Tennessee Titans could be next NFL playoff team with losing record and may have some company

The Tennessee Titans won't care what their record is following Saturday's game at the Jacksonville Jaguars, win or lose.

A win means a home playoff game. A loss means a long offseason and a playoff streak ended at three seasons.

But the Titans' record will be unavoidably different from their playoff colleagues. (But maybe not all of them: more on that later.)

A 8-9 record is ultimately a below-.500 record. Before the season, that would be qualified as a disappointing season.

Now, it means a playoff berth. And the old cliché still rings true. You can't win the Super Bowl without getting in the tournament.

Let's go through the history of playoff teams with losing records, and look at how up to three teams may qualify for the playoffs with an 8-9 record:

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2010 Seattle Seahawks

Record: 7-9 (won NFC West)

Playoffs: Won 41-36 vs. New Orleans in NFC Wild Card round; lost 35-24 at Seattle in NFC Divisional round

Why were the Seahawks not above .500? The Seahawks were simply not a good football team. Matt Hasselbeck threw 12 touchdown passes to 17 interceptions in 14 starts. Marshawn Lynch was acquired in a mid-season trade from Buffalo and hadn't yet turned into Beast Mode (573 yards and six touchdowns in 11 starts). Mike Williams, the Lions' 2005 first-round bust, led the team in catches and receiving yards in what was by far his best season as a pro. The defense ranked 25th in points allowed and 27th in yards allowed. Other than Lynch, this team wasn't close to resembling the Super Bowl champion Seahawks from three seasons later.

As a side note, this division might rival the 2022 NFC South as the worst in league history. The 7-9 Rams had a minus-39 point differential, the best of the West. But Seattle won the winner-take-all game against St. Louis in Week 17 to clinch the division. Six days later, the Beast Quake happened.

2014 Carolina Panthers

Record: 7-8-1 (won NFC South)

Playoffs: Won 27-16 vs. Arizona in NFC Wild Card round; lost 31-17 at Seattle in NFC Divisional round

Why were the Panthers not above .500? An awful stretch in October and November saw the Ron Rivera-led Panthers lose six games in a row after a 3-2-1 start. The Panthers defense turned up in December, allowing no more than 310 yards in a game starting with a Week 14 domination of the Saints in New Orleans that jumpstarted a four-game winning streak to steal the division. Amid the winning streak, Cam Newton was injured in a car accident and missed a game vs. Tampa Bay with a back injury. He returned for a win over Cleveland and a winner-take-all rout of Atlanta on the final day of the regular season. Carolina won at home against the Ryan Findley-quarterbacked Cardinals in the wild card round, then lost at Seattle.

2020 Washington Commanders

Record: 7-9 (won NFC East)

Playoffs: Lost 31-23 vs. Tampa Bay in NFC Wild Card round

Why were the Commanders not above .500? The Football Team, er, Commanders were 30th in total offense. Alex Smith was the best quarterback in the room and went 5-1 after returning from a two-year absence while he rehabilitated a severe leg injury. His first start was in Week 10, and the Commanders turned a 2-7 start into a 6-8 record before Smith was injured with a bone bruise. He returned for the Week 17 division-clinching victory over Philadelphia but did not make the start against Tampa Bay in the wild card game. Taylor Heinicke made his second career start in the playoff loss to the eventual Super Bowl champions.

2022 AFC South winner?

Flashback to Week 11: The Titans won 27-17 against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field on a Thursday night to move to 7-3. The division was all but theirs. With games against Cincinnati and Philadelphia ahead, the Titans could have split those and still left themselves at a chance of the No. 1 seed in the AFC.

Today, that seems like an entirely different season. Since that victory on Thursday night, the Titans have fired GM Jon Robinson, lost six in a row, lost Ryan Tannehill for the season with another ankle injury and dealt with an injury list that continues to lengthen. Offensive coordinator Todd Downing was charged for speeding and suspicion of driving under the influence in the early-morning hours after the win in Green Bay, too.

Jacksonville continues to surge, winning four games in a row to move to 8-8 on the season. That winning streak started with the Jaguars' 36-22 win in Nashville on Dec. 11.

Despite the last month-and-a-half, Tennessee wins the AFC South on Saturday with a victory over the Jaguars in Jacksonville. The 8-9 Titans would host a playoff game next weekend.

More in 2022?

There could be as many as three teams below .500 in this season's playoffs. Tampa Bay, at 8-8, clinched the NFC South with last week's victory against Carolina and has no real postseason motivation to play its stars at Atlanta in Week 18.

Pittsburgh, Miami and New England all enter Week 18 at 8-8. If all lose on Sunday, someone has to be in the playoffs.

That someone is the Jaguars, who have an outside shot at a wild card berth. The Jaguars would clinch the final AFC playoff spot with losses by the Steelers, Dolphins and Patriots, even if they lose to Tennessee.

That would mean two AFC South teams in the playoffs, both with more losses than wins this season.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee Titans could be next NFL playoff team with losing record