The 2019 season was the Tennessee Titans' 50th in the National Football League (NFL) and their 60th overall. It marks the franchise's 23rd season in the state of Tennessee, their 22nd in Nashville and their second full season under head coach Mike Vrabel. Despite a 2–4 start resulting in the benching of quarterback Marcus Mariota, the Titans turned their season around with ex-Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill. With the boost of Tannehill, what was a previously bottom-tier NFL offense transformed into one of its best, helping the Titans to a strong 7–3 finish, making them 9–7 for the fourth straight year and allowing for their return to the postseason after a one-year absence.
Riding the rushing champion Derrick Henry into the playoffs, the Titans defeated the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots in the wild-card round by a score of 20–13, advancing them to the divisional round. The Titans then upset the heavily favored top-seeded Baltimore Ravens 28–12, advancing to their first AFC Championship Game since 2002, and becoming the first team since both the New York Jets and Green Bay Packers in 2010 to advance to a Conference Championship Game as a sixth seed. However, the Titans' Cinderella season came to an end when they fell to the eventual Super Bowl LIV champion Kansas City Chiefs 35–24 in the AFC Championship Game. As of the 2025 season, this is the most recent season the Titans earned a playoff win.
Coaching changes On January 8, 2019, Titans offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur was hired as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers. On January 21, 2019, Titans tight ends coach Arthur Smith was promoted to the role of offensive coordinator.
Draft
2019 Tennessee Titans Draft Round Selection Player Position College 1 19 Jeffery Simmons DT Mississippi State 2 51 A. J. Brown WR Ole Miss 3 82 Nate Davis OG Charlotte 4 116 Amani Hooker S Iowa 5 168 D'Andre Walker OLB Georgia 6 188 David Long Jr. ILB West Virginia
2019 Tennessee Titans Draft Trades Draft pick year Round Overall Team Received 2019 4 121 to New York Jets Received New York's 2019 fourth-round selection (No. 116 overall) and fifth-round selection (No. 168 overall). 5 157 2019 6 191 to Baltimore Ravens Received linebacker Kamalei Correa. 2019 7 233 to Miami Dolphins Received Miami's 2019 sixth-round selection (No. 188 overall) and quarterback Ryan Tannehill. 2020 4 135
Undrafted free agents 2019 Tennessee Titans Undrafted Free Agents Name Position SchoolAlex BarnesRBKansas StateAmani BledsoeDEOklahomaHamp CheeversCBBoston CollegeCody ConwayOTSyracuseJonathan CrawfordSIndianaA.T. HallOTStanfordBraxton HoyettNTMississippi StateIsaiah MackDTChattanoogaKareem OrrCBChattanoogaAnthony Ratliff-WilliamsWRNorth CarolinaDerick RobersonOLBSam Houston StateTaj-Amir TorresCBBoston CollegeIsaac ZicoWRPurdueJoJo TillerySWofford
Source:
Made regular season roster
Staff
Final roster
Team captains Marcus Mariota (QB) Ben Jones (C) Jurrell Casey (DL) Wesley Woodyard (LB) Kevin Byard (FS)
Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 at Philadelphia Eagles W 27–10 1–0 Lincoln Financial Field Recap 2 New England Patriots L 17–22 1–1 Nissan Stadium Recap 3 August 25 Pittsburgh Steelers L 6–18 1–2 Nissan Stadium Recap 4 at Chicago Bears W 19–15 2–2 Soldier Field Recap
Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 September 8 at Cleveland Browns W 43–13 1–0 First Energy Stadium Recap 2 September 15 Indianapolis Colts L 17–19 1–1 Nissan Stadium Recap 3 at Jacksonville Jaguars L 7–20 1–2 TIAA Bank Field Recap 4 September 29 at Atlanta Falcons W 24–10 2–2 Mercedes-Benz Stadium Recap 5 October 6 Buffalo Bills L 7–14 2–3 Nissan Stadium Recap 6 October 13 at Denver Broncos L 0–16 2–4 Empower Field at Mile High Recap 7 October 20 Los Angeles Chargers W 23–20 3–4 Nissan Stadium Recap 8 October 27 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 27–23 4–4 Nissan Stadium Recap 9 November 3 at Carolina Panthers L 20–30 4–5 Bank of America Stadium Recap 10 November 10 Kansas City Chiefs W 35–32 5–5 Nissan Stadium Recap 11Bye 12 November 24 Jacksonville Jaguars W 42–20 6–5 Nissan Stadium Recap 13 December 1 at Indianapolis Colts W 31–17 7–5 Lucas Oil Stadium Recap 14 December 8 at Oakland Raiders W 42–21 8–5 RingCentral Coliseum Recap 15 December 15 Houston Texans L 21–24 8–6 Nissan Stadium Recap 16 December 22 New Orleans Saints L 28–38 8–7 Nissan Stadium Recap 17 December 29 at Houston Texans W 35–14 9–7 NRG Stadium Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries Week 1: at Cleveland Browns
Though favored to lose, the Titans surprised the league with a blowout win over the heavily hyped Browns in Cleveland with a strong second-half performance. The Titans defense intercepted QB Baker Mayfield three times, including once for a pick-six by CB Malcolm Butler, and sacked Mayfield four times, including once for a safety by Cameron Wake. Titans QB Marcus Mariota and RB Derrick Henry had efficient games, leading the team to four touchdowns on offense to complement the strong defensive performance.
Week 2: vs. Indianapolis Colts
The Titans lost a close game 19–17, though a highlight of the game involved a passing touchdown from Mariota to offensive lineman David Quessenberry, who had recovered from a bout with cancer.
Week 3: at Jacksonville Jaguars
The Titans faced traditional rival Jacksonville in a Thursday night matchup for the fifth time in six years, but lost after an effective performance by Jaguars quarterback Gardner Minshew. With their second straight loss, the Titans fell to 1–2.
Week 4: at Atlanta Falcons
For the first time all season, Marcus Mariota was not sacked during a game, after being sacked a league-high 17 times in the first three games of the season. The Titans easily won 24–10 to improve to 2–2, despite Falcons QB Matt Ryan throwing for nearly 400 yards.
Week 5: vs. Buffalo Bills
In a defense-heavy game, the Titans fell short partly due to four missed field goals from kicker Cairo Santos, who was released after this game. However, the offense was also held in check by a strong Bills defense, as Mariota was sacked five times despite offensive tackle Taylor Lewan returning from suspension. With their third straight loss to Buffalo, Tennessee fell to 2–3 on the year.
Week 6: at Denver Broncos
After an ineffective performance, Marcus Mariota was benched for backup quarterback Ryan Tannehill in the third quarter as the Titans were shut out 16–0. With the loss, Tennessee fell to 2–4.
Week 7: vs. Los Angeles Chargers
Ryan Tannehill made his first start at quarterback for the Titans in place of Marcus Mariota. After a back-and-forth first half, the Titans pulled ahead in the second half, holding a 23–13 fourth quarter lead before the Chargers scored a touchdown, cutting the Titans' lead to 3 with just over 5 minutes left. After forcing the Titans to turn the ball over on downs at the Los Angeles 49-yard line, the Chargers marched down the field to the Titans 1-yard line, but running backs Austin Ekeler and Melvin Gordon were unable to score, with the Titans defense forcing Gordon to fumble at the goal line. The Titans recovered the ball for a touchback, effectively sealing the win to improve to 3–4.
Week 8: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Titans rallied after the Buccaneers had themselves rallied from a 17–9 Tennessee lead. Jameis Winston's two touchdowns and a two-point conversion throw put the Buccaneers up 23–17 halfway through the third quarter. Cody Parkey's field goal put the Titans within 23–20 late in the third then Ryan Tannehill led a drive ending in an A. J. Brown touchdown catch that put Tennessee up 27–23. Winston fumbled on one Buccaneers possession, then was intercepted on Tampa's final possession.
Week 9: at Carolina Panthers
Week 10: vs. Kansas City Chiefs
The game lead tied or changed six times and the Titans rallied to the win on two field goal miscues by the Chiefs, first on a blown snap, subsequent missed throw by Dustin Colquitt, and resulting intentional grounding penalty while Tennessee trailed 32–27, then following an Adam Humphries touchdown catch and Ryan Tannehill two-point conversion run, on a blocked Harrison Butker 52-yard attempt, the kick blocked by Joshua Kalu. It was the Titans’ eighth win in nine matchups to that point over teams coached by Andy Reid.
Week 12: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
This game was notable because the four touchdowns scored by the Titans in the third quarter came in a span of six offensive plays.
Week 13: at Indianapolis Colts
Week 14: at Oakland Raiders
In a game with heavy playoff implications, the Titans scored three unanswered touchdowns in the second half after being locked in a 21–21 tie with the Raiders at halftime. Tennessee finished with 551 total yards as Ryan Tannehill passed for nearly 400 yards and Derrick Henry also posted a strong performance. With the win, the Titans improved to 8–5, reaching a tie with the Pittsburgh Steelers for the sixth seed in the AFC.
Week 15: vs. Houston Texans
Week 16: vs. New Orleans Saints
Week 17: at Houston Texans
With this win, the Titans clinched the #6 seed in the AFC. They also won their first game in Houston since 2011.
RB Derrick Henry achieved the most rushing yards in the league, surpassing Browns RB Nick Chubb.
Standings Division
Conference
Postseason
Schedule Round Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Venue Recap Wild Card at New England Patriots (3) W 20–13 1–0 Gillette Stadium Recap Divisional at Baltimore Ravens (1) W 28–12 2–0 M&T Bank Stadium Recap AFC Championship January 19, 2020 at Kansas City Chiefs (2) L 24–35 2–1 Arrowhead Stadium Recap
Game summaries AFC Wild Card Playoffs: at (3) New England Patriots
Tennessee running back Derrick Henry accounted for 204 of the Titans' 272 total offensive yards, including 34 carries for 182 yards and a touchdown as he led his team to victory as the Patriots failed to win a playoff game in a season for the first time since 2010. As a result, New England's streak of AFC Championship appearances ended at eight.
New England took the opening kickoff and drove 57 yards in 8 plays, the longest a 21-yard completion from Tom Brady to tight end Benjamin Watson. Nick Folk finished the drive with a 36-yard field goal to put the Patriots up 3–0. Tennessee struck back, with Henry carrying the ball 6 times for 44 yards on a 75-yard drive, that gave the team a 7–3 lead with Ryan Tannehill's 12-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Firkser, the first playoff touchdown scored by a Harvard University graduate. New England then moved the ball 75 yards in 10 plays, featuring a 25-yard run by Sony Michel. Receiver Julian Edelman finished the drive with a 5-yard touchdown run – his first such touchdown – on an end around play on the first play of the second quarter, giving the Patriots a 10–7 lead. Later on, Patriots receiver Mohamed Sanu returned a punt 23 yards to the Titans' 47-yard line, and the team drove on to a first and goal on the 1-yard line. The Titans held out on the goal line; linebacker Rashaan Evans dropped Michel for a 1-yard loss on first down, Rex Burkhead was tackled on the 1-yard line by Evans and DaQuan Jones on second down and Evans tackled Michel for a 2-yard loss on third down. The Patriots took a 13–7 lead on Folk's 21-yard field goal with 2:16 left in the half. Henry took off for a 29-yard gain on the first play of the team's ensuing drive, before picking up 23 more yards with his next three carries after an incompletion. Henry then ran a screen pass 22 yards to the Patriots' 1-yard line, ultimately converting a 1-yard touchdown run to give the Titans a 14–13 halftime lead.