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NFL Power Rankings: On the Fringe of the Top Five

In a couple of cases, the Tennessee Titans are considered one of the NFL's five best teams through 12 weeks of the 2020 season.

The Tennessee Titans have played so well lately, it has become easy for national media outlets to forget they lost three out of four games not long ago.

The Titans firmly sit inside the top 10 in all power rankings surveyed after a 45-26 dismantling of the Indianapolis Colts to take control of the AFC South. The Titans’ most commonly came in at No. 7 this week, and that was also their lowest ranking. Two outlets had Tennessee at No. 5 while a handful of others had them at No. 6.

Winners of two consecutive games, the Titans (8-3) will have another crucial matchup on Sunday when the Cleveland Browns (8-3) visit Nissan Stadium. It will be the third straight game the Titans face an opponent with an identical record. A win would continue an upward trend in both the standings and power rankings.

“We beat the Ravens and the Colts on the road back-to-back weeks,” coach Mike Vrabel said. “I think that’s a start in the right direction. We have to continue to build on that and come back home for a new opponent – a very good opponent with a lot of weapons, somebody we don’t know quite as well maybe.”

A roundup of the Week 13 NFL Power Rankings and what national media outlets had to say about the Titans:

Sports Illustrated - 6th (Previously: 13th)

It feels like the Titans have everyone exactly where they want them, ready to make a late-season charge like they did last year. The Titans may also be one of the teams that will emerge with a sneaky hidden benefit from the new playoff format. If they wind up with the third seed, like I expect, they’ll travel to Kansas City or Pittsburgh and catch a two seed that has been forced this year to play a seven seed instead of sitting at home with a bye. You’d much rather face (and presumably attempt to tackle) Derrick Henry and A.J. Brown after a week off.

ESPN - 7th (Previously: 10th)

The race for an AFC playoff spot is extremely tight. The Titans have the No. 3 seed and are one of three teams with an 8-3 record. The Browns happen to be one of those teams. A win over Cleveland has double value in that it keeps the Titans ahead of the Colts and counts as a much-needed win over an AFC opponent. All three of Tennessee's losses have been against AFC opponents, so avoiding another one would be a major boost for the Titans' playoff hopes.

NFL.com - 6th (Previously: 11th)

The Titans entered Sunday believing they were the best team in the AFC South, and they ended the day having proved it in a 45-26 win over the Colts. It was Derrick Henry who led the way, of course, rushing for 140 yards and three touchdowns in the first half alone on his way to a 178-yard performance on 27 carries. Henry has now gone over 100 yards in each of his past three games against Colts, an achievement made even more impressive by the fact that Indianapolis has not allowed any other rusher to surpass the century mark since the start of last season. This is Derrick Henry season, and no one should be surprised if he continues to crank out monster games from here on out. This is a man who feasts on tired and depleted opponents in December.

CBS Sports - 7th (Previously: 9th)

They are in first place in the division and have done it with two impressive road victories. They face a tough one this week with the Browns.

NBC Sports - 7th (Previously: 10th)

The calendar is about to flip to December which means … wait, is that Derrick Henry’s music?

The Athletic - 6th (Previously: 11th)

One trait that every coach tries to foster is resilience. Who’s more resilient than the Titans? They came back against the Steelers earlier this season even though they still lost by three. And they overcame a second-half deficit to beat the Ravens. Mike Vrabel’s team doesn’t just want to win. It wants to do so while throwing two middle fingers at its opponents. The Titans are 8-3 and in first place in the AFC South. They are going to be a tough out in the postseason.

USA Today - 5th (Previously: 8th)

RB Derrick Henry is hitting high gear and, given his historical late-season production, must be considered an MVP candidate and threat to rush for 2,000 yards.

Bleacher Report - 7th (Previously: 8th)

Depending on the outcome of Sunday's matchup with the rival Colts, the Tennessee Titans were either leaving Sunday all alone atop the AFC South or effectively two games back of Indianapolis. Two weeks ago, the Colts doubled up the Titans in Nashville.
The Titans got payback Sunday.
Playing against a Colts defense that entered Week 12 leading the AFC in run defense, Derrick Henry piled up 178 yards on the ground and scored three touchdowns. Against a Colts defense that entered Week 12 allowing fewer than 21 points per game, the Titans put 35 on the board before intermission.
At 8-3, the Titans are just one win short of last year's total with five to play and sit all alone in first place in the division. But there's little time for celebration. Next week, the Titans have another tough one on tap against the 8-3 Cleveland Browns.
Between Henry and Cleveland's Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, expect plenty of rushing yards in that game.
"The Titans remain annoyingly inconsistent, but that's the case with everybody in the NFL except the Pittsburgh Steelers and Kansas City Chiefs," Gagnon said. "At this point, I think I'm at least ready to declare that, with Henry rolling, the Titans are the third-best team in the AFC. Henry is off the charts, and there isn't much that Tennessee does badly. In this weird year, that might be enough to sneak back into the AFC Championship Game."

Sporting News - 7th (Previously: 10th)

The Titans have found their smashing selves on the road again with Derrick Henry setting the tone for entire offensive big-play potential. The defense is improving despite having some limitations. They are emerging as an established AFC power vs. a flashy one.

Yahoo - 5th (Previously: 6th)

That overtime win over the Ravens two weeks ago might have been what the Titans needed to fix their season. Before that game, they’d lost three of four and were just blown out by the Colts. On Sunday, they destroyed Indianapolis. It looked like a different team than the one we saw just two weeks before that.

Fox News - 6th (Previously: 11th)

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