The NFL season is back and bigger than ever. The 2021 regular season schedule is out, and the league is shaking things up by expanding play to 17 games, adding an additional week to a schedule that hasn’t changed in 44 years.
The Tennessee Titans may have a challenging year ahead of them, but they’re favored in their first matchup of the season.
Titans open the season against the Cardinals
The Titans kick their season off with a homefield bout against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, Sept. 12. This year, Tennessee will be facing some familiar faces on the field.
Cardinals cornerback Malcolm Butler was a star player on the Titans team in past years. Butler, wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, and defensive end J.J. Watt are all defining forces that stand between the Titans and their first win of the season.
Nonetheless, Tennessee is still favored in this matchup. DraftKings TN Sportsbook currently positions the Titans as 2.5-point favorites.
The game’s over/under is situated at 51.5 points. A quick look at each team’s average points per game would suggest a high-scoring opening bout. Tennessee averaged 29.6 points per game in 2020, while the Cardinals averaged 25.6.
One glance at the team’s history against each other, however, tells a different story. The Titans and Cardinals have only met 11 times in the past, seven of which resulted in a loss for the Titans.
The average score for those games total only 44 points per game, suggesting the under may be a wise pick.
Below are the current Tennessee Titans betting odds for the matchup.
The season opener for the team is a home game, taking place in Nashville’s Nissan Stadium.
Coach Mike Vrabel is eager for his team to play in front of a hometown crowd:
“We are excited our fans get to experience a couple of home primetime games and our players certainly feed off the fans’ energy. We will be opening at home for the first time since I became head coach and I am happy our fans will be there to kick off the season with us.”
Sizing up Tennessee’s opponents
Second on the Titans’ schedule comes a relatively challenging away game against the Seattle Seahawks.
Then, Tennessee gets its first taste of its AFC South rival, the Indianapolis Colts, on Sept. 26. The Colts welcomed a new star quarterback to the roster during the off season, catapulting them to the top spot in the division in the eyes of sportsbooks.
A win here would be a major victory for Tennessee.
| Date | Opponent |
|---|---|
| Sept. 12 | vs. Arizona Cardinals |
| Sept. 19 | at Seattle Seahawks |
| Sept. 26 | vs. Indianapolis Colts |
| Oct. 3 | at New York Jets |
| Oct. 10 | at Jacksonville Jaguars |
| Oct. 18 | vs. Buffalo Bills |
| Oct. 24 | vs. Kansas City Chiefs |
| Oct. 31 | at Indianapolis Colts |
| Nov. 7 | at Los Angeles Rams |
| Nov. 14 | vs. New Orleans Saints |
| Nov. 21 | vs. Houston Texans |
| Nov. 28 | at New England Patriots |
| Dec. 5 | BYE |
| Dec. 12 | vs. Jacksonville Jaguars |
| Dec. 19 | at Pittsburgh Steelers |
| Dec. 23 | vs. San Francisco 49ers |
| Jan. 2 | vs. Miami Dolphins |
| Jan. 9 | at Houston Texans |
At the onset of the season, the largest obstacle for the Titans seems to come in a five-game stretch beginning in mid-October, starting with their first prime-time game against the Buffalo Bills.
The Kansas City Chiefs visit the Titans the subsequent week. After that, the team hits the road to take on the Indianapolis Colts for a second time and the Los Angeles Rams for the first and only time this season. Tennessee then returns home on Nov. 14 for the extra game against the New Orleans Saints. This additional game comes against a tough opponent, as the Saints have won the last four meetups against the Titans.
A strong showing against this stretch of teams could be a good sign for what Tennessee is able to accomplish in the latter half of the year.
The Titans face the Houston Texans in the final game of the regular season for the third time in the last three years.
But before that, they face off against the Miami Dolphins for the first time with quarterback Ryan Tannehill at the helm. Tannehill was Miami’s starting quarterback from 2012-2018, holding a 42-46 win record.
The regular season concludes on Jan. 9, 2022, and the playoffs begin Jan. 15. Then, football season reaches its pinnacle on Feb. 13 at the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles for Super Bowl LVI.
Tennessee Titans futures odds
Sportsbooks position the over/under for Tennessee’s win total at 9.5 for the upcoming season. That prediction didn’t budge after the team’s recent draft picks, nor did Titans futures odds.
Tennessee still holds +130 odds of winning the AFC South and +4000 odds of winning the Super Bowl.
