The Tennessee Titans are unbeaten in the preseason under new coach Robert Saleh. That part is clean. The rest is messy.
Saleh's Titans spotted the starter-less Seattle Seahawks a 13-point lead on Sunday, then scratched back for a 19-16 win. Seattle left its regulars at home. Tennessee still needed a second-half push to get past the backups. That is the part the coach will be chewing on this week.
The comeback itself showed something. The Titans didn't fold, they tightened up on defense and found enough offense to finish. But the deficit came against a team that was playing its preseason depth, and that makes the rally a mixed signal. It's evidence of resilience. It's also evidence of a slow start that would get buried in the regular season.
Preseason records don't carry over. Coaches have gone 4-0 in August and 1-3 by October. The real payoff from this unbeaten run is in the roster meetings. Saleh now has three games of tape on the fringe players who helped erase that 13-point hole. A few of them earned a longer look.
What shouldn't get lost in the victory: the Titans trailed by 13 at all. Against a team that didn't dress its starters. That is the kind of detail that fades in the celebration of a fourth straight win, but it's the one that matters most.
My verdict: Saleh has the Titans competing, and the undefeated preseason says the locker room has bought in. But the sluggish start against Seattle's backups is a better preview of Week 1 danger than the final score. The opener will show whether the comeback was a habit or a one-off.