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The Tennessee Titans are in quite the position heading into Week 17's matchup against the rival Houston Texans. Thanks to an absolutely stacked field in the conference this time around, the Titans can still win the AFC South division, clinch a Wild Card spot and even miss out on the postseason altogether.
However, the Titans do control the team's own destiny as a win over the Texans would simply give Tennessee its first divisional crown in over a decade.
If that is going to happen, though, the Titans' offense will need to put up some numbers to combat an absolutely atrocious defense. With Houston serving as the home team and gearing up to enter the AFC South clash with nothing to lose, this matchup will be an interesting one to keep an eye on as the 2020-21 regular season begins to wind down.
1. Ryan Tannehill will throw for more than 350 yards in Week 17
Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill has been absolutely tremendous all season long, his second go-round as a member of the AFC South franchise. With 2020-21 serving as his first full season as the starter under center down in Nashville, Tannehill once again has the Titans in prime position to make a deep postseason run.
However, Tannehill had a rough outing in Week 16 against the Green Bay Packers as he threw multiple interceptions on last week's installment of Sunday Night Football. With Tannehill seemingly more than ready to end the 2020-21 regular season on a high note before leading Tennessee into the postseason, the veteran signal-caller no doubt wants to remove the stink from last week as well. As a result, Tannehill will throw for at least 350 yards in Week 17 against the Titans must take down the pesky Texans.
2. Derrick Henry will rush for over 200 yards
With Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook and Jacksonville Jaguars running back James Robinson already being ruled out for Week 17, Titans running back Derrick Henry has already wrapped up the 2020-21 rushing title. Adding to the intrigue surrounding his latest feat, “King Henry” also won last season's rushing title while solidifying his position atop the league against…the Texans.
With Houston next up for Henry and the Titans, it isn't too farfetched to expect yet another stellar performance from the Tennessee workhorse—especially considering all that is on the line for the AFC South franchise in Week 17. Not only that, but Henry absolutely throttled the Texans earlier in the season en route to carrying the Titans to an overtime victory at home in Nashville. Back on Oct. 18, also against the Texans, Henry carried the football 22 times for a whopping 222 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns via the ground game. Always more than ready to lead the Titans on offense, Henry could very well surpass 200 rushing yards once again against the Texans in Week 17.
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3. Corey Davis and A.J. Brown will surpass 1,000 yards
If Tannehill is going to go off in Week 17 against the Texans, it is more than likely that such a performance would also have been big days for wide receivers Corey Davis and A.J. Brown. With both pass-catchers playing rock-solid football all season long, Davis and Brown are each on the cusp of surpassing the 1,000-yard receiving mark for the 2020-21 campaign.
As it stands today, Brown has already tallied 924 yards accompanied by Davis' 945 receiving yards in 2020-21. Oddly enough, both wideouts have registered 50 receptions each, though Brown has doubled up Davis with an impressive 10 receiving touchdowns this time around. With Brown looking to go 2-for-2 in terms of producing 1,000-yard seasons atop the highest level, Davis is seeking his first such season as a member of the Titans. With Tennessee in must-win mode leading up to its matchup in Houston, the tandem of Davis and Brown will both leave their mark on 2020-21 with 1,000-yard seasons.
4. Titans will defeat Texans to earn first AFC South title in 12 years
This one is pretty simple and straightforward. If the Titans manage to defeat the hampered and severely short-handed Texans in Week 17, the surging franchise will become the champions of the AFC South for 2020-21.
Although there are other scenarios in which Tennessee either wins the division or reaches the playoff as an AFC Wild Card team, the Titans won't mess around and will successfully take down the Texans while winning the team's 11th regular-season game of the campaign.
The Titans have not won the AFC South division since going 13-3 all the way back in 2008-09. The Titans also haven't won at least 11 regular-season games since back in 2008-09 as well. Even so, Tennessee has the chance to reach the postseason for the third time in the last four seasons while most recently making its way all the way to the AFC title game against the eventual Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs in 2019-20. If everything goes according to plan for head coach Mike Vrabel and the Titans, Tennessee will be sitting pretty come Sunday evening in Houston.
