Mark WiedmerNASHVILLE - Just to be clear, the Tennessee Titans aren't co-champs of the AFC South this morning, despite having the exact same 9-7 record as the Houston Texans, as well as splitting with the Texans during the regular season by beating them 24-17 Sunday at Nissan Stadium.
Semi-impressive though that may be given the vast mediocrity of the Sloth Division, in the eyes of the all-powerful National Football League, the somewhat picky fact that the Texans finished 5-1 in division play while the Titans were 2-4 was all that was needed to award them the automatic playoff berth that goes with that unofficially shared title.
So while the Texans will host Oakland in the wild-card round this weekend, the Titans will head into a playoff-free offseason for an eighth straight winter, despite posting their first winning season since 2011.
"We're excited about the 'W' and a winning season, that's the main thing," Tennessee wide receiver Rishard Matthews said. "For the next step, we've got to be the team that goes to the playoffs rather than the team that beats teams that are going to the playoffs."
Indeed, the Titans beat five playoff teams over the course of the season - Miami, Kansas City, Green Bay, Detroit and Houston, as well as knocking off Denver, last year's Super Bowl champion, though the Broncos failed to return to the postseason.
"Just how our guys competed in this last game when there wasn't anything at stake," Titans coach Mike Mularkey said when asked what he was most proud of concerning his team. "There's a lot of accomplishments that I know took place, but it was more about winning, starting 2017 in the right frame of mind, going into the offseason with a good feeling about yourself."
Indeed, the six-game improvement from last year's 3-13 disaster to this season's 9-7 record tied for the biggest leap forward in franchise history, matching similar victory jumps for the Houston Oilers in 1967 and 1974.
Mularkey believes it also could provide benefits beyond building confidence for next season's returning players.
Questioned about what impact this success story might have on free agents looking for a new home, Mularkey said: "I hope so. I think they enjoy coming to work. We do work hard, but we do have fun at the same time. I think you can win that way. I think they look at what we've done this year and accomplished other than not making the playoffs, and I think that would be attractive."
(The Titans should also be able to help themselves again in the draft with the No. 5 and No. 18 picks in the first round this year.)
Here's what might be most attractive. Defensive back Jason McCourty - who will become an unrestricted free agent a year from now - said that what's arguably become best about this franchise is that there's no malarky in Mularkey.
"Whatever Mularkey says, he means," McCourty noted. "In the past we haven't had that, and it's nice to know exactly what you're getting every time you show up."
Perhaps that's why, even in defeat, this team looked remarkably similar week to week. Tough. Disciplined. Passionate. Purposeful. Prepared. This was the image Mularkey constantly projected in preseason camp. He wanted to be the toughest team on the field on both offense and defense, and it showed, even if the Titans weren't often the best team on paper.
Of course, the best team as the playoffs begin may well be the Atlanta Falcons, who ran roughshod over New Orleans on Sunday at the Georgia Dome before coasting to a 38-32 victory, which was their fourth straight entering the playoffs. Not only does that guarantee them a bye, but seven of their victories have been by 13 or more points.
Dallas may have the NFC's best regular-season mark at 13-3, but it's the Falcons who should not only reach the Super Bowl, but just might win it.
That doesn't mean that other NFL team we strongly support in our Scenic City hasn't had almost as big a season from its far more humble expectations.
The Titans are not only pretty good but seemingly getting better. Yes, they rank 31st in passing defense among 32 NFL teams. Yes, they rank a somewhat inept 24th in passing offense. But they're also fifth in rushing defense and third in rushing offense, which underscores Mularkey's mandate to be the toughest, most physical football team around.
"In years past," McCourty said, "guys continued to fight, we just had no idea how to execute and accomplish what we wanted to accomplish. This year's team knows how to fight, but guys also know how to win. Guys know how to make crucial plays."
We've seen these thin rays of hope before. In 2011 the Titans rose to 9-7 after a 6-10 mark in 2010. The next four autumns prior to this one produced losing seasons, the worst of those a 2-14 stinker in 2014.
But after winning this one against the Texans with second-team quarterback Matt Cassel filling in for injured starter Marcus Mariota - after winning when they were really only playing for pride - it feels as if something bigger's at play here than a one-season turnaround.
"The future is very bright," Titans linebacker Brian Orakpo said. "Just to win nine games and beat the divisional champs the last game of the season is huge for our confidence. There will be no drop-off. It's going to get better."
For the first time in a long time in Titans Town, that sounds far more like the mantra of Mularkey rather than a mountain of malarky.
Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com.