What, Titans Worry?

Winning close games has become a habit under coach Mike Vrabel, and Sunday's 21-17 victory over the Washington Commanders was the latest example.

Geoff Burke/USA Today Sports

As he and his teammates huddled in the shadow of their end zone on Sunday afternoon, David Long couldn’t help but grin.

It was a surprising reaction given the circumstances: The Tennessee Titans were clinging to a 21-17 lead in the closing seconds at FedEx Field. But the Washington Commanders were on the verge of changing that, having marched 87 yards to set up a first-and-goal at the Titans’ 2-yard-line.

“We got to that point and I’m smiling at (teammates), like, `This is what we do. This is what you dream of. Don’t panic. Somebody’s going to make a play’” Long told reporters. “It just happened to be me.”

Sure enough, it was fourth-year inside linebacker who stepped in front of Carson Wentz’s third-down pass, making the goal-line interception that sealed Tennessee's third straight victory, one that left Tennessee (3-2) atop the AFC South following an 0-2 start.

Why was Long so calm, so confident in those chaotic final circumstances?

Maybe the better question is this: Why shouldn’t Long have felt so good about the Titans’ chances of claiming yet another narrow-margin, heart-pounding victory?

This, after all, is what we’ve come to expect from the Titans over the years – and this season is no exception.

The white-knuckle win over Washington improved Tennessee’s record in games decided by seven points or fewer to 3-1 this season. After losing by one point to the Giants in the season opener, and getting blown out by the Bills in Week 2, the Titans have won three straight by a combined nine points – 24-22 over the Raiders and 24-17 over the Colts ahead of Sunday’s four-point triumph.

“Definitely believing in each other, and we’re going to keep battling and finding a way to win,” quarterback Ryan Tannehill said. “I think that’s what has been proven the last few weeks is that we believe in each other. We’re going to keep battling no matter what’s happened and ultimately find a way to win.”

Winning the close games has become far more expected than not under Mike Vrabel, as the Titans are now 23-11 (.676 winning percentage) when the final margin is seven points or fewer since he was hired in 2018.

That doesn’t happen by chance.

“Just believing in each other that we’re going to find a way to win,” Tannehill said. “Winning is contagious. You get that taste, get that feeling … As the team gets a taste of that, it really brings you together as a team.”

How have the Titans managed to come out on the right side of the tight games?

Give the bulk of the credit this year to the defense, considering the offense has scored a grand total of 14 points in the second half this season and has yet to score more than 24 points in a game.

That’s not to say the Titans’ defense has been ironclad, That group still gives up explosive plays at a far too frequent clip.

But the ability to execute under pressure (yes, aside from surrendering the game-winning, two-point conversion in the opener) has been impressive:

• In Week 3, it was Dylan Cole who knocked away Derek Carr’s pass on a two-point conversion attempt, keeping the Raiders from likely sending the game to overtime.

• In Week 4, it was the defense that turned away the Colts on three potential game-tying drives – thanks in large part to a Rashad Weaver sack, Kristian Fulton fumble recovery and Denico Autry sack.

• Then came the Commanders, who had three tries to win it from the 2-yard line in the closing seconds. Pressure forced a Wentz incompletion on first down, Teair Tart knocked away a pass on second down and then Long came up with the interception.

“(We’re) hard-nosed, blue collar – just never panic, and it shows,” Long said. “We can bring up a lot of games, even this year, where it comes down to that last drive or that last series. Somebody has to make a play. So the offense made us a play, got us some points on the board. We just had to finish it off and we did it.”

Should we be critical of the Titans, wondering why they’ve needed game-saving plays to edge three teams with a combined four victories (prior to Sunday night) this season?

Some will make that argument.

But take a long look at the Titans’ injury list – it’s impossible to read quickly – and think twice: Harold Landry, Bud Dupree, Ola Adeniyi, Zach Cunningham, Amani Hooker, Taylor Lewan, Nate Davis and Treylon Burks made up a sampling of the players that sat out Sunday’s game.

The fact that the Titans are on pace to challenge their NFL record of 91 players used in a single season (set last year) should explain why Tennessee’s games this season – more often than not – are going to come right down to the wire.

The good news? That seems to suit this team just fine.