The Tennessee Titans lost to the San Francisco 49ers in Week 15 and dropped to 2-12 on the season. With a .576 strength of schedule, the team that finished with the NFL's worst record last season received the toughest schedule in the NFL this campaign. While the Titans weren't necessarily expected to be a playoff contender this year, their strength of schedule reality shows they never had a chance to compete in 2025.
Titans have faced 11 teams with a current record of 8-5 or better
The Titans won their second game of the season on the road against the Cleveland Browns last week. It was by far their best game of the season as they controlled the game with two separate double-digit leads, before holding on in the end for the 31-29 win. The win knocked them down the 2026 NFL Draft Order from 1st to 3rd due to a strength of schedule tiebreaker.
Not only have the Titans faced good teams, but they have faced teams that are all challenging to win their divisions. Usually, when a team finishes fourth in its division, it gets the benefit of a fourth-place schedule against at least three teams from other divisions that finished in the same boat last season.
Those three teams on the Titans' schedule this year were the New England Patriots, the Browns, and the New Orleans Saints (who they haven't played yet). While two of those teams have nearly the same record as the Titans, the Patriots went from worst to first in their division and the entire AFC.
Coincidentally, the team that is tied with the Patriots for the best record in the AFC is the Denver Broncos, whom the Titans faced to begin the regular season. To take things further, the Titans played against the four teams with the current best records in the NFL, which include the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks.
The Titans are 0-5 against their division, as the three other teams all have at least eight wins this season. They lost to the 49ers this week, who are tied with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Los Angeles Chargers for the sixth-best record in the NFL. Those are all teams the Titans have faced on their schedule this season as well.
Realistically, the Titans' season was always doomed to fail with all of the young players they have on the field, combined with the many injuries they suffered to key personnel. However, their ability to gain a winning record (2-1) against the few teams that were on their level is a positive sign that their young players will be ready to leap forward once the team adds more talent during the offseason.