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We are several hours away from the Titans’ wild card showdown with the Patriots, away from a first round bye for the first time since 2009. This is the most vulnerable New England has looked in a long time, but needless to say the duo of Tom Brady and Bill Belichick still must not be underestimated,
Tennessee has made the postseason for the second time in three seasons, this time with a new quarterback who is making his postseason debut. Ryan Tannehill had led a team to postseason birth once before—the 2016 Miami Dolphins—but suffered a knee injury that kept him out of the last three games of the regular season and the postseason.
This time, Tannehill is fully healthy and primed to make his playoff debut against a familiar foe in New England. The last time he had faced the Patriots, he was part of The Miracle In Miami where the Dolphins walked off on a series of laterals on a game winning touchdown at the buzzer. That was a fluke game, but the Titans are also entering this one coming off a regular season win against New England in 2018 (in more dominating fashion).
The Titans have a chance at keeping the Patriots away from the Super Bowl for the first time since 2015, and from a Conference Championship for the first time since 2010. That’s an incredible streak of dominance in an AFC that hasn’t yielded much competition, so the stakes are high. Vegas has the Titans as 4.5 underdogs as well, so it’s time for Tannehill and company to go against the odds once again.
With that said, what expectations do you have for Tannehill? Personally, I’m expecting a good enough game to keep this competitive, but I’m skeptical of him dominating against a defense that has had a sensational season. Perhaps it’s best that way, as the Titans seem to do better anyway when I’m not fully confident in them.
Still, Tannehill getting the Titans to the playoffs after a 2-4 start has to mean something, so perhaps he could carry the team to the Divisional Round after all. Give us your thoughts in the comment section below!