Titans veteran Ryan Tannehill knows how to ride NFL wave through bad and good

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Ryan Tannehill has been around the NFL long enough to know not to listen to critics wanting him either benched or traded after Tennessee’s opener.

Tannehill not only bounced back by leading the Titans to their first win, he turned in one of the best games of his career. He was literally perfect when it mattered the most, helping pull out a 27-24 overtime win last week over the Chargers.

“Yeah, I don’t ride that wave,” Tannehill said Wednesday. “I know a lot of people, especially outside the buildings, ride those waves, but personally I take it one week at a time, improve on the things that you want to each and every week and go out and play football and not let one week roll into the next.”

Tannehill started his 12th NFL season with his worst passer rating at 28.8. He also had three interceptions and no touchdown passes for only the third time in his career and first since his rookie season in Miami in 2012 after playing one series in the preseason.

In the Titans’ home opener, they rallied from an 11-point deficit with Tannehill completing 83.3% of his passes. That marked his best completion percentage in a single game of his career as he was 20 of 24 for 246 yards and a 123.3 passer rating.

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In the fourth quarter and overtime, Tannehill completed all seven passes for 94 yards and a TD with a perfect 158.3 passer rating.

Two-time All-Pro safety Kevin Byard said obviously nobody expected Tannehill to play the way he did opening week. But he didn’t see Tannehill change anything in how he led the team, which showed last weekend.

Sometimes bad games just happen.

“Obviously, you don’t want it to happen and you don’t want it to happen Week 1, stuff like that, because you’ve got to deal with all the chatter and stuff like that,” Byard said. “But I think he did a really good job of bouncing back.”

It doesn’t help that the Titans also have drafted not one, but two quarterbacks over the past two years waiting behind Tannehill. Malik Willis was the 86th overall pick in 2022, and Will Levis the 33rd selection in April with some fans eager to see either of the young quarterbacks in the Titans’ new offense.

But Tannehill ran for a touchdown on a triple-option look, showing off the former track star’s mobility limited much of last season by a sprained ankle. He had a 70-yard completion to Treylon Burks with much of that in the air, and yes the 35-year-old quarterback put “some muscle” on the throw.

He threaded a TD pass to Nick Westbrook-Ikhine for a lead in the fourth quarter, then found three-time All-Pro wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins for a 14-yard catch helping set up the winning kick capping the 27th winning drive of his career in either the fourth quarter or overtime overall.

Since 2019 when he took over as the Titans’ starter in mid-October 2019, that was his 14th such comeback. That tied Tom Brady, who retired after last season, and trails only Derek Carr (17) and Kirk Cousins (16).

Byard said fans love to see quarterbacks make big splash plays, but consistency matters most. Tannehill often gets overlooked because he shares a backfield with three-time Pro Bowl running back Derrick Henry.

“He’s been a really good quarterback for us,” Byard said of the quarterback nicknamed ”Tannewheels.”

NOTES: Hopkins (ankle) practiced fully Wednesday. So did S Amani Hooker (concussion protocol) and CB Kristian Fulton (hamstring), who missed last week’s game. Skoronski isn’t expected back this week and joined DL Teair Tart (knee) among four not practicing. OLBs Denico Autry (foot) and Harold Landry III (hamstring) were limited.

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