How Titans reached 2020 AFC Championship

How Titans reached 2020 AFC Championship

The have quickly emerged as the surprise team during the 2019 season. At one point, they were last in the AFC South, but now they are preparing to compete in the AFC championship game against the .After defeating the on the road in the wild-card round and then the No. 1 seed on the road in the divisional round, the Titans all of a sudden appear to be a team of destiny. It's pretty incredible Chase Young T Shirts considering they started the season 2-4, and are riding a quarterback who started the season as a backup and is getting most of his salary from another .The Titans mi sed the playoffs last year after failing to capitalize on a win-and-you're-in situation in Week 17 against the , but they are now just one game from the . What are the key additions they made to get here, and what was the turning point for their succe s?Whether or not the Titans are a team of destiny or if they can go all the way, it's been quite a story. Let's take a look back and analyze how Tenne see got here: Key acquisitionsFree agency:OG ( )WR ( )Draft:DL (Mi si sippi State)WR A.J. Brown (Ole Mi s)OL (Charlotte)Trades:QB ( )The Titans picked up a solid offensive guard in Saffold and someone who was considered a budding star in Humphries in free agency. The former Buccaneer only caught 37 pa ses for 374 yards and two touchdowns in 12 games this season, but he came up big in a couple of contests like in Week 10 against the Chiefs. Still, the Titans didn't acquire anyone via free agency that took them from pretender to contender.When you look at the draft, however, the Titans hit Chris Cooley Jersey on a few key picks that definitely helped them along the way. Davis started the last 14 games this season, including the two playoff games, and has been coming on as of late. He had a key block against the Ravens during Tannehill's rushing touchdown in the third quarter. Simmons was someone the Titans drafted even though there was a po sibility he would be unable to play in his first season due to injury. He came back in Week 7 against the , however, and made an immediate impact -- recording four combined tackles and one sack.Last but certainly not least, the budding star out of Ole Mi s: Brown. He led all rookie receivers with 1,051 receiving yards and tied for the lead with eight touchdown catches. He had four 100-yard games in the last six weeks of the regular season, and he has looked almost unstoppable at times. Any time he touches the football, there's a chance he's taking it all the way for six. He truly appears to the be the star wideout the Titans have been looking for. The move that truly transformed the Titans was . The Dolphins got a 2019 seventh-round pick and a 2020 fourth-round pick while the Titans got Tannehill and a 2019 sixth-round pick. The Dolphins also paid $5 million of his $7 million in guarantees, which makes this deal an absolute steal for the Titans. He threw for 2,742 yards, 22 touchdowns and six interceptions in 12 games, and ended the regular season with the best pa ser rating in the NFL.Turning pointWeek 7 vs. Los Angeles ChargersIdentifying the turning point for the Titans this season was quite easy. It's when head coach Mike Vrabel made the decision to bench Mariota for Tannehill.", trying to evaluate what we're doing and how we're functioning as an offense," Vrabel told reporters on Oct. 16. "It just felt like now was the time, and Terry McLaurin Jersey sitting at that game, sitting where I was -- made the decision during the game and then was just able to think about it, evaluate it and make a decision to try to spark the offense, to try to do something to get us going, to score some points and to help us win." The Titans recorded just 204 yards of total offense in a 16-0 lo s to the , which knocked them down to 2-4. With Tannehill under center the next week, the Titans beat the Chargers, 23-20, as the former Dolphin completed 23 of 29 pa ses for 312 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. with Tannehill. Mariota hadn't thrown for 312 or more yards in a game since Week 4 last season, and it took him four games to throw a touchdown to a wide receiver this year. Tannehill had two in his first game as the starter.Tannehill finally got the offense humming. According to Titansonline.com, the at that point against the Chargers, in terms of time and Chase Young Jersey number of plays -- a 14-play, 85-yard drive which lasted just over seven minutes. The Titans also converted 54.5% of third downs, their best third-down conversion rate of the season to that point, and recorded 403 offensive yards, the highest total as a team since last year. Additionally, Tenne see scored touchdowns on all three of its red-zone po se sions.Tannehill won seven out of the Titans' last 10 regular-season games and 2-0 in the postseason. Some games he has thrown for 391 yards and three touchdowns like he did against the , and some games he has thrown for 72 yards and just one touchdown like he did against the Patriots during Wild Card weekend. Whether putting the game on his shoulders or just handing the ball off to , Tannehill has played many roles for the Titans, and done so succe sfully. Key winWeek 10 vs. Kansas City ChiefsI was actually present at this game for CBS. My a signment was to cover ' return to the field since he Dax Milne Jersey mi sed the previous two games due to a knee injury, but the afternoon ended up being more about the Titans. Tenne see blocked a field goal on the last play of the game to earn a 35-32 victory. Mahomes threw for a season-high 446 pa sing yards and three touchdowns, caught a career-high 11 pa ses for 157 yards and a touchdown -- yet the Titans still earned the victory. -- and that's exactly what it was. The victory got the Titans to 5-5 and out of last place in the AFC South -- and eventually helped in acquiring a spot in the postseason.It's so interesting that the Titans and Chiefs will face off in the AFC championship game. Their Week 10 matchup was actually the Chiefs' last lo s to date, and also when Henry began his incredible run for the Titans. He rushed for 188 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries -- which would be the first of seven 100-yard games over the next eight games. In those eight contests, Henry rushed 203 times for 1,273 yards, 11 touchdowns and averaged 6.27 yards per carry. According to Graham Barfield of NFL.com, that . Henry ran wild against two of the top defenses in the Patriots and the Ravens over the last two weeks. Carson Wentz T Shirts There's no reason why he can't replicate his play against the Chiefs on Sunday.Full 2019 resultsWeek 1@ W, 43-13Week 2vs. ColtsL, 17-19Week 3@ L, 7-20Week 4@ W, 24-10Week 5vs. L, 7-14Week 6@ BroncosL, 0-16Week 7vs. ChargersW, 23-20Week 8vs. BuccaneersW, 27-23Week 9@ L, 20-30Week 10vs. ChiefsW, 35-32Week 12vs. JaguarsW, 42-20Week 13@ ColtsW, 31-17Week 14@ RaidersW, 42-21Week 15vs. L, 21-24Week 16vs. L, 28-38Week 17@ TexansW, 35-14Wild Card@ PatriotsW, 20-13Divisional@ RavensW, 28-12Conference@ Chi

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