Over the last few years, NFL fans have seen teams head into December poised to land the top pick in the NFL Draft only to see them win a meaningless game that ruined their chances of landing a generational talent. Tennessee Titans fans don't want that to happen to them, but it might if things don't go their way.
Because of their strength of schedule, the Titans would lose a tie-breaker with every team in contention for the first pick in the draft. That means they need other bad teams to keep winning, just in case they accidentally win a game down the stretch.
There are only seven other teams in the NFL with three or fewer wins: New York Giants, New Orleans Saints, Las Vegas Raiders, Cleveland Browns, New York Jets, Washington Commanders, and Arizona Cardinals. Out of that group, the Commanders are the team with the highest potential of bouncing back strong, but the other teams could all realistically lose the rest of their games.
With that said, each of those teams has a very winnable game or two left on their schedule, and those are the most important games for Titans fans to keep an eye on.
5 non-Titans games that could decide No. 1 overall pick in 2026 NFL Draft
Week 15: Commanders (3-9) at Giants (2-11)
This is one that Titans fans will be able to watch and cheer for a tie. Both teams should have multiple chances to win games over the next five weeks, so any result is good for the team, but considering the Giants are still sitting at two wins, that is the team the Titans should be pulling hardest for.
Who Titans fans should cheer for: Slight lean towards the Giants
Week 15: Jets (3-9) at Saints (2-10)
Same song, different verse here with the Jets and Saints both having realistic shots to get to four wins by the end of the year. However, just like with the Giants in the game before, the Titans should be pulling for all the two-win teams.
Who Titans fans should cheer for: Slight lean towards the Saints
Week 16: Giants (2-11) at Raiders (2-10)
Speaking of two-win teams, this is currently a win-win scenario for the Titans because it guarantees a win for one of these two-win teams. In a dream scenario, the Giants win the Week 15 matchup against the Commanders, and then the Raiders beat them at home to move to three wins themselves.
Who Titans fans should cheer for: Raiders
Week 16: Atlanta Falcons (4-8) at Cardinals (3-9)
As the only team to lose to the Titans this year, the Cardinals have had it rough. Over the season, they have lost two games by one point and five more games by four points or fewer. Any other team would have a real shot at sneaking out a win or two at the end of the season, but the Cardinals play the Houston Texans, a surging Cincinnati Bengals team, and the L.A. Rams twice. If they are going to win one of their remaining games, their best chance is to do it when they host the Falcons before Christmas.
Who Titans fans should cheer for: Cardinals
Week 17: Pittsburgh Steelers (6-6) at Browns (3-9)
This one is obvious, right? The Browns have three wins, and getting to four makes them virtually uncatchable by the Titans. However, there is a small caveat here. If the Browns beat the Titans in their Week 14 matchup, the Browns will have their fourth win.
If that happens, the Titans might want the Steelers to win this Week 17 matchup because the Browns are one of the four teams with multiple first-round picks in the 2026 NFL Draft. If the rumors are true and they are considering trading up to the top pick to take a quarterback, the Titans might not want the Browns to win this game because it would move their first-round pick down the order.
Obviously, that is a "galaxy brain" take right now, but if you are bookmarking this guide to see which games to cheer for this week, then this answer could change between now and December 28th. For now, plan on cheering for the Browns to win.
Who Titans fans should cheer for: Browns...probably