5 NFL teams that made playoffs last year but won’t make it back in 2020

What a year it was for the Tennessee Titans in 2019. Despite struggling out of the gate, they made a quarterback switch, caught fire as the weather changed and came up one game short of reaching the Super Bowl. Mike Vrabel seems to be the next great coach in the AFC, but so many went the Titans’ way down the stretch that it makes it hard to see them being as good again.

Keep in mind Tennessee was the No. 6 seed in the AFC last year. The Titans had to beat the New England Patriots in Foxborough and then upset the top-seeded Baltimore Ravens in consecutive weeks before facing the eventual Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs in Arrowhead. It was quite the parlay, but the Cinderella carriage turned into a pumpkin in the AFC Championship Game.

Tennessee may have an excellent defense and arguably the best running back in football in Derrick Henry. However, we can’t expect Ryan Tannehill to play as well as he did in the second half of the year. That has the feel of a career-year for the former top-10 pick by the Miami Dolphins. Though he’s better than Marcus Mariota, Tannehill is a very low quarterbacking ceiling for the Titans.

We should expect the Titans to fight for a playoff spot this year, but they might be on the outside looking in if Tannehill struggles in his first year as the unquestioned starter. Though Vrabel and offensive coordinator Arthur Smith can totally prove us wrong, it’s hard to see the Titans being as damn captivating as they were towards the end of last season. They may come up a bit short.