<
        >

          NFL Nation

          Titans' future will be dominated by decisions on Ryan Tannehill, Derrick Henry

          • Turron Davenport, ESPNJan 19, 2020, 11:22 PM
            Close
              Turron Davenport covers the Tennessee Titans for ESPN. Turron is a former collegiate football player at Cheyney University and is a native of Philadelphia, and he has authored/co-authored four books. You can catch Turron on ESPN Radio on his show "Talking with TD" and you can follow him on Twitter: @TDavenport_NFL.
            Follow on X

          KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Tennessee Titans' magical postseason ride came to an end at Arrowhead Stadium with a 35-24 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

          The Titans have some pivotal decisions to make this offseason. They’ll have plenty of work to do in free agency if they want to keep two of their biggest offensive stars.

          Quarterback Ryan Tannehill -- who finished with a 9-4 record as a starter, including playoffs, after replacing Marcus Mariota -- is slated to be a free agent. The Titans could place the franchise tag on Tannehill to keep him off the market while they work to negotiate a long-term deal.

          The other decision surrounds whether to re-sign running back Derrick Henry, who led the league in rushing during the regular season with 1,540 yards. Henry had 182 yards rushing to help the Titans beat the Patriots in the wild-card round, then went for 195 against the Baltimore Ravens. He finished with 69 yards and a touchdown against the Chiefs. The fourth-year running back is also a free agent.

          In total, Henry carried the football 386 times this season, which is quite a heavy workload. After finishing as the league's leading rusher there will be demand, but the possibility of a drop-off after so many carries is plausible. The question is whether the Titans can keep him if there is a bidding war.

          QB breakdown: Tannehill was 21-of-31 for 209 yards and two touchdowns against the Chiefs, but the Titans couldn't come up with the big plays in the passing game. He had two misses on their first drive in the third quarter, both of which would have been first downs. Tannehill was able to lead the Titans on a late scoring drive, but it was too little, too late. The loss can't be placed on Tannehill's shoulders, though.

          Troubling trend: The Titans were unable to get pressure on Patrick Mahomes, and he made them pay as a result. Mahomes was able to navigate the pocket and buy plenty of time for the Chiefs' receivers to get open. Kansas City stretched the Titans' defense horizontally, forcing them to devote more personnel to coverage and rely on the front four to get to the quarterback. They were unable to do so, and Mahomes gashed them. There was no outside contain, which allowed Mahomes to pick up key first downs and scramble 27 yards for a touchdown that put the Chiefs ahead for good.

          Pivotal play: Down by 3 points with under a minute left in the first half, Mahomes broke the pocket and made Rashaan Evans miss on the sideline before turning the corner. Mahomes cut his run back inside and powered his way through Tramaine Brock for a 27-yard touchdown run. The Chiefs took a 21-17 lead into halftime.