Fansided

5 NFL teams that must win in Week 17

By Mike Phillips

(Photo by Corey Perrine/Getty Images)
(Photo by Corey Perrine/Getty Images) /
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NASHVILLE, TN – DECEMBER 22: Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill (17) hands the ball off to running back Dalyn Dawkins (28) against New Orleans Saints on December 22, 2019 at the Nissan Stadium in Nashville, TN. (Photo by Stephen Lew/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TN – DECEMBER 22: Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill (17) hands the ball off to running back Dalyn Dawkins (28) against New Orleans Saints on December 22, 2019 at the Nissan Stadium in Nashville, TN. (Photo by Stephen Lew/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

2. Tennessee Titans

The Steelers’ loss in New York last week was the Titans’ gain. Despite falling at home to the New Orleans Saints, the Titans moved ahead of the Steelers in the AFC pecking order due to the strength-of-victory tiebreaker.

Tennessee has played much better football since replacing Marcus Mariota with Ryan Tannehill, with the former Dolphins’ starter giving new life to the offense. Tannehill is completing 70.7 percent of his passes with 20 touchdowns against just six interceptions, adding a vertical to the passing attack that simply wasn’t there under Mariota.

The Titans do love to run the football too, and the key for them is a healthy return for their star running back, Derrick Henry. After the Houston Texans clinched the AFC South on Saturday, and knowing that a loss to the Saints wouldn’t impact their tiebreakers, the Titans opted to rest Henry, who had been playing through a hamstring issue.

Henry, who has rushed for 1,329 yards and 13 touchdowns on the season, is practicing in full this week and is on track to return for Sunday’s game against the Texans. That would be huge for Tennessee, which needs a win in order to clinch a playoff spot.

There are scenarios where Tennessee can get in even if they lose this game, but they all involve the Steelers losing to a Baltimore team that will be playing backups. The Titans can’t count on that and must take care of business themselves to ensure they are playing next weekend.

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