The Tennessee Titans play their final home game of the regular season this week, welcoming the Miami Dolphins to Nissan Stadium (capacity 69,143). Kickoff is scheduled for noon CST on Sunday, Jan. 2.
The Titans are 10-5 with two games remaining on their schedule. They lead the AFC South by a game over the Indianapolis Colts (9-6) and also hold the tiebreaker based on a pair of head-to-head wins. With a victory either this week against the Dolphins or next week at the Houston Texans, or with a Colts loss in either of their final two games, the Titans will clinch their second consecutive AFC South title and their third straight playoff berth. The Colts host the Las Vegas Raiders this Sunday and finish in Week 18 on the road at the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Titans have a chance to win the organization's first back-to-back division titles since the Oilers took the first three AFL Eastern division titles from 1960 to 1962. The last time the team went to the postseason in three consecutive years was during a franchise-record seven consecutive playoff appearances from 1987 to 1993.
THE BROADCAST
Sunday's contest will be regionally televised on CBS, including Nashville affiliate WTVF NewsChannel 5. The broadcast team includes play-by-play announcer Kevin Harlan, analyst Trent Green and reporter Melanie Collins.
Fans can livestream the broadcast on their mobile devices from the Titans Mobile App (iOS and Android), as well as on desktop computers and mobile web at TennesseeTitans.com. Restrictions apply. For information and more streaming options visit TennesseeTitans.com or NFL.com/ways-to-watch.
The Titans Radio Network and Nashville flagship 104.5 The Zone will carry the game across the Mid-South with the "Voice of the Titans" Mike Keith, analyst Dave McGinnis, sideline reporter Amie Wells and gameday host Rhett Bryan.
Additionally, Sports USA will broadcast the game to a national radio audience. Play-by-play announcer Eli Gold and analyst Doug Plank will have the call.
BROWN RETURNS, SPARKS THURSDAY NIGHT VICTORY
Last week the Titans hosted the San Francisco 49ers in a Thursday night matchup and overcame a 10-point deficit in the second half to win 20-17. Randy Bullock delivered the game-winning, 44-yard field goal with four seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.
Wide receiver A.J. Brown, returning to action after missing three games on injured reserve, led the team with 145 yards on a career-high 11 receptions, including an 18-yard touchdown. He tallied eight catches on third down, six of which went for conversions.
Quarterback Ryan Tannehill passed for 209 yards and a touchdown with a 106.8 passer rating, and he added a 23-yard run to put Bullock in position for his game-winner.
This week, Tannehill is scheduled to make his first career appearance against the Dolphins, who made him a first-round pick in 2012. Over his seven seasons in Miami (2012-18), he started 88 games and threw for 20,434 yards and 123 touchdowns. When he was traded to Tennessee in 2019, Tannehill ranked second in franchise history behind Chad Pennington in career completion percentage (62.8) and passer rating (87.0).
THE DOLPHINS
The Dolphins (8-7) began the season with a 1-7 record in their first eight contests. Since then, however, they have won seven consecutive games, including last week's 20-3 Monday night win at New Orleans that elevated them to seventh place in the AFC playoff standings. Four division winners and three wild card teams from each conference are included in the postseason field.
Head coach Brian Flores is in his third campaign with the Dolphins after serving 15 seasons in the New England Patriots organization. After starting in New England's personnel department, where he worked with current Titans executive vice president/general manager Jon Robinson, his first season on the coaching staff was 2008, which was current Titans head coach Mike Vrabel's final season as a player with the franchise.
Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, the fifth-overall draft pick in 2020, has helped spearhead his team's turnaround. He has appeared in 11 games this season with 10 starts, passing for 2,339 yards, 15 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
