NFL power rankings week 15: Watching the Titans fall

Looking at these isn’t going to be fun this week. The Titans were already the “worst 8-4 team in the history of the NFL.” Now they are 8-5 after losing to a bad Arizona Cardinals teams. I expect we will see a free fall in most of the power rankings around the league.

Let’s take a look:

ESPN: 18 (LW:12)

The Titans' defense has shown improvement thanks to some playmakers in the secondary. Kevin Byard is tied for the league lead in interceptions (six) and both Adoree' Jackson and Logan Ryan already have more pass breakups than any Titans defender did last season.

SB Nation: 14 (LW:11)

There have been plenty of reasons to doubt the Titans, and they showed every damn one of them in Week 14 against the Cardinals. Tennessee couldn’t run the ball and Marcus Mariotadidn’t do anything right as he battled through a knee sprain.

It’d take a lot to knock the Titans out of the AFC Wild Card race, so they’re probably in a safe spot. But it’s just impossible to get that jazzed about Tennessee’s chances in the playoffs when the team was blown out by the Steelers recently and can’t even comfortably win the games it should.

Bleeding Green Nation: 17 (LW:13)

Not nearly as good as their 8-5 record suggests. Below average team.

Sporting News: 12

The Titans needed to beat the short-handed Cardinals, but let the game — and possibly the AFC South — slip away.

Detroit Free Press: 13 (LW:10)

You have to excuse us, but we're just not in love with the Titans. Winning out is likely their only chance to take the AFC South, and they've got three teams just one game behind them for a playoff spot.