The Tennessee Titans and Cincinnati Bengals will enjoy some turkey on Thursday, but come Sunday it’ll be time to take the field for an important Week 12 battle at Nissan Stadium in Nashville.
The Titans are currently cruising to their third straight division title, but now their sights are set on getting the highest seed possible in the AFC. Going into Week 12, Tennessee is No. 3 in the conference.
The Bengals got off to a very rocky start to the season but have been coming on strong of late, especially on offense. With their recent surge, the Bengals find themselves in the final playoff spot and two games back in the division.
There’s a particular narrative the national media will try to shoe-horn into this game leading up to it, but don’t buy into it. We’ll talk about that and more in this week’s things to know ahead of Titans-Bengals on Sunday.
Bengals are road favorites
According to Tipico Sportsbook, the Titans are three-point home underdogs to the Bengals for Week 12 despite having a better record. The over/under sits at 42.5.
Not only are the Bengals road favorites, but that spread has actually widened since the start of the week, when it was 1.5. The Titans and their fans don’t mind this at all, as the team thrives in the underdog role.
The Titans own the best record in the NFL (8-2) against the spread but have only hit the over in three of 10 games. The Bengals (7-3) are tied for the second-best record against the spread and have hit the over four times.
Head-to-head history
This will be the 78th meeting all time (including playoffs) between the Titans and Bengals. Tennessee has gotten the better of Cincy in 40 of those 76 meetings, and one of them ended in a tie.
Cincy has had Tennessee’s numbers since 2011, though, with the Bengals winning four of five matchups in that span, including playoffs.
Of course, the most notable recent matchup came in the divisional round last season, when the Titans were upset by the Bengals, 19-16, despite notching nine sacks. Ryan Tannehill’s three picks ended up dooming Tennessee.
It was a heart-breaking loss to say the least, as the Titans had finally gotten healthy and looked primed to make a run. Because of that result, there’s a narrative the national media might push this week, but don’t buy into it.
Don't call it a revenge game
No, this isn’t a revenge game for the Titans as some have billed it after they lost to the Bengals in the divisional round last season.
These are two different teams that have seen plenty of roster turnover, and there is no exacting revenge for a devastating playoff loss with a regular season win.
Not. Ever.
The Titans have done their best to avoid the revenge narrative in the week leading up to the game, as they should.
“Half this team wasn’t even here,” quarterback Ryan Tannehill said. “This is a new team facing another new team. Obviously, a game we want to win. But it has nothing to do with last year.”
What the Titans can do in this game is continue moving in the right direction with their passing attack, as our Shaun Calderon pointed out earlier in the week.
Again, nothing the Titans do this weekend will change anything about the 2021 playoffs, but a strong performance — especially in the passing game — can undoubtedly go a long way toward washing the sour taste out of everyone’s mouths when we collectively think of the Bengals.
More importantly, another convincing outing by this passing attack will help to establish Tennessee as a legitimate Super Bowl contender once again.
Elite red zone offenses
This matchup just so happens to feature two of the best teams in the NFL when it comes to scoring touchdowns in the red zone.
The Bengals rank No. 1 in the NFL with a 75-percent success rate, while the Titans are right behind them with a 74.07-percent success rate.
With that type of success, you would assume both teams are scoring a lot of points per game, but only the Bengals are, as their 26.5 per contest ranks third in the NFL.
The Titans, on the other hand, are scoring just 19.3 points per game, ranking 24th in the league. The problem for Tennessee has been actually getting to the red zone in the first place.
Ja'Marr Chase, Joe Mixon up in the air
Cincinnati may have one, both, or neither of its two best offensive weapons in Week 12, as the statuses of running back Joe Mixon (concussion) and superstar wideout Ja’Marr Chase (hip) are both up in the air.
The Bengals have been on their recent offensive tear without the services of Chase, who has been on the shelf the last three games because of a hip injury.
Chase was listed as limited on the Bengals’ first injury report of the week, which was an upgrade from his lack of participation last week. But quarterback Joe Burrow expects his best wideout will play.
Joe Burrow says the #Bengals expect Ja’Marr Chase to play against the Titans pic.twitter.com/rVyh97ydae
— Kelsey Conway (@KelseyLConway) November 23, 2022
Meanwhile, Mixon did not practice on Wednesday as he deals with a concussion suffered last week. Samaje Perine would step in for the Cincinnati running back should he be forced to sit out.
Titans' injury issues
The Titans have been ravaged by injuries once again this season. In fact, the team has fielded 73 players, just 18 shy of the record they set in 2021, and Tennessee ranks second in terms of most games missed by injured players.
NFL through week 11, Top 5, most games missed by injured players and health protocols
NOR 173
TEN 166
ARI SEA 158
NYG 153— Man Games Lost NFL (@ManGamesLostNFL) November 23, 2022
Amazingly enough, the 73 players fielded total isn’t even the most in the NFL, as that distinction belongs to the Arizona Cardinals (76).
On Wednesday, the Titans did receive at least some good news on the injury front, as guys like Ben Jones, Jeffery Simmons, Bud Dupree, Amani Hooker and Elijah Molden all practiced in some capacity.
On the flip side, there is added concern about Denico Autry, Kristian Fulton and Randy Bullock, all of whom didn’t practice on Wednesday.
Autry and Fulton are two very key pieces to this defense and will be needed even more than usual in a tough matchup against a potent Bengals passing attack. Autry is likely going to miss at least this week, but thankfully his injury isn’t season-ending.
Bullock’s absence could mean the Titans deploy a rookie kicker in Week 12, which is a risky proposition, especially when said kicker, Caleb Shudak, would be making his NFL debut.
The good news for the Titans is that even if they are missing all three of these players, this team has proven time and time again that it can plug in players when injuries occur and still win games.
Titans' success on long rest
Not only was the long rest between the Thursday night game in Week 11 and the Sunday game in Week 12 vital for an injury-plagued Titans team, it also presents a scenario in which the Titans have thrived in under Mike Vrabel.
Since 2018 when Vrabes took over, Tennessee is an impressive 9-0 on long rest. Let’s hope that trend continues on Sunday.
Rest does the body good, next up Cincy…
The Titans are 9-0 on long rest in the regular season since Mike Vrabel became the head coach in 2018 #Titans @RamonKaylaWill
— Kayla Anderson (@KaylaAndersonTV) November 21, 2022
