After seeing the 2021 campaign Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill had, it’s hard to imagine calling him lucky — that is, until you dig into the numbers a bit deeper.
Tannehill had a mistake-filled 2021 season that saw him commit 18 turnovers, 14 of which came via interceptions.
Despite that, Tannehill was among the luckiest quarterbacks in the NFL last season because he should have thrown more interceptions than he actually did, according to Vincent Verhei of Football Outsiders.
Verhei points out that Tannehill had 10 passes that should have been picks that were dropped by defenders. He also notes that one of Tannehill’s interceptions should have been caught by his wide receiver.
In all, Tannehill’s adjusted interception total when taking this all into account is 23. Verhei calls him the “luckiest quarterback in 2021 who will be starting again in 2022.”
The luckiest quarterback in 2021 who will be starting again in 2022 was Tennessee’s Ryan Tannehill (-3.7). Tannehill only threw 14 interceptions, but he saw 10 other passes dropped by defenders, with one pick that should have been caught by his receiver.
On top of the picks he threw in the regular season, Tannehill also added three more in the playoff loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, which made him public enemy No. 1 in Nashville.
Tannehill enters the 2022 campaign on the hot seat with fans, media, and likely his own team, as it’s possible Tennessee could part ways with the veteran after this season if third-round pick Malik Willis is ready.
However, Tannehill, who is battling against the narrative that he doesn’t have what it takes to lead the Titans to a Super Bowl, will get at least one more year to prove us all wrong.