We’ve seen plenty of teams across sports embrace the role of underdogs as they defied the odds and staged deep playoff runs.
The Titans now are putting together an unexpected stretch of their own, but they don’t seem to be viewing themselves as underdogs.
Following impressive road wins over the defending champion New England Patriots and top-seeded Baltimore Ravens, Tennessee now is one win away from reaching Super Bowl LIV. For Titans head coach Mike Vrabel, the public perception of his team means next to nothing, and they don’t need to read into labels to stay motivated.
“…I think for those of us that have been around this league long enough, I think that’s kind of overrated, the underdog thing,” Vrabel said Saturday, as captured by Titans Online’s Jim Wyatt. It’s pro football. Everybody gets paid, everybody has a job to do. We knew we were going to get on a plane a few weeks ago and as long as we kept winning, we would keep getting on that plane. We’re going to the same thing this week. We’re going to continue to improve. Not let complacency sit in and not be excited about winning whatever this was, I don’t even know. We’re going to play in the AFC Championship Game, but we have to continue to improve. You’ve heard me say it, the teams that do that, they keep playing and the ones that don’t, they make offseason plans.”
The Titans will have to wait until late Sunday afternoon to find out where their team plane will be headed next. The second AFC divisional-round contest will pit the Houston Texans against the Kansas City Chiefs, with the winner set to host the AFC title game next Sunday.
