Tannehill Needed Lots of Time, a Little Therapy to Get Over Playoff Defeat

The Tennessee Titans quarterback said the 19-16 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals took him to a 'dark place,' led to sleepless nights.

NASHVILLE – Ryan Tannehill took the Tennessee Titans’ playoff loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in January hard. Really hard.

The veteran quarterback said he engaged in therapy over a period of weeks to help him deal with the 19-16 defeat, a game in which he threw three interceptions. He was picked off on his first pass of the contest as well the last, which came with 28 seconds to play and ended any opportunity his team had to rally in front of a sellout crowd at Nissan Stadium.

"It's a scar, it's a deep scar," Tannehill said. "It was a lot of sleepless nights. Every time I closed my eyes, I was rewatching the game in my head. I didn't get a whole lot of sleep for weeks and weeks after the game. I was in a dark place, and it took me a while, and a lot of work to get out of it. It wasn't something that went away easily, and it's still a scar I'll carry with me throughout the rest of my life."

As Tannehill sorted through his emotions, a public debate raged over his worthiness to lead the team that has made the playoffs in four of the last five seasons, won the AFC South each of the last two years and ended the 2021 tied for the most wins of any team in the conference.

In more than two seasons since he replaced Marcus Mariota as the starter, Tannehill and the Titans have gone 30-13. He was named the 2019 NFL Comeback Player of the Year and made his first Pro Bowl appearance.

The Titans reached the AFC Championship game following the 2019 season, but in their two victories – at New England and at Baltimore – he completed a combined 15 passes while running back Derrick Henry did the bulk of the work for the offense. In postseason games in which Tannehill has attempted more than 15 passes, Tennessee has gone 0-3.

General manager Jon Robinson and Mike Vrabel each offered public statements in support of Tannehill. Not that anyone had a choice. Tannehill’s contract situation was such that it would have cost the Titans more to cut him than to keep him for 2022.

"You prepare so long and so hard to put yourself in a position to go chase your dreams, and to go out and play beneath the standard that I have for myself, it stung, it hurt,” Tannehill said. “Like I said, a lot of sleepless nights, a lot of reflecting, rewatching the game over and over again in my head. It took a lot of work to get through it. It wasn't a day. It wasn't a week. It was weeks and weeks and weeks to get through it."

Then, last Friday the Titans selected quarterback Malik Willis in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft. Some analysts considered Willis this year’s top prospect at the position, and most consider the move a clear indication that Tannehill’s days in charge of the Titans’ offense are numbered.

Tannehill made it clear Tuesday that he does not intend to make it easy for Willis to take his place. Ultimately, though, the decision on if – or when – that happens won’t be his.

He is under contract for two more seasons, and it saddles the team with the highest salary-cap number for any quarterback in 2022, $38.6 million. That same deal, however, allows for the team to get some cap relief if its releases him next offseason.

For his part, Tannehill, who will turn 34 right about the time training camp starts, is not interested in looking that far ahead. Nor is he interested in looking over his shoulder at the rookie gunning for his spot.

His focus is on the 2022 NFL season and the opportunity to prove that his performance against the Bengals was not a sign of things to come.

“It’s always there in your mind, and now it’s fuel for me,” Tannehill said. “It’s fuel for me to work and get ready with a passion and come into this season with a fire and a desire to win like I’ve never had before.”