Tennessee Titans (12-5) vs. Cincinnati Bengals (11-7)
Saturday, January 22nd, 2022 | 3:30pm CT
Nashville, TN | Nissan Stadium | TV: CBS
Nashville, TN – The Tennessee Titans host the AFC North champion Cincinnati Bengals this week in a divisional playoff game. Kickoff at Nissan Stadium (capacity 69,143) is scheduled for 3:30pm CT on Saturday, January 22nd.
The Titans enter the postseason as the top seed in the AFC field after finishing 12-5 in the regular season and taking their second consecutive AFC South crown. They tied the Kansas City Chiefs for the conference’s best record but secured the tiebreaker due to their head-to-head victory over the Chiefs on October 24th. With the No. 1 seed, the Titans earned the AFC’s only first-round bye in the playoffs.
Sunday’s contest will be nationally televised on CBS, including Nashville affiliate WTVF NewsChannel 5. The broadcast team includes play-by-play announcer Ian Eagle, analyst Charles Davis, and reporter Evan Washburn.
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. Paramount+ will also stream the game live. 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, Westwood One Sports will broadcast the game to a national radio audience. Play-by-play announcer Ryan Radtke, analyst Tony Boselli and reporter Laura Okmin will have the call.
About the Tennessee Titans
Titans Enter Playoffs Fresh After First-Round Bye
The Titans clinched their division title and their third consecutive playoff appearance under head coach Mike Vrabel with a Week 17 victory over the Miami Dolphins, celebrating the franchise’s first back-to-back division championships since the Oilers took the first three AFL Eastern division titles from 1960 to 1962. Vrabel joined Jack Pardee and Jerry Glanville as the only head coaches in team annals to preside over at least three playoff squads in their initial four seasons as head coach.
The Titans have made the playoffs in four of the six seasons since Jon Robinson was hired as general manager in 2016. In that time, the Titans and Kansas City Chiefs share the distinction of being the NFL’s only franchise’s with six consecutive winning records.
In Week 18, the Titans traveled to Houston needing a victory to claim the AFC’s No. 1 seed and allow them a week off as the six other AFC playoff qualifiers battled in wild card games. With four touchdown passes from quarterback Ryan Tannehill, the Titans withstood a second-half surge by the Texans and held on for a 28-25 victory. It marks the franchise’s third time in the Super Bowl era and the first time since 2008 it entered the postseason with the No. 1 seed.
Tannehill and Moon are the only players to record multiple seasons with at least 3,500 passing yards for the franchise.
For the third consecutive season, Tannehill’s top target was wide receiver A.J. Brown, who totaled 63 receptions for 869 yards and five touchdowns. With 2,995 career receiving yards, Brown has more than any player in franchise history through his first three NFL seasons other than Charlie Hennigan (3,336 from 1960-62).
Titans running back Derrick Henry has not played since he was placed on injured reserve following the team’s October 31st contest at the Indianapolis Colts. On January 5th, he was designated for return, opening a 21-day window in which he can practice and ultimately return to the active roster if the team so chooses.
Prior to his injury, the two-time NFL rushing champion rushed for 937 yards and 10 touchdowns on 219 carries, leading the league in each category through eight weeks. Even without Henry for much of the season, the Titans finished fifth in rushing offense in 2021 with an average of 141.4 yards per game. D’Onta Foreman led the team in rushing during Henry’s absence, totaling 566 rushing yards.
The Tennessee Titans defense capped the regular season ranked 12th overall (329.8 per game) and second in rushing defense (84.6). They were sixth on third down (36.7 percent) and sixth in scoring defense (20.8).
Safety Kevin Byard led the team in tackles (88) and interceptions (five), while outside linebacker Harold Landry III set a career-high and paced the defense with 12 sacks. Landry, along with defensive linemen Denico Autry (nine sacks) and Jeffery Simmons (8.5), helped make the Titans the only NFL team in 2021 with three players totaling at least eight sacks each.
About the Cincinnati Bengals
While the Titans rested with a bye last weekend, the Bengals hosted the Las Vegas Raiders on Saturday in the wild card round. Second-year quarterback Joe Burrow threw a pair of touchdown passes, and Evan McPherson booted four field goals to help the Bengals to a 26-19 victory. It was Cincinnati’s first playoff win since January 1991.
Led by third-year head coach Zac Taylor, the Bengals finished the regular season with a 10-7 record to claim their first AFC North division title since 2015. They went into the playoffs as the fourth seed in the AFC.
In 2021, Burrow set single-season Bengals passing records with 4,611 yards and 34 touchdowns, and his 108.3 passer rating ranked second in the NFL. The Heisman Trophy winner from Louisiana State University was the first-overall draft pick in 2020.
Burrow’s top target, rookie wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase, ranked fourth in the NFL with 1,455 receiving yards, the most by a rookie in the Super Bowl era.
Tennessee Titans-Cincinnati Bengals Series History
- Overall series (regular & postseason): Titans lead 40-35-1
- Regular-season series: Titans lead 40-34-1
- Postseason series: Bengals lead 1-0
- Total points: Titans 1,745, Bengals 1,785
- Current streak: One win by Bengals
- Titans at home vs. Bengals: 23-13-1
- Titans on the road vs. Bengals: 17-22 (including 0-1 in playoffs)
- Longest winning streak by Titans: 7 (twice, last 1998–2001)
- Longest losing streak by Titans: 7 (1981-84)
- Titans vs. Bengals at Nissan Stadium: 4-3
- Last time at Nissan Stadium: Bengals 20 at TITANS 24 (11-12-17)
- Titans vs. Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium: 4-3
- Last time at Paul Brown Stadium: Titans 20 at BENGALS 31 (11-1-20)
- First time: Bengals 17 at OILERS 27 (11-3-68)
- Mike Vrabel’s record vs. Bengals: 0-1
- Zac Taylor’s record vs. Titans: 1-0
- Mike Vrabel’s record vs. Zac Taylor: 0-1
A Tennessee Titans Victory Would
Send the Titans to the conference championship game for the second time in three seasons (2019), for the fourth time in the “Titans era” (since 1999), and for the sixth time in franchise history.
Improve the all-time franchise postseason record to 18-22, including a 9-9 record as the Tennessee Titans (1999–present).
Give the Titans their first home playoff victory since a win against Pittsburgh in the divisional round on January 11th, 2003. Improve Mike Vrabel’s career record to 44-26 as a head coach, including regular season and playoffs.
Improve QB Ryan Tannehill’s combined starting record in the regular season and playoffs to 75-61, including a 33-15 record with the Titans.
