Despite trailing throughout the entire game, the Tennessee Titans had one last chance to tie or even win against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 17 on the final drive.

Facing fourth down just outside the red zone, Mason Rudolph threw what appeared to be a touchdown to wide receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, but Jaguars defensive back Antonio Johnson made a quick play on the ball, swatting it out of the air before it could land in Tennessee’s hands.

Here’s a look at the play:

“Yeah, he made a good play. I thought we had a chance at it,” Titans coach Brian Callahan said postgame. “The ball was in there, it’s fourth down from wherever we were to 20-something yard-line so took a shot to the end zone and had a chance to go make a play on the ball and the guy made a nice play coming over the top of Nick without doing any interference. That was a good play by that kid.” 

Rudolph also gave his analysis on the play after the loss.

“Yeah, I mean, DB [Jaguars S Antonio Johnson] made a good play through the seam,” Rudolph said postgame. “He overlapped, played in the middle of both number one and number two. Maybe lead him in a little bit more, but thought he made a good play.”

The play capped off the Titans’ fifth consecutive loss and 13th on the season. With the Titans at 3-13, they are tied for the worst record in the NFL alongside the New York Giants, Cleveland Browns and New England Patriots.

A loss next week would guarantee at least a pick in the top two, and the Titans could move up to No. 1 if the Patriots also lose.

The Titans will play their final game of the season in Week 18 against the Houston Texans.

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The Tennessee Titans have suffered through a brutal 2024 NFL season. In Week 17, that continued with a 20-13 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Entering the final game of the season, the Titans hold a 3-13 record. This season completely fell apart and it has left some thinking that first-year head coach Brian Callahan could be on the hot seat.

Despite all of the rumors, it doesn’t sound like the team views it the same way.

According to NFL insider Ian Rapoport, Tennessee is still very high on Callahan and he is expected to be back along with a good portion of his staff.

“It has been a trying season for the Titans, with a string of close early losses, underwhelming (and at times confounding) quarterback play and a 3-12 record entering Sunday’s game at Jacksonville. But first-year head coach Brian Callahan and the bulk of his staff are expected to return,” Rapoport wrote.

“Internally, there is a feeling Callahan has shown long-term promise and the team has improved; the expectation next season is that that’ll be reflected more on the field and the scoreboard. Fixing the QB position — former second-round pick Will Levis was benched in December — is Job No. 1.”

Honestly, this would be the right call by the Titans. Callahan is far from being the one to blame for the shortcomings of this year’s team. The quarterback position has been the biggest problem in Tennessee.

If the Titans are able to find a quarterback upgrade in the offseason and make a few other moves to fill some roster holes, they could very well be a sleeper team to watch in 2025.

Along with the poor quarterback play this season, Tennessee has struggled with injuries. Defensively, L’Jarius Sneed has missed a ton of time and Chidobe Awuzie also missed a good chunk of time. Plenty of other players have also missed games due to injury.

There are so many things that went wrong with the 2024 season that were out of Callahan’s control.

Hopefully, the franchise can make the right decisions this offseason, bring in the right talent at positions of need, and stay healthy next season. Those are the main factors, not making a head coaching change.

All of that being said, it’s going to be an interesting offseason for the Titans and fans. There is a lot of work to be done and it seems very likely that they will have an aggressive approach as they look to get back into playoff contention.

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Tennessee basketball faces off against Norfolk State on Tuesday afternoon in its finale tuneup before opening up SEC play on Jan. 4 against Arkansas.

A pair of Tennessee stars are chasing program records as things start to get amped up in the new year.

Point guard Zakai Zeigler is on pace to become Tennessee’s single-season assist record holder as well as its career assist record holder.

Through 12 games this season, Zeigler has totaled 99 assists. If he keeps things up at his current rate, Zeigler will finish the regular season with 256 assists. That will be enough to trump Rodney Woods’ 227 assists during the 1974-75 season for the most in a single-season.

It could be difficult for Zeigler to continue his current pace of 8.2 assists per game. However, Zeigler averaged seven assists per game in SEC play last season which was more than he averaged in non conference play. If Zeigler averages seven assists in SEC play again this season he’ll break the record before the postseason begins.

The senior point guard is also chasing Tennessee’s career assist record. If Zeigler continues at his current pace this season, he’ll conclude the regular season with 728 career assists which would clear Johnny Darden’s 715 career assists for a new program record.

Through 11 games, Zeigler has a 2.60 assist-turnover ratio which would be the eighth best in a single-season in Tennessee history. Zeigler’s 11 turnover game at Louisville is largely dragging down his assist-turnover ratio this season.

More From RTI: Tennessee Basketball Set For New Year’s Eve Clash Before Intriguing SEC Opener

Transfer shooting guard Chaz Lanier is the other Vol chasing down program records and it’s three-point shooting numbers for the talented sharpshooter.

Lanier has made 45 triples so far this season at a 47.4% clip. He’s on pace to finish the regular season with 116 made three-pointers which would leave him two short of Chris Lofton’s single-season program record. Lanier would need to just total three made triples in the postseason to break Lofton’s record.

Perhaps the most impressive part of Lanier’s pursuit to pass the best three-point shooter in Tennessee’s program history is that he’s on pace to finish the regular season with 62 fewer attempts than Lofton in his record breaking 2007-08 season.

Lanier’s current 47.4% clip would be the second best in a single season in Tennessee history behind Jon Higgins 48.6% clip in 2000-01. However, Higgins made just 53 total triples that season while Lanier has already made 45.

Like Zeigler, the challenge is going to get more-and-more difficult for Lanier as the season progresses. However, Lanier is shooting better against power five opponents to this point in the season.

Zeigler and Lanier resume their record chase as No. 1 Tennessee returns to the court on Tuesday afternoon against Norfolk State. Tipoff is at 3 p.m. ET on Tuesday afternoon at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center. The SEC Network+ is broadcasting the. game.