NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Mike Vrabel, Tim Kelly and the Titans’ offense threw up their hands in frustration and hopelessness. They had no solutions.

Then they threw their hands together in prayer, trying the same old thing over and over because at times in the past a grind-away run game had ultimately produced fruit.

That was a ridiculous expectation Sunday at Nissan Stadium when Derrick Henry was never going to be the path to beating the Texans but the Titans kept giving him the ball. He carried 16 times for 9 yards – an astounding 0.6-yard average – in a 19-16 overtime loss as the Titans dropped to 5-9 and their slim playoff dreams were snuffed out.

By BLAKE BEDDINGFIELD, special correspondent

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Can the Titans match the effort, intensity, and consistent play that they showed Monday night versus the Dolphins?

Can they string together two wins against teams that have playoff aspirations?

The Texans need this win, the Titans want this win. This game has a chance to be one of the better NFL games this weekend.

I expect to see the best out of both teams.

If we are going to see the best out of the Titans it must include good performances from Derrick Henry, DeAndre Hopkins, Tyjae Spears and of course Will Levis. I am not ready to throw Chig Okonkwo in this group of consistent performers yet, but over the past few weeks, he started to emerge out of his long hiatus.

The Titans have the edge when it comes to veteran players who know how to play deep into an NFL season. The Texans are not as experienced and rely heavily on their young players for production.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Titans are parting ways with Teair Tart after season-long issues reached a breaking point. The defensive lineman's been upset over his contract situation and the team is unsatisfied with his effort and attitude.

At his best during his four seasons, Tart was a key run-stuffer for the team. But his relationship with the Titans has tumbled this season as the feeling has been he could have gotten more playing time and been more effective if he’d gotten better conditioned.

He was on the final injury report last week with limited participation on Saturday for personal reasons and a questionable designation for the Monday night game in Miami, in which he played 31 of 72 defensive snaps. He been a non-participant in two practices this week with a non-injury related designation that was denoted as  personal. 

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Coming off the glorious comeback in Miami, the Titans are putting back on the Oilers uniforms to host the beat-up Texans.

Sadly, it seems unlikely C.J. Stroud will return from his concussion to play, denying us a meeting between an offensive rookie of the year candidate and Will Levis, and instead giving us Davis Mills and Levis in a game that always has special meaning to the Adams family because of the Houston element.

Can the Titans carry over last week's big finish?

We gathered at halftime of Thursday Night Football and discussed the trajectory of Treylon Burks, the obstacle the Texans present and all the other things that were on your mind as the Titans start their final month with the first of three of four games at home.

Head to the private members Facebook page or below for YouTube to rewatch.

By MIKE HERNDON, columnist

The Titans’ Monday night win over the Dolphins was statistically the biggest upset of the 2023 NFL season with Tennessee entering the game as 13.5-point underdogs in Miami before coming out with a 28-27 win. The only thing more shocking than the result was how it happened.

This wasn’t the Titans catching a bunch of lucky breaks or finding a vintage Derrick Henry performance in their stocking. It was quite the opposite. Outside of an early Jaleel Johnson strip sack – aided by a mishandled snap by the Dolphins – and a Tyjae Spears fumble that bounced out of bounds, Tennessee mostly found themselves on the wrong side of the “luck” coin in this game.

By JAKE DOWNARD

Jake Downard is a law student who creates NFL and NBA content focused on analytics on Twitter as @JakeAndBall. He also works with fanspo.com. A glossary of the analytics terms he uses is at the bottom of the piece.

For a glossary of the metrics and terms used in this post, please see this earlier file.

The Miami Dolphins have the best offense in the NFL. This season, they rank first in total yards of offense, first in yards per game, first in passing yards, and second in rushing yards. Tua Tagovailoa is right in the thick of the MVP race, Tyreek Hill is on pace to break the single-season record for receiving yards, their offensive line has graded out as a top-10 unit throughout the season, and the duo of De’Von Achane and Raheem Mostert have been tremendous running the ball. 

The Titans’ defense, on the other hand, has struggled mightily as of late. They dealt Kevin Byard to the Philadelphia Eagles in late October, allowed over 300 passing yards to Gardner Minshew and the Indianapolis Colts last week, and were without Jeffery Simmons Monday night. The Dolphins were undefeated at home, and the Titans were winless on the road. The sportsbooks, the Titans’ fanbase, and the vast majority of the NFL media expected the Dolphins offense to do unspeakable things to the Titans in Miami. 

By BLAKE BEDDINGFIELD, special correspondent

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – There are no moral victories in a closely played game against a team that is significantly more talented. 

The Titans didn’t need one after coming from behind to win a game versus what was supposed to be an unstoppable Dolphins offense.  

In a game that was easy to predict the outcome, the Titans' defense decided that wasn’t going to be the case.

This is why they play the games. What looks good on paper, what is supposed to happen doesn’t always come to fruition when there are emotions, momentum and humans playing the game.  

The Titans' defense, especially the red-zone defense was dominant, allowing yards and chunk plays, but making the necessary stops. 

The Titans’ offense came to life in the second half. A combination of big first down throws to DeAndre Hopkins, and the check down throws to Chig Okonkwo and Tyjae Spears by Will Levis showed not only his maturation but his ability in critical situations to be decisive.   

They seemed to have it under control. They handed it away. They grabbed it back. 

Monday night’s thrilling win at Hard Rock Stadium over the Dolphins was the memorable sort that could have long-term importance for Will Levis, Tyjae Spears and other pieces the Titans will be built around going forward. It helps Mike Vrabel as he attempts to maintain a culture with a locker room thin on talent. And frankly, it was fun to watch an electric 4 minutes and 34 seconds in which the Titans drove to two scores and 15 points while holding Miami twice and offsetting a great deal of bad football – earlier in the game, and earlier in the season.

Per TruMedia, Tennessee is the only team this century to overcome a deficit of 14 points or more in the final three minutes of a game and win in regulation.

So take all your anticipation of exactly which pick the Titans will have in 135 days, and the idea a higher pick guarantees a more successful player, and shelve it. If you can’t enjoy an exhilarating win by your team engineered by its rookie quarterback as he topped 300 yards for the first time, and if it doesn’t make you happy two days after a member of the team’s Ring of Honor, Frank Wycheck, passed away way too early at 52, you need to recalibrate.