Titan Sized
FanSided

Tennessee Titans and the jumbled AFC playoff picture

By Matias Wodner

NASHVILLE, TN - DECEMBER 6: Taylor Lewan #77 of the Tennessee Titans reacts to a tackle during the second quarter against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Nissan Stadium on December 6, 2018 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TN - DECEMBER 6: Taylor Lewan #77 of the Tennessee Titans reacts to a tackle during the second quarter against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Nissan Stadium on December 6, 2018 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Tennessee Titans find themselves in the thick of the AFC playoff race, but there are a lot of scenarios yet to be played out.

After their win on Thursday night over the Jacksonville Jaguars that was fueled by a historic performance from Derrick Henry, the Tennessee Titans improved to 7-6 and increased their chances of making the playoffs. Following Sunday’s events, the Titans are still very much in the hunt, but they need a couple of things to go their way over the next few weeks. They also need to take care of their own business.

As it stands, this is what the playoff picture in the AFC looks like. Note that the tiebreakers for the wild card in order are: Overall record, conference record, head-to-head, win percentage in common games, strength of victory, strength of schedule, etc.

  1. Kansas City Chiefs: 11-2 record, 9-1 conference record 
  2. New England Patriots: 9-4 record, 6-3 conference record (owns head-to-head tiebreaker over Houston)
  3. Houston Texans: 9-4 record, 7-3 conference record
  4. Pittsburgh Steelers: 7-5-1 record, 4-5-1 conference record
  5. Los Angeles Chargers: 10-3 record, 7-2 conference record
  6. Baltimore Ravens: 7-6 record, 6-4 conference record (owns tiebreakers over all below teams)
  7. Indianapolis Colts: 7-6 record, 6-5 conference record (owns head-to-head tiebreaker over Miami and Tennessee)
  8. Miami Dolphins: 7-6 record, 6-4 conference record (owns head-to-head tiebreaker over Tennessee)
  9. Tennessee Titans: 7-6 record, 5-6 conference record
  10. Denver Broncos: 6-7 record, 4-5 conference record
  11. Cleveland Browns: 5-7-1 record, 3-5-1 conference record

Those are all of the teams with realistic chances of winning the final wild card spot. The Titans and Colts are still in contention for the AFC South, but the Texans have a two-game lead and close out their season against teams with a combined 14-25 record. The Ravens are just 0.5 games behind the Steelers in the AFC North, so that is another aspect to consider. The Dolphins are two games behind the Patriots in the AFC East, but that isn’t a realistic possibility given the schedule and the few amount of games left.

Let’s focus on the sixth and final playoff spot and how it changed this week. The Ravens are currently clinging on to it after coughing up a lead and a win against the Chiefs at Arrowhead. The Colts beat the Texans on the road to stay in contention and the Dolphins miraculously took down the Patriots on the last play of the game to stay alive in the race. The Broncos fell to the San Francisco 49ers and have all but knocked themselves out of it. The Browns are playing inspired football following the firing of HC Hue Jackson, and beat the Panthers this past week to keep themselves mathematically alive.

Going forward, here are the remaining opponents for the teams that will likely be vying for a wild card position up until the final week of the season.

4. Pittsburgh Steelers: NE (9-4), @NO (11-2), CIN (5-8)
6. Baltimore Ravens: TB (5-8), @LAC (10-3), CLE (5-7-1)
7. Indianapolis Colts: DAL (8-5), NYG (5-8), @TEN (7-6)
8. Miami Dolphins: @MIN (6-6-1), JAX (4-9), @BUF (4-9)
9. Tennessee Titans: @NYG (5-8), WAS (6-7), IND (7-6)
10. Denver Broncos: CLE (5-7-1), @OAK (3-10), LAC (10-3)
11. Cleveland Browns: @DEN (6-7), CIN (5-8), @BAL (7-6)

The Broncos and Browns will knock one or the other out of playoff contention this week, as they play each other. The Steelers and Colts have very tough matchups this week, but both are at home. The Dolphins and Titans have tricky road games that could easily put an end to their season if they don’t come out ready to play. The Ravens have a home date against an extremely inconsistent Bucs teams.

Going forward, the Steelers clearly have the toughest remaining schedule of these teams, while the Colts and Ravens are slightly behind. The Dolphins have the easiest remaining schedule, but two of their finals three games are on the road.

What does this all mean for the Titans? Not much, because they will likely have to win out anyway. But even if they do, it’s not a given that they’ll sneak into the playoffs, primarily because of their conference record and head-to-head losses against the Ravens and Dolphins (head-to-head against the Colts doesn’t matter because they have to beat the Colts in Week 17 regardless). We’ll see if the football gods are on the Titans’ side as the season heads to a close.

Home/Titans News