The 2016 season was Mike Mularkey's first full season as head coach. Leading up to week 16, the Titans were tied with the Texans atop the AFC South at 8–6, with the Colts one game behind at 7–7. The Titans had lost to the Texans in week 4, and were scheduled to play them again in week 17. With the Titans thus unable to win a potential head-to-head tiebreaker with the Texans, mathematically unable to even tie the Texans in divisional record, and having already lost twice to the Colts, the Titans were not going to win the South on tiebreakers. The only chance for the Titans to win the division was to finish with a better record than the Texans and Colts. However, with the hapless 2–12 Jaguars on tap for the Titans in week 16, it seemed as though a dramatic week 17 "win-and-in" bout against the Texans was a real possibility for the Titans. However, the Titans lost to the Jaguars 38–17, as Mariota suffered a broken fibula in the third quarter, ending his season. The Texans hung on to beat the Bengals 12–10 later that day on "SNF," as Bengals kicker Randy Bullock missed a potential go-ahead 43-yard field goal with 5 seconds left in the game. The Texans thus clinched the AFC South title (the Colts had also lost earlier that day to the Raiders), rendering the Titans' week 17 game (which they nonetheless won) meaningless for their playoff hopes. The Titans finished the season 9–7, the same record as the Texans, losing the tiebreaker due to record against divisional opponents, by three games (the Titans were 2–4, the Texans were 5–1).