The margin of error is still pretty narrow for the Tennessee Titans if they want to compete in the 2019 postseason. But, after trouncing the Jacksonville Jaguars 42-20 at home on Sunday, the picture is starting to look a lot clearer, and really, the weekend couldn’t have worked out any better for the Titans. Things are set up for the men in two-tone blue to control their own destiny on the march towards the 2019 playoffs.
It started on Thursday night, when the Houston Texans defeated the Indianapolis Colts, 20-17. Sure, it knocked the Colts to 6-5, and would eventually mean the Titans would be tied at that record. But, you don’t want to be chasing wins against a team you’ve already lost to. The Texans did the Titans a favor by winning that game and taking the Colts down a notch. They’ve caught the Colts, damn near eliminated the Jags, and are a game behind the Texans with the chance to play them twice in three weeks to end the season.
Furthermore, the Titans will get their second crack at the Colts this week. Forget catching ’em – if they win this weekend, they’ll leapfrog the Colts. Not to mention, the Texans will have their hands full with the New England Patriots. You’re looking at a potential scenario in which the Titans could conceivably be tied atop the AFC South with two chances to beat the Texans remaining. By the same token, if they don’t beat the Colts, it’s going to be dire straits. At that point, the odds they make the playoffs decline drastically.
But, even outside of the AFC South, if the Titans were to sneak into a wild card spot, they needed the Oakland Raiders to lose. The Raiders were favored against the New York Jets, but Gang Green shockingly laid the wood to the Raiders, 34-3 this week. Not only did they lose, they got one more in the L column in the AFC. Of the teams in contention for the playoffs, the Titans have one of the two worst conference records at 4-4 (the Colts are also at .500 with a record of 5-5). So, any time one of these competing teams takes an AFC loss, it helps.
The Buffalo Bills have a brutal schedule to finish the season. The Pittsburgh Steelers don’t have it so easy either, and will play another contending team in the Cleveland Browns this weekend. Pretty interesting how we talked about that game against the Browns being important as a potential tie-breaker. For a stretch there, that seemed laughable and yet here we are.
Eight teams are within two games of each other in the AFC. It’s going to be a hot race, but last weekend put the Titans in one of the better positions among the group.
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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