee's season, as they finished with a 9-7 record for the third year in a row.
Standings
Division
Conference
References
External links