It’s easy to look at last night’s Titans win over the Jaguars (such that it was easy to look at) as a case of a bad team rolling over on the road.
But the Titans had something to do with it too, and now that they’re 4-4, they’re feeling pretty good about themselves.
“I think it speaks loudly,’’ veteran tight end Delanie Walker said, via Jim Wyatt of the team’s official website. “I think everyone saw how we felt coming in at halftime, and how we felt coming in after the game. I know they are not blind.
“I think they understand this is the way we need to play every week. . . . Guys like this feeling.”
Of course, it’s hard to separate the conditional — It was against the Jaguars — but it was a strong performance on a number of levels. Quarterback Marcus Mariota was efficient (148.1 passer rating), but they ran for 214 yards, with DeMarco Murray and Derrick Henry establishing the personality they want to show.
“It is hard to run the ball in this league, and it is definitely hard to run for 200 yards,’’ Murray said. “We have a good team, and we all believe in that and we have all said that all along. Just to see the three phases play collectively well throughout the night, obviously it wasn’t perfect.
“But to have that game, it was huge for us going forward.”
They now exceeded last year’s win total (three) and have as many wins as the division leader (the 4-3 Texans). Even though it’s not the best division in the NFL, somebody from the AFC South is going to get invited to the playoffs. And as easy as it is to dismiss the division, the Titans at least made a statement that they’re a serious threat to win it.