NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Titans have been in disarray for so long, it is getting hard to remember the last time they were in good form.

At 1-4 and losers of four in a row, the Titans are back in a familiar spot — playing poorly, dealing with injuries and showing very little in direction and intestinal fortitude.

Sunday’s collapse against the Cleveland Browns was the latest example of the Titans going out of their way to find a way to lose. Tennessee blew a 25-point lead, the biggest margin ever squandered by a home team in a regular-season game.

After that defeat, if the Titans didn’t already know it, they now rank among the dregs of the NFL.

There was some hope when Ken Whisenhunt was hired as the head coach in the offseason, but with a new offensive system being installed and the defense switching to a 3-4 alignment, the Titans have not exactly been quick to adapt, playing OK in flashes, but mostly not well enough to win.

Even when things have gone well, they didn’t go well enough to produce victories. A case in point was Sunday when quarterback Jake Locker had the Titans rolling early on with his combination of running and passing ability. Locker was 8-for-11 through the air for 79 yards and a touchdown. He scrambled four times for 34 yards and a touchdown.

However, he went down with a thumb injury and did not return. Charlie Whitehurst came in and threw two touchdown passes to keep the momentum going, but the offense stalled out in the second half with some questionable play calls.

The defense lost a takeaway thanks to a penalty, and special teams play was deplorable with a blocked punt for a safety and cornerback Marqueston Huff running out of bounds, which drew a flag and negated his fumble recovery on the punt coverage team.

“That’s got to change,” Whisenhunt said of the penalties. “There is no question about that. We had crushing things when we got the turnovers, two of them. All of a sudden it changes, and that is a hard thing to overcome.”

The coach also made some questionable decisions, including going for it on fourth-and-1 from his own 42 with three minutes left. When Whitehurst’s quarterback sneak failed, the Browns had an easy path to the winning touchdown. Earlier in the game, the Titans were throwing the football when they should have been in the four-minute offense trying to take time off the clock.

What it added up to was another confounding loss for a franchise that keeps inventing ways to lose games. And for a fan base that is growing less and less patient with the team, that is not a recipe for success.

REPORT CARD VS. BROWNS

PASSING OFFENSE: B-minus — QB Jake Locker played very well before he exited with a thumb injury, going 8-for-11 for 79 yards and a touchdown. Backup Charlie Whitehurst threw two touchdown passes in the first half, but the offense stalled in the second half.

RUSHING OFFENSE: D — It sounds crazy to grade the run game this low when the Titans ran 30 times for 149 yards, but those numbers are deceiving. WR Kendall Wright gained 38 yards on a jet sweep, Locker had 34 yards and a TD on scrambles, and when Tennessee needed to run late to hold onto a lead, it couldn’t.

PASS DEFENSE: F — QB Brian Hoyer did in the Titans, firing two late touchdown passes to rookie WR Travis Benjamin, including the game-winner with 1:09 left. Hoyer threw for 292 yards and three TDs. Penalties hurt Tennessee in all phases, especially an illegal-contact call on CB Jason McCourty that voided his game-sealing interception. The pass rush was all but non-existent as well.

RUSH DEFENSE: F — For the fourth consecutive week, the Titans allowed a team to rush for more than 100 yards. RB Ben Tate did most of the damage this week, going for 123 yards on 22 carries.

SPECIAL TEAMS: F — Let’s see, a blocked punt for a safety, a fumble recovery lost because of a penalty for running out of bounds and not re-entering quickly enough, no return yardage to speak of. What other grade could there be but total failure?

COACHING: F — Ken Whisenhunt had the Titans throw the ball when they should have been in the four-minute offense. He went for it on fourth-and-inches at his own 42, giving the Browns a short field for the win.