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The Tennessee Titans were the last team to qualify for the AFC playoffs at 9-7, earning the No. 6 seed and a Wild Card Round matchup against the New England Patriots (12-4). They’ll play Saturday at 8:15 p.m. ET at Gillette Stadium. Should the Titans win, they’ll advance to face the Baltimore Ravens Saturday, Jan. 11, while the Patriots would visit the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday, Jan. 12. Below, we analyze the Titans playoff chances and NFL futures odds to win Super Bowl LIV.
The Titans open the postseason as the second-biggest longshots to win both the AFC (+2200) and the Super Bowl (+4000). They struck gold in the middle of the season after cutting bait on former No. 2 pick QB Marcus Mariota and turning to failed former Miami Dolphins starter Ryan Tannehill. RB Derrick Henry finished as the regular season’s leading rusher, and the rejuvenated Titans enter the playoffs as one of the NFL’s hottest teams.
NFL futures odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full set of today’s betting odds. Odds last updated Friday at 12:30 pm. ET.
Tennessee Titans playoff futures
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AFC Champion: +2200
The Titans won five of their last seven games and went 7-3 after making the switch from the ineffective Mariota to Tannehill against the Denver Broncos in Week 6. Tannehill, the eighth overall pick of the Dolphins in the 2012 NFL Draft, finished the season with 2,742 passing yards and 22 touchdowns against six interceptions while adding 185 rushing yards and four scores on the ground. Henry totaled 1,540 rushing yards, 206 receiving yards and 18 combined touchdowns.
Of course, no one has a tougher road through the AFC playoffs than the Titans. They’ll play the Patriots in New England’s first Wild Card Round game since 2009. If the Titans survive the first test, they’ll need to visit the top-seeded Baltimore Ravens.
The Titans draw a PASS from me. They’re not tempting enough based on the two incredibly difficult road games in front of them, before they’d reach an AFC Championship Game, which would likely require a visit to Kansas City to face reigning MVP Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. The AFC is extremely top-heavy, and it’s tough to envision the Cinderella Titans crawling their way through.
Super Bowl: +4000
New to sports betting? A $10 wager on the Titans to win Super Bowl LIV would return a profit of $400 should Tennessee win the game.
The Titans finished the regular season ranked 10th in points per game (25.1) and 12th in yards per game (362.8). Defensively, they allowed 20.7 PPG (12th) and 359.5 YPG (21st). Only the Ravens and San Francisco 49ers accumulated more team rushing yards than Tennessee, though unlike the others who were able to pile on their yards while nursing large leads late in games, the Titans relied on Henry throughout games.
Four of the NFL’s top six run defenses from the regular season made the playoffs, including the Ravens and Patriots. No coach in the league is better at scheming to take away a team’s top option than Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. By doing so against the Titans, Henry would become neutralized, leaving Tannehill to handle his former AFC East rivals on his own.
I’ll agree with the books that there’s a much better chance of the underdog Titans being discarded in their opening game – only the Minnesota Vikings (+310 at New Orleans Saints) are bigger dogs than the Titans (+180) in the Wild Card Round – than of winning Super Bowl LIV. PASS and look elsewhere for your Super Bowl lotto ticket.
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