In a stunning turn of events on Sunday, the Tennessee Titans faced a crushing blow to their playoff aspirations as they succumbed to a defeat against the Houston Texans, sealing their elimination from playoff contention. The December 17 showdown saw the Titans falter, their hopes dashed by the Texans with a final scoreline of 19-16.
The Titans, who initially held a promising lead of 13 points, saw their advantage slip away in the dying moments of the second quarter. Despite their early dominance, the Texans mounted a resilient comeback, leaving the Titans to rue missed opportunities and a lost grasp on their postseason dreams.
The Fox Sports NFL tweet on their X handle that,
With their loss to the Texans in OT, the Titans have officially been eliminated from playoff contention.
With their loss to the Texans in OT, the Titans have officially been eliminated from playoff contention. pic.twitter.com/RbifoGbKzQ
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) December 17, 2023
The game was played at the Tennessee Titans’ home field, “Nissan Stadium.” The Titans won their last game against the Miami Dolphins with a final score of 28-27, securing victory by just one point. However, the loss against the Texans marked their 9th defeat of the season and closed all doors to the playoffs for them.
Titans’ head coach Mike Vrabel after loss:
Mike Vrabel in the post game conference said : “Well, we have to be able to establish a run, whether that’s with Derek, whether that’s Taji, whether that’s Jonathan Ward. So, we’ve won a lot of football games with that formula. We’ve seen where it’s been, some beneficial runs. And then, you know, Blake won it and he turned things around. And that didn’t happen today.”
John Glennon (a senior staff writer, covering the Tennessee) post on X “Titans’ Vrabel on repeated Henry runs“
Titans’ Vrabel on repeated Henry runs: pic.twitter.com/sC36IGoKap
— John Glennon (@glennonsports) December 17, 2023
Tennessee Titans games played NFL season 2023 so far:
Titans won 5 out of 14 games played so far, here are the Titans regular season games results.
| WK | OPPONENT | RESULT | W-L |
| 1 | @ New Orleans | L16-15 | 0-1 |
| 2 | vs Los Angeles | W27-24 OT | 1-1 |
| 3 | @ Cleveland | L27-3 | 1-2 |
| 4 | vs Cincinnati | W27-3 | 2-2 |
| 5 | @ Indianapolis | L23-16 | 2-3 |
| 6 | vs Baltimore * | L24-16 | 2-4 |
| 8 | vs Atlanta | W28-23 | 3-4 |
| 9 | @ Pittsburgh | L20-16 | 3-5 |
| 10 | @ Tampa Bay | L20-6 | 3-6 |
| 11 | @ Jacksonville | L34-14 | 3-7 |
| 12 | vs Carolina | W17-10 | 4-7 |
| 13 | vs Indianapolis | L31-28 OT | 4-8 |
| 14 | @ Miami | W28-27 | 5-8 |
| 15 | vs Houston | L19-16 OT | 5-9 |
