Turron DavenportESPN
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Titans (11-5) have clinched the AFC South Division title after defeating the Miami Dolphins (8-8) 34-3 on Sunday.
Ryan Tannehill completed 13 of his 18 pass attempts for 120 yards and two touchdowns against his former team to help the Titans secure their second AFC South title.
“Focusing on ourselves and what we have in front of us,” Tannehill said about facing his former team. “I am thankful for my time in Miami. That was a special time of my life. I grew a lot there as a person and as a player.”
The Titans have been AFC South champions in both of Tannehill’s full seasons as the starting quarterback. This is the first time the Titans have won back to back titles since their first 1960 and 1962 when they won AFL titles in their first two seasons of existence as the Houston Oilers.
Tennessee came out on top in the division despite losing Derrick Henry, whose 937 rushing yards led the NFL when he suffered a fractured foot in Week 8. D’Onta Foreman‘s 365 rushing yards helped fill in while Henry was gone.
“My approach was not to try to fill big shoes,” Foreman said. “Just go out there and play my game, do what I can do to help the team. Derrick is a great running back. I think he’s the best back in the league. To be able to come in and try to help this team fill in where he left off was a challenge. I’m a competitor and never wanted anybody to look at me like I couldn’t get the job done.”
Henry’s injury was one of many that the Titans suffered. The Titans rostered 88 different players on game day this season. That’s an NFL record.
The Titans are now 3-1 since they had the bye in Week 13 after consecutive losses to the Houston Texans and New England Patriots. The defense is peaking as shown by how they’ve held each of their opponents to less than 20 points in every game.
Tennessee is now the No. 1 seed in the AFC after the Kansas City Chiefs (11-5) lost to the Cincinnati Bengals (10-6). The Titans can clinch the top seed in the conference and a first-round bye if they defeat the Houston Texans (4-11) next Sunday at NRG Stadium.
“It’s good to go into next week knowing that we don’t have to worry about nobody,” safety Kevin Byard said. “We don’t have to worry about if somebody loses or anything like that. If we go out there and handle business against Houston we’ll have the one seed. Usually the last game of the year we’re fighting for something anyway so it’s good to the last week of the season fighting to be the No. 1 seed.”
