Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Possible Playoff Paths: Realistic, Easiest & Toughest Routes!!

Episode Date: January 11, 2022

The Tennessee Titans have made it through the regular season with the number one seed in the AFC, but what now? What will their road to the Super Bowl championship look like? Tyler takes a look at three different versions. First, what is most realistic. Does it include a matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs? Which stud QB does Tyler see in the Super Bowl to face the Titans? Next, what would the easiest path for the Titans look like? What upsets have to take place and what team would the Titans be getting a chance at revenge against? Finally, the toughest path possible for the Titans includes teams with one particular trait that scares Tyler. What is the trait and which teams possess it?!!Follow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitansFollow the show on Facebook @LockedOnTitansPodSubscribe to the Locked On Titans YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP3332GMOh4y5PX3q9NFybwSupport 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.BetOnline AGThere is only 1 place that has you covered and 1 place we trust. Betonline.ag! Sign up today for a free account at betonline.ag and use that promocode: LOCKEDON for your 50% welcome bonus. 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 are going to go through every possible route the Tennessee Titans could take to the Super Bowl. What is the easiest path that they could have? What is the toughest path they could have? And first, what is the most realistic path to the Super Bowl for the Tennessee Titans?

I'm going to go through all of the potential possibilities on this 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. As I said to start the show, we are going to look at the potential playoff paths for, say that three times fast, the potential playoff paths for the Tennessee Titans as they try

to make their way back to another Super Bowl appearance. Before we get into that, though, I do want to let you guys know that this Tuesday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast is brought to you by OnlineGambling.com, the place to be for all the latest gambling news and tips throughout the NFL playoffs. Visit OnlineGambling.com slash NFL to get the edge you need over the competition

throughout this year's playoffs. Also want 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. Check out the podcast on video at the Locked on Titans YouTube channel. Subscribe over there. Smash that notification bell so you know when all of my content goes live.

If you're watching on YouTube right now, hit a thumbs up on the video for the Titans clinching the number one seed. Also, make sure you check me out on Twitter at TicTacTitans. My film breakdown, my TicTacTitans film thread will be up on my Twitter account today. You guys can't miss that.

Check out the show Facebook page at LockedOnTitansPod. But with the housekeeping out of the way, it's time to dive into this playoff path for the Titans. And where I want to start is the most realistic path for the Titans. What do I really think is going to be the path that they will have to take to get there based on the seeding? Well, number one, as I'm going to do at the top of each segment of the show, break down what the layout is of the AFC playoffs now.

When I recorded Monday's show, didn't know for certain what would happen in that Chargers-Raiders game, but whoa, what a game. That was absolutely insane. So with that result out of the way, we now know exactly what the playoff picture looks like. And for the Titans and the AFC, obviously the Tennessee Titans, the number one seed getting that bye. The number two seed is the Kansas City Chiefs. Number three, the Buffalo Bills.

Number four, the Cincinnati Bengals. Number five, the Las Vegas Raiders. Number six, the New England Patriots. Number seven, the Cincinnati Bengals. Number five, the Las Vegas Raiders. Number six, the New England Patriots. Number seven, the Pittsburgh Steelers. Pittsburgh sneaks in there in what should have been a tie on Sunday night football to keep them out. They sneak right in on a Daniel Carlson field goal, so the Steelers are in. That means the Chiefs will host the Pittsburgh Steelers. You can only imagine how that game's going to go.

Probably like the last time they played a 20-point blowout. Then the Bills will host the New England Patriots. That's a pretty interesting game in itself. And then the Bengals will host the Las Vegas Raiders. So with those matchups in mind, who will be the lowest remaining seed after those games? That's who will play the Titans. So in the NFL playoffs, it's not a traditional true bracket

where winner goes on. After the first round of games, the bracket recedes so that the Titans will play the lowest seed remaining and the Chiefs will get the highest seed remaining as the two seed, assuming the Chiefs beat the Steelers, which, for better or for worse, that is my assumption. So with all that in mind, what would be the most realistic path for the Titans?

Well, in my mind, it's going to be a matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals. I think the Bengals do beat the Raiders. They beat them in their last matchup pretty handily. So I think the Bengals will beat the Raiders in that game. That brings Cincy into Nashville. And that would be a really tough game for the Titans because, in my mind, the Bengals have the one thing that really matches up well

against the Titans' defense, and that's receiver talent. The Bengals have three really good wide receivers. Joe Mixon's good catching the ball out of the backfield. So when the Bengals have that kind of receiving talent, I mean, the Titans have Christian Fulton and Jack Rabbit Jenkins on the outside. And while they've had their good moments this year, and Fulton's played very well, they're both not very big cornerbacks.

That's why a guy like Caleb Farley was drafted for the Titans because they needed that one big physical cornerback who can match up with a guy like T. Higgins, who's about 6'4", 6'5". I would worry about the cornerback-wide receiver matchups in this instance. And all that we could hope for to swing the game to the Titans' favor is for weather to come into play. It's much more difficult to have an all-out, air-it-out passing attack,

which that's what the Texans went to against the Titans. They just said, hey, we're going to spread out and shotgun, go five wide, and see if you can cover one-on-one consistently on quick throws, and the Titans couldn't do it. So that might be one key weakness for the Titans that the Bengals would easily exploit with their wide receiver talent and Joe Burrow's accuracy and position in the pocket. So for me, I see the Titans playing the Bengals.

Hopefully the Titans get some bad weather to help them because then they can just run the ball down their throat, but that'll be a tough matchup. But that's what I think is the most realistic first game for the Titans in this playoffs. After that, obviously advancing to the AFC Championship game with a date against the Kansas City Chiefs. And I just feel like if the Titans are going to get over this hump

and get to a Super Bowl, they're going to have to go through the Chiefs in the playoffs one time. They're going to have to do it. They're not going to be able to avoid it. I think Kansas City is who the Titans will play in the third round in the AFC Championship game. Again, if the Titans surpass the Bengals in this playoff path scenario. And then finally, I think the best team in the NFC is the

Green Bay Packers. So I think the most realistic path for the Titans is a second round matchup at home against the Bengals, a AFC championship game home matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs, and then a Super Bowl matchup against the Green Bay Packers. For my money, that's the most realistic path that the Tennessee Titans could take. And it also, unfortunately, does mirror one of the other paths that I have plotted out for the Titans that we will get to at the end of the show. But before we get there, we got to talk about what I think would be the easiest path for the Titans. Now, I didn't just take the worst team and have them win.

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Intuit TurboTax Live. Titans fans, let's continue this Tuesday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast as we break down the Tennessee Titans possible playoff paths. So first, we looked at what I thought would be the most realistic outcome of them all. A game against the Bengals in the Titans' first game. AFC Championship game at home against the Kansas City Chiefs. And taking on the Green Bay Packers in the Super Bowl. That's what I think is the most realistic path the Titans would have to take.

But what about the easiest path? And like I said at the end of our first conversation, I don't just want to do, oh, they play the Steelers, they play the Raiders, and then they play the Eagles. No, I want to have a bit of realism to the conversation as well. Something that could realistically work out for the Titans, but still would be their easiest playoff path possible. Before we get into that, I do want to thank you guys for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day.

Remember, again, subscribe on whatever platform you do stream. You're going to find the Locked on Titans podcast everywhere and always free. Keep that in mind. So let's dive in here. Again, to reset, Titans at the top, then the Chiefs, then the Bills, then the Bengals, then the Raiders, then the Patriots, then the Steelers. Chiefs versus Steelers, Bills versus Patriots, Bengals versus Raiders. So for my money, realistically speaking, I think the Raiders could beat the Bengals. That's real.

But I think more reasonable than that, because we've seen it, the Patriots could beat the Bills. I mean, the Patriots beat the Bills in a snowstorm, essentially. You guys remember that game? Mack Jones only threw three times. He had like two completions in the whole game. But that's all the Patriots needed because in the cold weather with the snow coming down, the Patriots were able to run the ball on the Bills.

And the Bills have been one of the worst running teams in the NFL in big situations for the entirety of Josh Allen's career, it feels like. So the Bills couldn't run the ball consistently. The Patriots could. The Bills couldn't stop the run consistently. The Patriots could. And in a cold weather, snowy environment, that is what's going to tip the scale.

So I think that it is realistic, but also very beneficial for the Titans, for the Patriots to win that game. I know. The Patriots beat the Titans when they played. They beat them 36-19. It wasn't that close. I know. The Patriots beat the Titans when they played. They beat them 36-19. It wasn't that close.

But, the Titans turned over the ball four times in that game. They didn't have Derrick Henry. They didn't have A.J. Brown. And for my money, I'm pretty sure they didn't have Julio Jones either. So, this Titans team is different than the Titans team that played against the Patriots early in the year. Or in the middle of the year, I guess you could say. And, say whatever you want. I don't think that it's a Homer opinion. But I absolutely think the Titans would beat the Patriots right now if they played again.

I absolutely think that. Mac Jones was not impressive. The Titans were missing a ton of their best players. And it was still super close in the third quarter before the Titans just had the turnover avalanche take over. I mean, two of the turnovers were

on long runs. So, I think the Titans would beat the Patriots. I think that would be a very good matchup for the Titans to get playing at home in Nashville. I would feel very comfortable a very good matchup for the Titans to get playing at home in Nashville. I would feel very comfortable with that. So if the Titans were able to avoid the all-out air attack of the Cincinnati Bengals and take on the Patriots in round one, I think that that would just be absolutely perfect.

Now, along those lines, if the scenario played out that I'm crafting, which is the easiest but also most realistic path that the Titans could have, the Patriots being that first round game after beating the Bills makes sense to me. From there, in this scenario, the Raiders beat the Bengals

and the Raiders go on to take on the Kansas City Chiefs. Now, I know that the Chiefs beat the Raiders both times this year. I'm aware of that. But it's very difficult to beat a team three times in a season. And if the Raiders win, they'll be coming off that big win against the Chargers, a big win against the Bengals on the road. I mean, the Raiders could really be feeling themselves.

The Raiders have a really good pass rush with Yannick Ngakwe and Max Crosby. They'll have Darren Waller over the middle. Josh Jacobs is getting some momentum in the run game. It's not entirely insane that the Raiders could beat the Chiefs, and in the easiest, most realistic path for the Titans, it's not entirely insane that the Raiders could beat the Chiefs. And in the easiest, most realistic path for the Titans, I could absolutely see that playing out. So the Patriots beat the Bills.

The Raiders beat the Bengals. The Raiders then beat the Chiefs. The Titans beat the Pats. And the Titans take on the Raiders in Nashville in the AFC Championship game. If the Titans could take on the Patriots and then the Raiders in Nashville in the AFC Championship game, if the Titans could take on the Patriots and then the Raiders, I think that would obviously be the easiest path available. But there's also just a touch

of realism to it. Now, I am saying right now that that is probably the most unrealistic path of the three that we're going to go over. But it would be the easiest and it's not completely insane. I mean, the Bengals have been losing in the first round since we were born.

Most of us, at least, if anybody's listening to this who's in their 40s, then you saw the Bengals win a Super Bowl the year that I was born in 91, or 90, whatever you want to call it. So, I don't think it would be nuts for the Bengals to choke in the first round of the playoffs at home and lose. They've been doing that for a decade. So, not insane.

Really, it's that Raiders win over the Chiefs. But again, tough to beat a team twice or three times in the same season. And the Raiders would be playing their best football of the year. So, who knows? I think that's, it's on the table is the only point. It's on the table. So, take knows? I think that's, it's on the table is the only point. It's on the table. So, taking on the Pats, taking on the Raiders, and then getting to the Super Bowl,

realistically speaking, the Rams. The Rams are who I would want the Titans to take on in their easiest while also being slightly realistic path. So, I just don't think the Rams are mentally tough and I don't think the Rams are going to make it.

I think Stafford makes crucial mistakes when it matters. I don't trust the Rams defense to be consistent either against the run. The Titans already have the confidence of smacking them in Los Angeles already. So yeah, we're going to go to Los Angeles, take on the Rams, and get revenge for the previous Super Bowl. And I think the Titans would win that game. I really do.

I don't think the Rams could stop Derrick Henry. I don't. So for me, the Titans' easiest, while also having just a hint of realism, path to the Super Bowl and to the win, beating the Pats, beating the Raiders, beating the Rams. That's the Raiders, beating the Rams.

That's kind of my, again, easiest but also slightly realistic path for the Titans. Now, to cap off the show, we're going to talk about the toughest possible path for the Titans. And I got to tell you, it's pretty similar to a path that we have already discussed. Before we get into that, though, I do want to tell you guys about GetUpside. It's a free app that any Titans fan who uses gas has to know about. GetUpside. My listeners are making up $0.25 every gallon of gas every time they fill up. All you have to do is download the free GetUpside app in the App Store or on Google Play right now.

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Before we get into that, I do want to thank you guys for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day. As for your second listen, make sure to check out the Locked on Bets podcast, hosted by your boy Q and handicapping expert Lee Sterling. They're going to give you their upset specials, their locks of the day, all of that.

It's a perfect companion to the advice and information you're going to get from OnlineGambling.com slash NFL. So put those two together and you will make the best bet you possibly could this NFL playoff season. But we talked about the Titans' most realistic path to the Super Bowl. In my opinion, it's a game against the Bengals, a game against the Chiefs, and a game against the Packers.

We then talked about what would be the easiest, while also being a tad realistic, path for the Titans. I said it would be the Patriots in round two, the Raiders in round three, and then a rematch against the Rams in the Super Bowl. But now, let's talk about what would be the toughest possible path for the Titans to make it. And as I've kind of been teasing all show,

I would say that it's very similar to the path that's also most realistic. So let's dive in here again to reset. Titans the number one seed. Chiefs at number two. Bills at number three. Bengals at number four. Raiders at five. Patriots at six.

Steelers at seven. That's Chiefs versus Steelers. Bills versus Patriots. Bengals versus Raiders. That's Chiefs vs. Steelers, Bills vs. Patriots, Bengals vs. Raiders. The toughest path for me, as I've kind of mentioned, includes the Bengals in round one. I mean, obviously that's the highest seed that the Titans could play.

I've kind of mentioned it at the beginning of the show, but I want to really slam the point home here. I think the Titans would really struggle against a talented wide receiver group with a lot of really good wide receivers. I think that makes it difficult on the Titans because they play smart, sound defense, but there are certain matchups that I just don't trust. The Titans like to play a lot of man coverage. If the Titans are going to play a ton of man coverage

against Jamar Chase and Tee Higgins, that's concerning to me. I mean, those guys are better than the Titans' cornerbacks. are going to play a ton of man coverage against Jamar Chase and Tee Higgins? That's concerning to me. I mean, those guys are better than the Titans cornerbacks. There's no way around it. They're just a lot better and a lot more talented players. I'm high on Christian Fulton too, guys. I think he's a good player.

But Fulton isn't in the top tier of cornerbacks in the NFL yet. He's a good, solid cornerback. I would say he's probably in the second, third tier of cornerbacks in the NFL yet. He's a good, solid cornerback. I would say he's probably in like the second, third tier of cornerbacks in the league. And even if we're very happy with his performance, he's not going to be able to hold Jamar Chase all game. Jack Rabbit against Tee Higgins or Jamar Chase down the sideline? Ooh, I don't like that very much.

The Titans would have to play a lot of too high safety and then that would hurt them in the run game against Joe Mixon. So I think having just gobs of wide receiver talent would be a bad matchup for the Titans. That's what I'm worried about personally. So I think the Bengals game could be really, really tough for the Titans, but I also think that's the most realistic matchup that they're going to have.

I don't see the Patriots beating the Bills, although it could happen. It could happen. I just think that the circumstances that led to the Patriots beating the Bills the one time that they did this year, it's just probably not going to happen. That was like a crazy windstorm with crazy snow, all that. And yeah, they're going to be playing up in the northeast portion of the country in January. Of course, there could be bad weather, but to that extent, I just don't see it. And I just think that the Bills are a better team than the Patriots. For my money there, I think that the odds

are the toughest path for the Titans would include the Bengals in round two well, two. I keep wanting to say round one because it's Titans' first game. But round two, nonetheless. The next game, like I mentioned in the most realistic path, it's the Chiefs, guys.

It's the Chiefs. The Chiefs are the big dog on the porch. And the Titans may have gotten the number one seed, but until they take down the Chiefs. The Chiefs are the big dog on the porch. And the Titans may have gotten the number one seed, but until they take down the Chiefs, they're not going to make it to the Super Bowl. That is going to be a requirement of this journey. The Titans will have to beat the Chiefs

to make it to the Super Bowl. I just know it. You know it too. We all know it. And it should be that way. And the Titans, if they do it, will deserve it. You know what I'm saying? You want to play the best. And I just know that the Chiefs are going to be right there fighting for a spot in the Super Bowl.

And it's going to be on the Titans to take them out. It's always been the Titans' job to take them out. It's the destiny of this team to beat the Chiefs to get it to the Super Bowl. So Bengals, Chiefs, here's where the change comes. I think the most realistic path includes the Packers in the Super Bowl. But I think it would be a very tough matchup for the Titans to take on the Dallas Cowboys.

For all the reasons that I mentioned before, great wide receiver talent, I think could really give this Titans team trouble. CeeDee Lamb, Omari Cooper, very good players. Now they lost Michael Gallup, but Cedric Wilson has looked awesome in their slot.

So I think the Cowboys, they can run the ball if the offensive line is playing well with Zeke and Pollard. I think that they have studs on defense that can make plays on the defensive line with DeMarcus Lawrence and Randy Gregory and Micah Parsons. I mean, do you want

to see David Questenberry going up against Tank Lawrence or Micah Parsons all game? That would be tough. I think the Cowboys would be a very, very difficult matchup for the Tennessee Titans because of the talent they have on the defensive line and at wide receiver. Think about the blowout that the Titans experienced at the start of the year

with the Cardinals. A quarterback who can move around a little bit. Really good wide receiver talent with Kirk Hopkins and A.J. Green. Studs on the defensive line and J.J. Watt and Chandler Jones. One good corner and Byron Murphy. Trevon Diggs. Like, athletic linebackers can go sideline to sideline. Like, I can't believe that Isaiah Simmons.

And then Taven, Zavin Collins. Yeah, Isaiah Simmons, Zavin Collins. That's Micah Parsons. I mean, I just see a lot of similarities between that Cardinals team and how they attack the Titans and what the Cowboys could do. So I think that would be a very difficult matchup

for the Titans. But again, that would be the toughest path in my mind. And that would be the Bengals, the Chiefs, and then the Cowboys for the Titans. What do you think? The easiest path, the toughest path, all of that is for the Titans. Wanted to go over all these scenarios with you guys and just kind of talk through my feelings about that. I'm going to be back with you for tomorrow's show for a rewatch Wednesday.

Got a lot to talk about with what the Titans had done to them schematically in that second half against the Texans. So can't wait to chop that up with you guys. 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