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Coming off a thrilling win against their long-time AFC South nemesis, the Tennessee Titans sealed their fate as the one seed in the AFC and earned themselves a first-round bye and homefield advantage all throughout the 2022 NFL Playoffs. Even with the Houston Texans bringing their all and doing everything in their power to deny the Titans of the top seed in the conference, Tennessee was able to withstand their aggressive play.
This stalled their comeback and allowed Tennessee to come away with another clutch win and end their regular season on a high note. So with all this going for the Titans, we'll now take a look at three takeaways from their Week 18 victory over the Texans that earned them the top spot in the AFC.
Ryan Tannehill came through for the Titans when they needed it most
With four touchdowns thrown on 287 yards passing, Ryan Tannehill was on point for the Titans all game long and didn't let up for a second. Considering that the Titans were fighting for playoff positioning, Tannehill knew that he had to step up once again in the absence of Derrick Henry and with the one seed and a first-round bye on the line, he definitely couldn't afford to drop the ball in Week 18.
His efficient passing and veteran leadership paid off in a major way for the Titans as they withstood the aggressive onslaught of the Texans and knocked off their long-time division rival. Even though they've earned home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, Tannehill now knows he'll have to continue to play at a high level and come through for his team in crunch time if Tennessee wants any shot at making a Super Bowl run.
Tennessee's aerial assault was too much for Houston to handle
During Sunday's pivotal game against the Texans, the Titans got a ton of production from Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, Julio Jones, A.J. Brown, and Anthony Firkser and it was all too much for Houston's secondary to handle. After combining for 260 receiving yards and four touchdowns on 17 receptions, it's safe to say that Tennessee utilized their aerial assault to perfection.
They were also able to rely on it late in the game when they needed to keep the chains moving and run out the clock. Despite the Texans giving them a run for their money, the Titans were able to hold them off and overwhelm them with all their versatile passing game all throughout their down-to-the-wire match-up that led to a much-needed win on Sunday.
As the Titans prepare for what's set to be a deep and dominant playoff run this season, they'll need to continually get contributions from all their best players on both sides of the ball. The road ahead won't be a cakewalk by any means, but with the skill and will that this team possesses, they've definitely got as good of a chance as anybody to win it all this year.
Not to mention the return of King Henry will add another element to their offense and give them more explosiveness on that end of the field. In what's set to be a wild and memorable postseason, watch out for the Titans to have their way with whoever they cross paths with in the 2022 NFL Playoffs.
