Titans' Ryan Tannehill doesn't see Bengals matchup as a revenge game from playoff loss

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The look connected the faces of backmost Ryan Tannehill and different Tennessee Titans players said it each arsenic they walked disconnected the tract aft a crushing location nonaccomplishment to the Cincinnati Bengals successful the divisional circular of the playoffs past season.

Having finished the regular play with the apical effect successful the AFC and earning a first-round bye, the Titans had a aureate accidental to bash thing special, but it was swept from nether their feet.

With 3 interceptions successful the 19-16 loss, Tannehill bore the bulk of the criticism. He called the nonaccomplishment "brutal," saying it would instrumentality a agelong clip to get implicit it.

"It's a heavy scar," Tannehill said of the loss. "Every clip I closed my eyes I benignant of rewatched the game. I didn't get a full batch of slumber for weeks. I was successful a acheronian place, and it took maine a while, a batch of enactment to get retired of it."

Tannehill revealed that helium went to therapy successful the offseason to assistance him flight the acheronian place.

"Mental betterment is simply a large happening for each of us," Titans manager Mike Vrabel said. "Our quality to grip things positively and unluckily negatively that person happened to us. Try to support things successful position and marque definite we recognize wherever we are close now."

The bounce backmost from specified a devastating extremity to past play was compounded by a draught time commercialized successful which the Titans jettisoned Tannehill's favourite walk catcher (and Tennessee's starring walk catcher since helium came successful the league successful 2019) erstwhile A.J. Brown was dealt to the Philadelphia Eagles for the 18th and 101st wide picks.

Tannehill vowed to attack the play with a passionateness for winning dissimilar immoderate clip before. There haven't been drastic changes successful his enactment benignant oregon preparation. Remaining accordant with what he's done earlier has benefited some Tannehill and his teammates, according to Titans quarterbacks manager Pat O'Hara.

"As a quarterback, a leader, you gotta beryllium the aforesaid feline each day," O'Hara said. "That mode radical cognize what to expect. That's the 1 happening that pops retired with Ryan. He's been truly accordant with his demeanor and signifier habits, the mode helium prepares."

Tannehill and the Titans (7-3) are trying to tally it back, with the Bengals (6-4) up adjacent Sunday (1 p.m. ET, CBS) successful Nashville astatine Nissan Stadium.

Getting different ace astatine the Bengals, albeit with little astatine involvement this clip around, would look similar a redemption accidental to Tannehill. However, he's not going that route.

"That was past year, and fractional this squad wasn't adjacent here," Tannehill said astir the matchup. "This is simply a caller squad facing different caller team. Obviously, it's a crippled that we privation to win. But it has thing to bash with past year."

Tannehill is right. The Titans lone returned 29 players from past season.

But done 8 games this play -- helium missed 2 games with an ankle wounded -- Tannehill has shown shades of his aged self. Tannehill has thrown 4 interceptions (1.9% of his passes), which resembles the 2019 and 2020 seasons erstwhile helium lone threw six (2.1% of his passes) and 7 (1.5% of his passes) respectively.

Tannehill's 14 interceptions (2.6% of his passes) past play surpassed his erstwhile two-year full with the Titans.

The timing for a rematch against Cincinnati is perfect for the Titans due to the fact that Tannehill is coming disconnected his champion passing crippled this season.

Tannehill threw for 333 yards and 2 touchdowns successful past week's 27-17 win implicit the Green Bay Packers. It was his astir passing yards successful a crippled since Week 2 of past play erstwhile helium threw for 347 yards against the Seattle Seahawks.

Rookie receiver Treylon Burks came live successful the Packers game, posting 7 receptions for 111 yards. Burks went done his stock of trials and tribulations during minicamp erstwhile helium faced questions astir his conditioning and asthma which kept him from participating.

Through it all, Tannehill was a steadying unit for Burks and showed assurance successful the rookie from the start.

“He has been truly encouraging,” Burks said. “He’s ever making definite that I’m successful the close spots. He conscionable has ever had assurance successful me.”

Burks evidently didn't play successful past season's postseason game, but his beingness the past 2 games aft missing the erstwhile 4 with a turf toed wounded has possibly sparked 2 of Tannehill's champion 2 performances of the season.

That's the assurance they anticipation to physique connected against the Bengals, whether it's a redemption crippled oregon not.