NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – For the second straight season, playoff football is coming to Nashville with the Titans (12-5) hosting the Cincinnati Bengals (11-7) Saturday afternoon at Nissan Stadium.
The Titans are the top seed in the AFC and opened about a 3-point favorite, that number quickly grew to 3.5 after it was announced.
While this is Tennessee’s fourth trip to the playoffs in the last five years, the Bengals head to Nashville fresh off their first playoff win in 31 years when they beat the Raiders 26-19 in Cincinnati.
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Just two years ago, the Bengals were so bad they picked first overall drafting quarterback Joe Burrow. Behind Burrow and other key draft additions like Jamar Chase, Tee Higgins and Jesse Bates, the Bengals quickly turned things around winning the AFC North this season.
“They are really explosive.” said Titans head coach Mike Vrabel, “We didn’t have many answers for them last year. He (Joe Burrow) is able to extend plays and make a lot of plays down the field receiver-wise. We will have to be better in all phases. We turned the football over, and again that was a long time ago but obviously we are very aware of the type of football team this is and how good they are.”
Last year the Bengals beat the Titans 31-20 in Cincinnati with Burrow throwing for 249 yards and 2 touchdowns.
This season with the addition of first round pick Jamar Chase from LSU, the Bengals offense has exploded averaging 27.1 points per game, 7th best in the NFL.
Burrow has been the catalyst throwing for 4,611 yards and 34 touchdowns. Thirteen of those who went to his former college teammate Chase, who turned in one of the greatest seasons every by a rookie wide receiver with 81 receptions for 1,455 yards.
Vrabel did not sound surprised by their success, “It is the first pick in the draft and the fourth pick in the draft, so obviously they have a lot of talent and the trust and the connection that you referenced is there. It is there down the field whether it is back shoulder, whether it is in the quick game. I think he has that with (Tee) Higgins and (Tyler) Boyd. They don’t have any issues throwing the football.”
The question is can the Titans stellar front of Bud Dupree, Harold Landry, Jeffery Simmons and Denico Autry get their in time to disrupt Burrow and keep him from carving the secondary up? Burrow was sacked 51 times this season and he also threw 14 interceptions.
It looks to be a good matchup for the Titans up front. The Titans big four up front have combined for 32.5 sacks with Landry leading the way with 12.
Vrabel is also looking for a rowdy home crown to make communicating difficult for the Bengals offense, “It should be amazing. It should be an amazing atmosphere, it is playoff football in January. We have had amazing support the entire season. We got a lot of support in Houston… Hopefully they are ready to get back into our stadium and have an atmosphere that helps us win on Saturday.”
If the Titans win, they would host the winner of the Buffalo/Kansas City game in the AFC Championship. The Titans have never hosted an AFC title game at Nissan Stadium since they moved to Nashville.