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What The Titans' 3-3 Record Tells Us

Posted at 11:23 PM, Oct 17, 2016
and last updated 2016-10-18 00:23:15-04

There's a saying in the NFL that, "you are what your record says you are." The Titans' 3-3 record says they are an average football team.

But the record of the Titans' opponents so far this season may tell us even more about who they are.

The Titans' three victories have come over the Lions, Dolphins and Browns; teams with a combined record of just 5-13 this season.

Conversely, their three losses have come against the unbeaten Vikings, Raiders and Texans. Those three teams are a combined 13-4.

The Titans have proven to be good enough to beat the bad teams on the schedule, but not yet good enough to beat the good ones. But let's not diminish that progress for a team that's won a total of five games itself the past two seasons.

Tennessee followed up its impressive win in Miami a week ago by holding on for dear life in a 28-26 victory over the winless Browns Sunday at home. It was the team's first back-to-back wins in the span of 38 games. Mike Munchak was the Titans head coach back then.

New coach Mike Mularkey says this team is much improved and, through six games, that appears to be the case. The Titans' three wins already equals their win total from all of last season.

But in order for Tennessee to take the next step it will have to beat a division leader like Houston, protect home turf against a perennial playoff team like Green Bay and challenge defending Super Bowl champion Denver.

Those opportunities will come in the second half of the season.

But for right now the Titans are learning how to win the games they are supposed to, and that can go a long ways. The Titans of old probably don't beat the Dolphins or Browns, and certainly don't win them both.

If they can now beat the 2-4 Colts and Jaguars the next two weeks at home, the Titans will sit 5-3 at the midway point of the season. That will make those second half matchups against the league's contenders all the more meaningful.

It's a long climb to the top of the mountain, and the Titans were starting from the very bottom.

They still have a long ways to go, but it is a start.