The Tennessee Titans are a good football team, and they are on the cusp of being in stiff competition with the Texans for the Afc South crown every year. The Jaguars have been discounted from this conversation because they do not have a quarterback like the other teams in this division. The Titans are not quite as good as the Texans, but they may be able to squeeze into a wildcard spot if they are able to remain mentally tough all year.
They need more than one player to make them great, and that is where they must grind out important wins.
Forget the offense
The Titans must stop people on defense so that they can get the offense back on the field. The Texans will do this routinely throughout the year because of how they have constructed their team, and it will be hard to discount how strong their roster will be because of all the work they have done in the past. The Titans are not yet on that level, and they must ensure that they get Mariota on the field often so that he can work with this offense.
The team will be close
The Titans are very close to making the playoffs this season, and they may have it worked out by the end of the year if a team in the AFC West falters.
They must be given space to slip into the playoffs, and they will need a little help in the process. They are good enough to make a strong case to make the playoffs, but it may come down to tiebreakers that will ultimately seal their fate. The next season is where they will be a leader for a wild card spot that other teams will covet.
They are on a slow trajectory
The Titans have chosen a slow trajectory that will ensure they are progressing every year on some level. This slow plan will result in a very good team in a couple more years. They will have a fine starting quarterback that they can build their team around, and they will have a decade to search for that elusive Super Bowl title. Watching them lose on the half yard line so many years ago was terrible, and it would be nice to see them get back to the Super Bowl and have a chance to win it.
This division is stacked
The AFC South is a very good division that is hard to overlook going forward. They were once pathetic when only Peyton Manning was ruling the roost. Today they have three very good teams that will remain competitive for a while. The Colts simply need to find help for Andrew Luck, and the Titans need more time to develop. The Texans will win the division, and the Titans will be struggling for a wild-card spot.