Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans MUST WIN Games in 2022, X-Factor Games & Most Exciting Matchups

Episode Date: May 17, 2022

The Tennessee Titans schedule was released last week and there is still a lot of meat left on the bone in terms of analysis. Tyler dives back into the 2022 regular season schedule to identify some interesting matchups, but for different reasons! First, what games are MUST WINS for the Titans and why? Tyler goes over his top five including divisional home games and two matchups against a particular division! Next, which contests will go a long way in determining whether the Titans will hit their ceiling or floor as a team in 2022? Tyler looks at the X-Factor games on the schedule. Finally, which of these matchups are you most excited to watch? tyler goes over his top five most anticipated matchups!Follow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitansFollow the show on Facebook @LockedOnTitansPodSubscribe to the Locked On Titans YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/c/LockedOnTitansSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnlineBetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!Rock AutoAmazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to the Locked on Titans podcast. I am your host, Tyler Rowland. Titans fans, it is a Tuesday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. And on today's show, we need to dive back into the Tennessee Titans 2022 regular season schedule. What are the Titans must-win games on the slate next year? What are the X-factor games that will decide the difference between the Titans hitting their ceiling or hitting their floor? And what are the games that I'm just flat out most excited to watch next season?

We're diving back into the Titans schedule on a Tuesday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. Let's get it. You are Locked on Titans, your daily Tennessee Titans podcast, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Titans fans, it is a Tuesday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. And as I said in the intro, we're going to dive back into the Titans 2022 schedule. We had the recap episode on Friday. We had to recap minicamp on Monday, but we need to

dive back in and sink our teeth back into this Titans schedule release. We're going to talk about the must-win games on the schedule to kick off today's show. Before we get into that, I got to thank you guys for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day. If this is your first ever listen to the Locked on Titans podcast, make sure you subscribe on whatever platform you do stream. I am going to be putting out daily, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content, not only during the season, but all year round.

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But with that being said, time to dive back into this regular season schedule and the must-win games that I identified. I try to find five games for every category that we're going to discuss here, starting with the must-win games. And for me, the number one must-win game of the year is the home game in Week 7 against the Indianapolis Colts. Is the home game in week 7 against the Indianapolis Colts. Guys, as you have seen throughout the last few years. The Titans and the Colts are always going to be close. They're going to be duking it out for the division.

I think that's more obvious this year than it's been the last two seasons. If I'm being honest with you. So, with the fact that it's my belief that the Titans and Colts will again be close. At the end of the season for the division title. And how critical it is to win the division. Get that home playoff game. That's a must win. You can split with the Colts. You can lose in Indy and win in Tennessee and still have the opportunity to win the division and still not put yourself in too bad of a spot.

But if you lose your game at home, that's going to make it tough on you. That's going to make it tough on the Titans to win the division if they can't beat Indy at home. And you look at week seven, going into a very difficult stretch of games that includes Kansas City and Green Bay and Denver and Cincinnati. The Titans really need to get that win in week seven against the Colts.

So that's the number one must win. For me, the next one, it's two division games. You got the home game in week 14 against Jacksonville. You got the home game against Houston in week 16. There's no way around this. The Titans have that really difficult mid-schedule or mid-period of the schedule. The last five games of the year, they're going to have to make a run. They get three games against the combination of Houston and Jacksonville, so that's going to be advantageous to them. They also get some easier games, although they do have to travel across the country to play the Chargers.

There are some games that are winnable for the Titans at the end of the year, and most of that is that home division slate. So beating Houston and beating Jacksonville in the last five weeks of the season at home and taking care of that business, the Titans need to win their home division games. If the Titans want to win this division and get another home playoff game or make the playoffs in general

out of the AFC South, the Titans need to sweep their home division games. Indy being the most important, obviously, but the Titans have to take care of that business otherwise in the division. They've had some slip-up games here and there, of course, but taking care of things at home is going to be so critical for the Titans in this year. And then finally, the last two games both come against the NFC East. And for me, the next must win game is week five on the road against the Washington football team. Yes, the Washington, I know the Washington Commanders. What a terrible name. I am, this is my protest of that terrible football name, the Washington football team. I don't expect to be one of the better teams

on the Titans schedule this year. I simply don't. And with that in mind, it's a game that they just have to win. The NFC East is kind of like the AFC South in a way. There's usually two bad teams, maybe a floater. There's usually two good teams,

but not great teams in there. Philly and Dallas are kind of like the Titans and Colts. And then the Giants and Washington are kind of like the Texans and the Jags. Maybe not to the same degree, of course, but just here recently in the recent stretches. So the Titans have to be able to win those games against the bottom teams in the NFC East. So Washington on the road is a game that the Titans must win.

And then finally, like I was saying, the home game against the Giants in week one. The Titans have to start out their season on the right note. They play three weeks in a row. They'll play Buffalo on the road on Monday Night Football, the Raiders, and then the Colts on the road. That's three really tough games in a row. They have to win that game against the Giants to start the year. They just have to. Not only is it going to be one of the lesser opponents that they play, they get the opportunity to play them with two brand new coordinators in week one

before the guys are comfortable in the system. And they're at home. They must win that game against the Giants. So week seven at home against Indy, week 14 at home against Jacksonville, week 16 at home against Houston, week five on the road against Washington, and week one at home against the Giants. Those are the must-win games for the Titans this year.

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A couple things that I want to talk to you guys about before we go into the X-Factor games on the Titans schedule. If they win these games, they'll hit their ceiling. If they lose, they'll hit their floor. Before we go in tomorrow, I'm going to have more schedule reaction for you guys. I'm going to be talking about the toughest games on the schedule, the easiest games on the schedule,

the toughest stretch of games and how the Titans navigate that. So more schedule reaction coming tomorrow. On Thursday, I'm going to have the Malik Willis deep dive. I have an interview with Malik Willis's personal quarterback trainer. I have an interview with the guy who covered Malik Willis in his first two years of college. I'm going to talk about what I see from him in 2022 and then how that progresses into 2023. I mean, some excellent content coming for you guys later this week here on the Locked on Titans podcast. Make sure you subscribe. Make sure

you tune in. Make sure you tell your friends. Also, thank you guys for making the Locked on Titans your podcast, your first listen every day. Make sure you subscribe on whatever platform you do stream, free and available everywhere, your first listen every day. Make sure you subscribe on whatever platform you do stream free and available everywhere. Your team every day. Boom, boom, boom. Take a drink of water guys right now. Yes, you. Yes, you talking to you. Drink the water. I'm taking a drink.

Hydration is so key. Everyone hydration is so key, but let's get into the X-Factor games on the Titans schedule this year. We just did the must-wins. Week 7, home against Indy. Week 14, home against Jacksonville. Week 16, home against Houston. Week 5, on the road against Washington. Week 1, at home against the Giants.

Now, the X-Factor games, number one for me, remember, this is the difference between the floor for the Titans, which I think is about 7 and 10. In worst-case scenario, the X Factor game is number one for me. Remember, this is the difference between the floor for the Titans, which I think is about 7-10. In worst-case scenario, the Titans are going to go 7-10 if bad things happen. Best-case scenario, I think the Titans go about 12-5 again. So, these are the games that will make the difference,

that will make the swing here. The five-win swing. Week three against the Raiders at home. So if the Titans lose to the Raiders, who were a playoff team last year, the Raiders who added Devontae Adams, added Chandler Jones, a much improved Raiders team, if the Titans were to lose to the Raiders early in the season, I don't think it would be time for panic. I don't think it would be a referendum on the Titans at that point in time.

The Raiders are going to be a pretty good team. They were a good team last year. They've added two superstar level players. One who dismantled the Titans this year, and one who dismantled the Titans the year before that. So, I don't think that would be a terrible loss. It wouldn't hurt to kill the season, but if the Titans were able to win that game, that's a nice step. I think the Titans will lose that game to Buffalo. The Titans have had Buffalo's number for a while. That has to swing

back the other day, the other way. Monday night football on the road. Okay, the Titans should beat the Giants in week one, in my opinion. Going to 2-1 there with the tough stretch in the middle of the season and a game against the Colts right around the corner from that Raiders game the next week. I think getting that win against the Raiders to go to 2-1 early in the year or even 3-0 if the Titans do beat Buffalo. If you're someone in the comments right now or listening says, oh, the Titans are going to beat Buffalo, okay, great.

Going to 3-0, heading into that first matchup against Indy. That, again, X-factor game, that would change the potential of the team. Number two, Week 10 at home against the Broncos. Again, the Broncos look to be a much improved team. They have a superstar quarterback now. They have a good infrastructure. Yes, they play in a tough division, which may make it difficult for them

to ultimately reach their highest highs. But in a one-game scenario against the Titans, that's going to be a difficult matchup. Especially because it's in that tough stretch for the Titans. So, if the Titans were able to win that game against Denver, sandwiched in between Kansas City and Green Bay, that would be huge. Because there's a good chance they lose a game against Kansas City. Good chance they lose a game against Green Bay.

There's an okay chance they lose a game against Cincinnati. They're going to lose games game against Green Bay. There's an okay chance they lose a game against Cincinnati. They're going to lose games, guys. You can't just say they're not going to lose any games. They're going to lose some games. They're not going undefeated. Okay? So, Kansas City and Green Bay are likely games that they could lose. If they could get that win at home

against Denver in between to kind of stem the tide, to kind of, you know, steady the boat, that would be a huge win towards their ceiling, I think. Number three, week 15 on the road at the Chargers. Going across the country. And the Titans have that week 14 game home against Jacksonville. Week 16, home against Houston.

If they were to sand or in between that, the Oreo filling, Titans have that week 14 game home against Jacksonville, week 16 home against Houston. If they were to sand or in between that, the Oreo filling, if the filling could be a win on the road across the country against the Chargers, yeah, that would mean great things for the Titans to rip off a three-game streak there in that critical final five-game stretch. I mean, that would just be great for them. That would be great for them. And then you got a game at home on Thursday night football

against the Cowboys, and then you get 10 days rest before you finish the season on the road against Jacksonville. That is a great chance for a five-game win streak to end the year, which, again, would lean the Titans towards their ceiling, which is why these are the X factor games. Next, week four at Indianapolis. I talked about it. The Titans must win their game at home against Indy in week seven,

but it wouldn't be insane for the Titans to lose on the road in week four against Indy. That wouldn't be insane. Nobody would crush them if that were the case and say the season's over. That's not the case. But if the Titans were to win that and win the game, if you could sweep the Colts like we saw last year, puts the Titans, boom, much closer towards their ceiling. So that's a big X factor game if they can win that road game against Indianapolis. And then finally, week 17 Thursday night football against the Cowboys. Again, same thing like I talked about with the Chargers.

I think the Titans have three wins in the final five games with their three division games, two against Jacksonville, one against Houston. If they can win the game on the road across the country against the Chargers and then win that game against the Cowboys on Thursday night football in primetime before they get that 10-day rest before the last game of the season. Ooh, the Titans, because I expect

the Titans to lose some games in the middle of the year in that Cincy, Kansas City, Green Bay, Denver, Philly, Colts stretch in that 7-13 stretch. I expect the Titans to lose some games, okay? So if they can cap off the year, ripping off five straight wins, get some early season wins against some of these tough teams, that'll just be so huge to help them stem the tide during that tough stretch. It's so funny, too, because they had that tough stretch in the middle of last year,

and they won every game, and then they lost some games in the end, in the beginning, that they stretch. It's so funny too because they had that tough stretch in the middle of last year and they won every game and then they lost some games in the end in the beginning that they shouldn't have lost. Just how it works but we're going to talk about the games that excuse me I'm most excited for just personal preference here the games I am most excited to watch next year. Before we get into that, though, do want to tell you guys about rockauto.com. rockauto.com is an online company that's been serving do-it-yourselfers for over 20 years.

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parts available for your car truck and make sure that when you place your order, you put locked on in the how did you hear about us box so they know that I sent you amazing selection, reliably low prices, all the parts your car will ever need. RockAuto.com Titans fans, we are going to cap off this Tuesday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast with the games that I am just flat out most excited to watch this year from the Titans 2022 regular season schedule.

We went over my must wins. We went over my X Factor games. Now I'm going to dive into those games that I'm most excited about. Before we do, I want to thank you guys again for making the Locked On Titans podcast your first listen every day. As for your second listen, make sure you check out the Locked On NFL podcast. It's free and available on all platforms Monday through Friday. You've got different Locked On hosts bringing you the national news in the NFL, the biggest storylines, the biggest talking points.

You get all your Titans news in under 30 minutes here with me on the Locked on Titans podcast. Now pair that with getting all your national news in under 30 minutes with the Locked on NFL podcast. I am actually the host of the Thursday show. So I would appreciate your support if you went to the Locked on NFL YouTube channel, subscribe over there, subscribe to the podcast on whatever platform you stream. Again, great way to get your Titans news and then your national NFL news together

in the morning with the Locked On NFL podcast. But moving forward here, my most excited games. Number one, that game against Denver at home in Week 10. Playing against Russell Wilson. Again, Denver's new and improved. They're going to be a shiny toy. Everybody's going to be pumping them up. Bring them into Nashville.

It's going to be excellent. And again, it's a big X Factor game. It's a big game for the Titans to determine how good or bad their season is going to be. So I'm just excited to see this new look, shiny. Everyone's excited. Broncos team coming to Nashville against the beat them up, rock them, sock them. Nobody believes in us Titans. It's just going to be a great game. Great storylines, great atmosphere. Very excited about that. Number two, I'm excited for that rematch against Cincinnati. I am.

Week 12, a lot of bad blood between the two teams because of all the chirping, just the way the game went. I mean, I can't help it. I'm excited for the rematch. I'm excited for those fan bases to spar again. I mean, that was quite the atmosphere last year, and although it ended terribly for the Titans, still a game that I'm very excited about and anticipating quite a bit. Number three, and I know you guys can argue it, do whatever you want,

the revenge game. Titans going to Philly, playing against A.J. Brown. That's going to be a fun game. I mean, Philly fans are relentless. And Titans fans feel a little... I don't know how to say it. Like they were done wrong a little bit with the way that AJ handled the exit. Requesting the trade.

Maybe it looking like a little backdoor dealings with Philly and the agent. Turning on a dime. The way the Titans talked about him and then the way it went down. It just feels a little dirty. No way around it.

And you know no matter what Philly fans are going to have something to say about the Titans and losing A.J. This is going to be a big game. This is going to be a big game. A lot of storylines there. So I'm excited to see how that plays out. Going towards the end of the season, that game against the Cowboys on Thursday night football, just everybody, that game against the Cowboys on Thursday night football, just everybody always slurping the Cowboys all the time. I loved it in 2018 where the Titans went in there and laid the smack down on them.

I mean, that was fun. To hear all the national media people have to react to that when the darling media Cowboys get knocked around by the lowly Tennessee Titans. I love that. I love that. So I think that's going to be great. And the Cowboys are my mom's team. So anytime there's that inner family rivalry stuff, the Packers are actually my dad's team, but I'm not quite looking forward to that game as much. So we'll talk about that when we talk about the toughest games on the Titans schedule to start tomorrow's show. But looking forward to that game as much. We'll talk about that when we talk about the toughest games on the Titans schedule to start tomorrow's

show. Looking forward to that Cowboys game. Primetime game. It should be fun. That Week 15 game against the Chargers. I like Justin Herbert. I'm excited to see how the Titans play against Justin Herbert. We get that rematch from 2019. The goal line

stand. That was awesome. I'd love to see some of that as well reenacted. That would be great. So just some teams that we don't get to see all the time, some big matchups with some spicy narratives. I'm excited to see those games. But that's some more schedule analysis, guys. We're going to dive back into the schedule again tomorrow as well.

So I'm excited to go over the toughest games, the easiest games, and the toughest stretch of the year for the Titans. We'll get into all of that tomorrow, but that's going to do it for me today, folks. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Titans. you