Dear Mike Mularkey,
I am writing to apologize to you for being wrong about your approach to playing football in the current NFL, as outdated as it might seem.
This is a pass-first league the way the rules are written, and the way the direction of the league has been heading for a decade. But you are bucking conventional thinking to play the way you think is the best for your team, which, as you said, is called "Exotic Smashmouth."
So here goes: You were right, and I was wrong.
After going into Kansas City and beating the Chiefs with a last-second field goal, it's clear that your Titans have the feel of a playoff team. By beating the Chiefs 19-17 -- overcoming your questionable decision to go for two after making it 17-16 with just over three minutes that left your team down by one -- your team is now 8-6. If it wins out it, it will be AFC South champs.
It's that simple.
Almost like your offense.
Who can argue with the results if that happens? Your Titans ran for 148 yards against the Chiefs and got two rushing touchdowns from backup Derrick Henry to win the game.
They beat the Broncos and Chiefs in consecutive weeks to stake a claim as one of the top AFC teams. If they can beat the Jaguars this week in Jacksonville and close out the regular season with a victory over the Texans at home, they will be in the playoffs.
Yes, Marcus Mariota has grown up as a quarterback, but this is about the running game and defense -- again, despite the questionable decision by you to go for two. The Titans scored on a 1-yard run by Henry with 3:12 left to make it 17-16 and you opted to go for two. The pass on a rollout was incomplete and your team appeared to be in trouble.
But the defense held the Titans and forced a punt and Mariota drove them 40 yards in six plays to the game-winning field goal, a 53-yarder by Ryan Succop.
Your Titans are two victories out of the playoffs. I was wrong. You were right.
Sorry.
Pete
More musings from around the NFL:
Why did the Jaguars fire coach Gus Bradley on Sunday with two games to go? They want to get a jump-start on the coaching search. After blowing a big lead against the Texans, losing their ninth in a row, the longest streak in team history, owner Shad Khan thought it was time for a change. He was right, although most Jaguars fans think he waited too long.
In his three-plus seasons Bradley was 14-48, the second-worst percentage in league history among coaches with 50-plus games. What's worse, the team regressed in so many ways, especially on offense.
Quarterback Blake Bortles has been a disaster, and the offense has been horrible. That falls on the staff.
So what's next? It appears general manager Dave Caldwell will be back, which means he will direct the coaching search. Former Falcons coach Mike Smith, who is the defensive coordinator in Tampa Bay, will be a possibility, as will Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan.
Whoever takes over has to decide what to do with Bortles. I would expect a veteran -- Mike Glennon? -- to maybe come in and compete with him next season. Maybe if McDaniels is the hire they trade for Jimmy Garoppolo from New England.
Bradley is one of the most genuine men I've met in the NFL, a good man who hasn't been a good coach. He was facing tough odds in turning around a team in total rebuild mode, and he made some questionable assistant hires and made a lot of changes. He might be better off in his second job, learning from this one -- if he gets another chance.
Bradley needed to make the playoffs to come back for another year, and at 2-12 they aren't close in a bad division. The city was growing restless, so this isn't a move made in haste. Khan has been patient, almost to a fault.
You have to respect the decision made by Texans coach Bill O'Brien to bench quarterback Brock Osweiler. His team is in first place and pushing for a playoff spot. It wasn't an easy decision, no matter how poorly Osweiler was playing -- and he was bad.
But it was the right move and Tom Savage showed that when he came off the bench to throw for 260 yards and rally the Texans to a 21-20 victory.
Savage seemed to play with a cocky demeanor, which you want from a quarterback. I can't imagine he won't be the starter moving forward.
The Patriots dynasty continues. By beating Denver 16-3 Sunday, they clinched their eighth straight division title and earned a bye in the first round of the playoffs. They won with an impressive defensive showing at Denver, which bodes well for the playoffs.
Quarterback Tom Brady was just OK, but we know he will be good when it counts. Getting a top-notch defensive effort like Sunday is good for a playoff push.
Love or hate the Patriots, you have to respect them. With two weeks to go the question is whether any team can beat them in New England. I don't see it.
The Steelers can't really think Jeremy Hill disrespecting the Terrible Towel had anything to do with Pittsburgh rallying to beat Cincinnati on Sunday?
Hill pulled out a Terrible Towel and pretended to tear it up after scoring a touchdown. The Steelers said that worked against the Bengals. Yeah, OK.
What the hell was that? The Vikings trailed 27-0 and lost 34-6 to a Colts team that was banged up on offense? That's embarrassing. And don't dare blame it on the return of Adrian Peterson. At 7-7, this season just hasn't been good from the moment Teddy Bridgewater went down in camp.
No, the Browns didn't win Sunday, getting blown out by the Bills. But let's stop the talk that coach Hue Jackson could be in trouble. One year? Please.
P.S.: They are going 0-16.
When the Cardinals look back on their horrible season -- which included a bad loss at home to the Saints this week -- it will be special teams that prevented them from having a playoff chance. That area of the game has been a horror show all season long. Bruce Arians has some decisions to make after the season.
The Giants defense is building to something, a unit that could make them a real threat in the NFC. It is a big, fast, tough defense that has cover players, pass rushers and run stuffers. If the offense can get improved play from the line, they are a real Super Bowl threat.