By now, you’ve had a chance to take a step back and breathe. The Titans laid a lump of coal in everyone’s stockings this Christmas Eve, getting embarrassed by the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Houston Texans found a way to win on Saturday night, clinching the AFC South and ending the Titans playoff hopes.

What was building to be something special, came crashing down in almost an instant. I think the suddenness of it all hurt the worst. The fanbase finally had hope — something that they hadn’t had in about five years.

Then somewhere in the third quarter of that game you realized that the Titans just weren’t going to win this one. Everything you feared (trap game, interim coach bump, struggles on the road in Jacksonville, division struggles) was coming true. Most of the fanbase called this one, in fact.

But if you’re letting this result ruin your outlook on the 2016 season, you need to take a step back and consider what this organization accomplished in a little under a year.

2016 never was supposed to be about the playoffs. Ask any realistic fan or analyst — the goal was to see some improvement in the win/loss column and to develop your youth.

Instead, the Titans established an identity — something that they had been searching for since the Jeff Fisher days. They established themselves as a tough, run the ball team. DeMarco Murray proved to be one of the best additions made in the entire league. We saw Derrick Henry flash. We saw Taylor Lewan, Ben Jones and Quinton Spain take steps forward. Jack Conklin and Josh Kline asserted themselves as pillars of the offensive line going forward. Rishard Matthews looks like a big time player for the next few years, while Tajae Sharpe could develop into a nice possession guy.

Jon Robinson found six (!) new starters on offense alone. Toss in two potentials on defense (Byard, Sims) and that’s a big time start on building a roster. The amount of talent Robinson was able to add in a single offseason was spectacular.

There’s still one week left on the 2016 campaign, but going from three to just eight wins is such an impressive feat. Consider where this team was at last season. They were getting blown out weekly, showing nearly no signs of life. This year, they were in every game. Jacksonville last weekend was easily their worst showing. Just from the eye test, this bunch looked like they belonged, which is something you couldn’t alway say in the Whisenhunt seasons.

So if you’re calling for Mike Mularkey’s head, stop. The sky isn’t falling — the Titans just had a bad game. There’s no excuse for what happened on Saturday, make no mistake. The Titans were unprepared in a huge spot, but you can’t lose hope in a coach based off of one game. You’ve got to look at the body of work.

Mike Mularkey proved he belongs this year, which may be the most shocking development to come out of this season. The players clearly responded to him and you can’t deny his role in this eight or nine win season. Let’s see what he can do with a real life, functioning secondary before we call for his head.

The NFL playoffs might not be returning to Nashville this season, but the fact that the Titans were even in contention in week 15 is a minor miracle. I think they’ve offered up plenty to build on going forward and you should have nothing but excitement about the future. Add two first round picks and a slew of cap space to spend to the current roster. I think Jon Robinson has earned our trust here. Let’s keep it positive and be thankful for having a competent, competitive franchise once again.