For the 77th time in the history of these two franchises, the Tennessee Titans and Cincinnati Bengals will do battle on Saturday in the divisional round.
The host Titans have gotten the better of their upcoming opponent overall, with Tennessee sporting a 40-35-1 mark against Cincinnati.
However, the Bengals did get the better of the Titans when they last met in 2020, and Cincinnati notched a victory in the last playoff meeting between these franchises in the 1990 postseason. Their win over the Houston Oilers that year was the Bengals’ last playoff win prior to their victory last Saturday.
In 2021, both the Titans and Bengals won their respective divisions, but the Titans finished just a bit better. Not only did they notch two more wins than the Bengals, but Tennessee also finished as the No. 1 seed in the AFC.
Going into this all-important matchup that will determine who moves on to the AFC Championship Game and who goes home, the Titans have reasons for both optimism and concern. Here’s a look at what they are: