Stan Szeto/USA Today Sports
Standings Watch: Ties Don't Go to Titans
NASHVILLE – The AFC playoff race has become a game of musical chairs.
There is one more team (seven) than there are spots available (six). All seven have at least eight wins and a cushion of two games or more on the rest of the teams in the conference.
As of right now, the Tennessee Titans are the ones in line to finish on their feet, which they don’t want. At 8-5 following Sunday’s 42-21 victory over the Oakland Raiders, they are tied with Houston for first place in the AFC South and with Pittsburgh for the second wild card and sixth place in the conference standings. The Texans and Steelers currently hold tiebreaker advantages over Tennessee, which nonetheless controls its own destiny.
To win the division, the Titans must:
• Win both meetings with Houston over the final three weeks, the first of which is Sunday at Nissan Stadium
• or if they split with Houston, they must defeat New Orleans in Week 16 and hope the Texans lose to Tampa Bay
Things would get more complicated if Tennessee and Houston split their two meetings, both lose their Week 16 games and Indianapolis wins out. In that case, all three would finish 9-7 and each would be 1-1 against the other two. In that event, the Titans would finish third based on division record (the Week 3 loss to Jacksonville would be critical).
“The challenge is getting ready for (the Texans) the first time,” coach Mike Vrabel said Monday. “The second one is not going to mean a whole lot. We’ve got to get ready for the first one here.”
A look at the current AFC South standings, with each team’s record against the division and the conference:
| Team | Record | vs. Division | vs. AFC |
|---|---|---|---|
Houston | 8-5 | 3-1 | 7-3 |
Tennessee | 8-5 | 2-2 | 6-4 |
Indianapolis | 6-7 | 3-2 | 5-6 |
Jacksonville | 4-9 | 1-4 | 4-6 |
Sunday’s results
Tennessee 42, Oakland 21
Denver 38, Houston 24
Tampa Bay 38, Indianapolis 35
This week’s games
Tennessee vs. Houston
Jacksonville at Oakland (6-7)
Monday: Indianapolis at New Orleans (10-3)
The wild card race is pretty simple. The Titans and Steelers are each 8-5 but Pittsburgh is sixth and Tennessee is seventh based on their respective conference records.
There is little pressure from behind with the next three teams all at 6-7. That group consists of Cleveland (No. 8), Oakland (No. 9) and Indianapolis (No. 10). The Titans have head-to-head wins over the Browns and Raiders.
Buffalo (9-4) currently is in position for the first wild card, one game ahead of Tennessee and Pittsburgh. The Bills have a head-to-head victory over the Titans and they face the Steelers this week.
“I think we just try to let our play speak for itself, not really getting on, ‘What this team is doing?’” running back Derrick Henry said.” Just believe in each other and try to let our play speak for itself week after week. When we’re out there we’ve got to make the plays, and that’s what we try to do. … Just got to keep believing in each other, keep working, and everything will pay off in the end.”
