Tennessee Titans playoff outlook: Fan rooting guide for Week 16
If you’re a Tennessee Titans fan and want to see your team make the playoffs in 2019, who should you be rooting for to help that cause in Week 16?
With two games remaining, the Tennessee Titans are on the outside looking in on the playoff hunt but still have two avenues to get in.
One avenue is through the AFC South where the Houston Texans are the current leader, while the other goes through the AFC wild card where the Pittsburgh Steelers own the final spot.
In both instances, Tennessee is going to need some help from other teams around the league, so we’ve setup a rooting guide for you for this weekend that pinpoints which games you need to be watching and which teams Tennessee needs to win.
Saturday: Texans at Bucs (Noon CST)
Who to root for: Bucs
Before the Titans take the field on Sunday, we’ll have a pretty good idea where they sit in the divisional race. If the Texans can beat the Bucs on Saturday, the Texans automatically take the division. If the Texans lose and the Titans can beat the Saints, Tennessee will be in position to win the AFC South if they can beat the Texans in Week 17.
Sunday: Saints at Titans (Noon CST)
Who to root for: Titans
Well duh, of course we want the Titans to win every week. However, the Titans don’t need to win this game to make the playoffs via the wild card, so that takes a little pressure off having to beat one of the best teams in the NFL.
Still, if the Titans lose this game, they will be out of the AFC South race no matter what happens with the Texans on Saturday. A win for the Titans would obviously help their overall playoff chances, as does any win this late in the season.
Sunday: Steelers at Jets (Noon CST)
Who to root for: Jets
In order for the Titans to win the wild card, they need the Steelers to lose at least one of their next two games, combined with Tennessee winning over Houston in Week 17. That would tie both teams in conference record and leave the tiebreaker to strength of victory where the Titans would have the edge.
If both the Steelers and Titans lose out, Tennessee would own the tiebreaker over Pittsburgh again based on strength of victory, unless the Colts win out and force a three way tie at 8-8. However, if the Titans win in Week 16 and lose in Week 17, combined with the Steelers winning one of their next two games against either the Jets or Baltimore Ravens, the Titans would lose out because of the conference record tiebreaker.
Saturday: Bills at Patriots (3:30 p.m. CST)
Who to root for: Patriots
The team still vying for the No. 1 seed against the Ravens is the Patriots. New England is actually 1.5 games behind Baltimore because the Ravens beat the Pats earlier in the season, so a Ravens win would clinch the No. 1 seed. If the Pats lose, it doesn’t matter what the Ravens do because they’ll have the top seed locked up in that scenario, also.
If the Ravens lose and the Pats win, the Ravens would then have something to play for in Week 17 and wouldn’t be able to sit their starters for what could be a crucial game against the Steelers that could make-or-break the Titans’ playoff hopes for 2019.
Sunday: Ravens at Browns (Noon CST)
Who to root for: Browns
If the Ravens win in Week 16 over the Browns, they will lock up the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage in the AFC, which means they’ll have nothing to play for in Week 17 and that could lead to the team resting its starters.
The Ravens have a matchup with the Steelers in Week 17, and if it comes down to the Titans needing the Ravens to win over the Steelers, Baltimore sitting its starters would hurt Tennessee’s chances of getting what they need.
Hope for the Browns to pull off an upset in Week 16 over the Ravens.