Mike Vrabel gets real about Titans' struggles: 'It sucks to lose. It (expletive) sucks'

A tough season that hasn't gone the Tennessee Titans' way hasn't done anything to tamp down Mike Vrabel's competitive fire as a coach.

Vrabel spoke to media Tuesday ahead of the Titans (5-11) playing their final game of the season against the Jacksonville Jaguars (9-7) on Sunday (noon, CBS). When asked whether the chance to play spoiler to the Jaguars' playoff hopes, Vrabel said the Titans need to win this game for "a lot of reasons" that have nothing to do with Jacksonville's outlook.

When asked to expand on those reasons, Vrabel let his passion and frustration loose.

"It sucks to lose. It (expletive) sucks," Vrabel said. "Losing. Awful. That’s why I want to win. Because you don’t sleep. You want to win for the players that bust their tail. That’s it. It’s not about, 'Hey, we’ll go into the offseason with a good note.' Nobody knows what you did on Jan. 7 or (Jan.) 8 or (Jan.) 6 in April when you come back. But you want to see just it all come together and just put four quarters together."

Vrabel said he, his fellow coaches and the players feel the same as fans about the Titans losing close games. It's hard to be competitive and still suffer defeat. But what the Titans went through last Sunday, a 26-3 drubbing from the Houston Texans, riles Vrabel in a different way.

He wants to put four competitive quarters together. He wants to play a back-and-forth game and come out on top. He wants to win this last game, not to inspire confidence into the offseason but for the pursuit of why teams play football in the first place.

"We just (haven't) done that in the opportunities that we had that were like ‘OK, we fought and we were close,’" Vrabel said. "I think that’s why (I want to win). You just put yourself in a competitive situation. Come up with a way to make a play in the second half to win the game. That’s what I hope for."

The Titans have lost three straight and seven of their last nine. Including last season, the Titans are 5-18 in their last 23 games, including an 0-9 record against the AFC South.

Mike Vrabel's injury update on QB Will Levis

Rookie QB Will Levis exited the loss to the Texans with a right foot injury. Vrabel said the team will "evaluate (Levis) through the week" and see how practice goes before making a decision about whether he'll be able to play versus Jacksonville.

He said it's too soon to say if Levis will be on the field when the Titans return to practice Wednesday but said he thinks the rookie has made progress with his injury since Sunday.

If Levis isn't able to go, Vrabel said the Titans will once again turn to veteran Ryan Tannehill at quarterback rather than second-year passer Malik Willis.

Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at nsuss@gannett.com. Follow Nick on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @nicksuss.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Why Mike Vrabel wants Tennessee Titans to keep fighting: 'Losing ... sucks'