Tennessee Titans win against New England Patriots was huge

NASHVILLE, TN - NOVEMBER 11: Derrick Henry #22 of the Tennessee Titans scores a touchdown during the second quarter against the New England Patriots at Nissan Stadium on November 11, 2018 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TN - NOVEMBER 11: Derrick Henry #22 of the Tennessee Titans scores a touchdown during the second quarter against the New England Patriots at Nissan Stadium on November 11, 2018 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)

Tennessee Titans winning yesterday was big for several reasons.

I’ll be honest, I did not think that the Tennessee Titans were going to win that game.

I think every fan or analyst that was hoping for a competitive game thought that there would have to be a few big turnovers to keep the Titans in the game. However, 24 hours later we see that the Titans were just the better team top to bottom.

Don’t let anyone lie to you. While Gronkowski is historically really valuable, he really isn’t the focal point of the offense like he was even last year. Him missing helped the Titans schematically, but it wasn’t what changed this game.

I’m sure you will hear Patriots fans explain away the loss as a fluke, but this is what happened:

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-Tom Brady was healthy and leading an offense that was averaging over 31 points per game over the last three weeks.

-The defense had previously held the Bills to 6 points and the Green Bay Packers to 17.

-Tennessee dismantled that team and beat them by 24 points.

Titans fans should be enjoying every minute of this win for what it was. In all my years covering this team and/or being a fan, the Titans have looked like a middle school team against the Patriots.

They have looked scared, ill prepared and just overall insufficient against New England for more than a decade now. However, for the first time in a long time the Titans looked like they were a team to be reckoned with against a top opponent.

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So, bask in that victory but understand what this means for Tennessee. Let’s say that you think you need a 10-6 record to get to the playoffs this year, well now instead of needing to go 6-1 in your last 7 you only need 5 more wins.

That may seem insignificant, but it absolutely isn’t. Let’s run some numbers.

Alright, NFL playoff machine on the NY Times website I am going to break down what should happen.

If I am being cautiously optimistic while staying realistic, I think that the Titans split with the Colts, beat the Texans, Jags, Jets and Giants. Throw in a loss to the Redskins and look at what that breaks down to for the Titans:

-40% chance of having the #3 seed

-36% chance of having the #4 seed

-15% chance of being a wildcard team

-7% chance for a bye and the #2 seed

-3% chance they won’t make the playoffs

If the Titans went into yesterday and lost against the Patriots they would have a much smaller margin of error. It would have put Tennessee in another sub .500 hole needing to sweep the division just for a solid chance at the playoffs.

It felt huge at the time and rightfully so, the Titans laying the smack down on New England was great for their image and confidence. However, the real advantage is in the playoff chances where it looks like they finally have a real solid shot to make the post season.

This team is a far cry from where they were at the beginning of October, and while there is still a long way to go, back to back wins have breathed life into this franchise. Now the question is, can they avoid another soul crushing Buffalo-type loss.

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