It might be time to start paying attention to the Tennessee Titans

(Image credit: Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)

last updated 16 December 2019

The Tennessee Titans — yes, you heard that right — are the hottest team in football that doesn't employ Lamar Jackson at quarterback. Despite a 2-4 start to the season, the team has a shot to establish itself as the team to beat in the AFC South with a win over their division rival, the Houston Texans on Sunday. But it may be time to start wondering if the Titans have the legs to make an even deeper run come January as they seek their fifth straight victory.

First off, though, the Texans should not be taken lightly (The Ringer pegged this game as "the best football of the day"). Sure, Houston is coming off a surprising blowout loss to the out-of-contention Denver Broncos, but they're just two weeks removed from handling the New England Patriots, and sit atop the division alongside Tennessee at 8-5. So the Titans have a long way to go before they start thinking about the postseason.

But a win might prove that the performances during the win-streak from Tennessee's entire roster and especially quarterback Ryan Tannehill, whose insertion into the starting lineup was the spark the team needed, haven't been flukes. Like a few other playoff contenders, the Titans haven't beaten too many teams of note this year. But in recent weeks they did knock off the playoff-bound Kansas City Chiefs, as well as the Indianapolis Colts and Oakland Raiders both of whom not too long ago looked like they could sneak into the postseason. This team, it seems, is for real, and it might be time to pay attention. The Titans and Texans will square off at 1 p.m. E.T. on CBS.

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.