NFL: 5 best bets to be AFC Wild Card teams in 2020

Going 9-7 every year is a great way to ensure you’ll be a Wild Card team.

For the last four seasons, no NFL franchise has perfected the art of going 9-7 quite like the Tennessee Titans. Not only are the 36-28 over the last four campaigns, but they have, I kid you not, gone 9-7 every season since 2016. With a surprisingly consistent mark like that, the Titans have teetered on the edge of being a playoff team for the last olympiad. Will they get in again?

Tennessee shocked us all a season ago when the Titans caught fire in the second half of the season, as they made it all the way to the AFC Championship game. Running back Derrick Henry was an absolute beast and Ryan Tannehill played the best ball of his eight-year NFL career. However, the clock struck midnight in the first half of the AFC title bout up in Kansas City.

Though there are some people who think the Titans are the favorites to win the AFC South this year, the smart money seems to be on the Indianapolis Colts to get that done. Indianapolis has long been a perpetual thorn in the Titans’ side. While the Jacksonville Jaguars are rebuilding, it’ll be interesting to see how Deshaun Watson, Bill O’Brien and the Houston Texans factor into all this.

What this comes down to is do you believe 9-7 is be good enough to win the AFC South this year or not? Is that mark good enough to earn the Titans one of three Wild Card spots in the AFC? We can’t predict what’s coming, but the past is a pretty strong indicator of future performance. Since the 2020 Titans will go 9-7 again, it feels like a good bet to pencil them in as a Wild Card team.