HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

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 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 Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
. 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 The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...
. 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 The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
for the first time since
2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
. 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 Derrick Lamar Henry Jr. (born January 4, 1994) is an American football running back for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). His imposing rushing game and larger stature than the average running back earned him the nickna ...
, 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 Michael Rene Mularkey (born November 19, 1961) is a former American football coach and tight end in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Florida, and was drafted in the ninth round of the 1983 NF ...
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 The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
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 Amy Adams Strunk (born September 29, 1955) is an American businesswoman best known as the controlling owner of the National Football League's Tennessee Titans. The daughter of the late owner Bud Adams, Strunk owns half of the Titans franchise, wi ...
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 The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...
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 The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...
in 2017, and was credited for the development of
Jared Goff Jared Thomas Goff (born October 14, 1994) is an American football quarterback for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at California, where he set the Pac-12 Conference season records for passing ...
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 Russell Dean Pees (born September 4, 1949) is an American football coach who is the defensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the defensive coordinator for the New England Patrio ...
. Pees had retired two weeks earlier with the
Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...
, citing his comeback with the Titans due to missing the game. Pees served as the Ravens defensive coordinator since their 2012
Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...
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 Tyrone McKenzie (born December 11, 1985) is an American football coach and former linebacker. He was drafted by the New England Patriots in the third round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He debuted for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2010 and also played for ...
, and wide receivers coach Rob Moore.


Notable acquisitions

On March 15 the Titans signed two notable former
New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
players, running back Dion Lewis and cornerback
Malcolm Butler Malcolm Terel Butler (born March 2, 1990) is an American football cornerback who is a free agent. He played his first four seasons with the Patriots, who signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2014. After leaving New England, he was a member ...
. The two reunited with current cornerback
Logan Ryan Logan may refer to: Places * Mount Logan (disambiguation) Australia * Logan (Queensland electoral district), an electoral district in the Queensland Legislative Assembly * Logan, Victoria, small locality near St. Arnaud * Logan City, local gove ...
, 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 know 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 Kenneth Dwayne Vaccaro (born February 15, 1991) is a former American football safety who played in the National Football League and founder and CEO of the Gamers First organization. They have teams in '' Halo'' and other major Esport titles. He ...
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 The 2019 NFL Draft was the 84th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2019 NFL season. The draft was held on April 25–27 in Nashville, Tennessee. The first round was held on April 2 ...
to the Baltimore Ravens for outside linebacker
Kamalei Correa Kamalei Correa ( ; born April 27, 1994) is an American football linebacker who is a free agent. He played college football at Boise State. He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft. Early years Correa atten ...
.


Draft


Undrafted free agents

Source:


Staff


Final roster


Team captains

* Marcus Mariota (QB) *
Delanie Walker Hubert Delanie Walker (born August 12, 1984) is a former American football tight end. He played college football at the Central Missouri State and was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the sixth round of the 2006 NFL Draft. After seven sea ...
(TE) *
Jurrell Casey Jurrell Juel Casey (born December 5, 1989) is a former American football defensive lineman. He played college football at USC, and was drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the third round of the 2011 NFL Draft. In nine seasons with the Titan ...
(DE) *
Wesley Woodyard Wesley Woodyard Jr. (born July 21, 1986) is a former American football linebacker. He played college football for the University of Kentucky and was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Denver Broncos in 2008. Woodyard has also played for th ...
(LB) *
Daren Bates Daren Weston Bates (born November 27, 1990) is a former American football linebacker. He played college football for Auburn Tigers football, Auburn and was signed by the Los Angeles Rams as an undrafted free agent in 2013. He has also played for ...
(ST) Source:


Preseason


Regular season


Schedule

On January 11, 2018, the
NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...
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. 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


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 The National Football Conference – Eastern Division or NFC East is one of the four Division (sport), divisions of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It currently has four members: the Dallas Cowboys ...
opponents in 2018.


Week 17: vs. Indianapolis Colts


Standings


Division


Conference


References


External links

* {{2018 NFL season by team Tennessee Tennessee Titans seasons Tennessee Titans