Titans’ Week 18 Rooting Guide: What to Watch For

The Tennessee Titans are heading to Jacksonville for their final game of the 2026 season, where they’ll face off against the division-rival Jacksonville Jaguars. With a record of 3-13, the team is in a tough position as they look to pull off an upset and prevent the Jaguars from securing the AFC South title. Although they’re listed as nearly two-touchdown underdogs, it would be a significant achievement for Cam Ward and his team to pull off such a feat.

At this point in the season, the Titans are projected to be in the fourth slot in the draft order. However, there’s still a chance for them to climb higher or fall lower depending on how other games unfold. Here’s what fans need to know about the potential outcomes of the final week of the year.

Titans’ Draft Position Possibilities

The Titans’ best-case scenario is to land the second overall pick in the draft. This would require the Las Vegas Raiders to pull off a surprising 9.5-point upset over the Kansas City Chiefs. Even if that happens, the Raiders’ strength of schedule would likely keep them ahead of the Titans, who have three wins. To secure the second pick, the Titans will also need the New York Giants and New York Jets to beat the Dallas Cowboys and Buffalo Bills, respectively.

Based on the teams involved, the quarterbacks playing, and recent performance, only one of these outcomes seems realistic. If the Titans manage to win their game against the Jaguars, they could drop no further than the seventh overall pick. This would require several other teams to lose, including the Washington Commanders against the Philadelphia Eagles, the Cleveland Browns against the Cincinnati Bengals, and the Arizona Cardinals against the Los Angeles Rams.

If the Titans win, each of these losses would mean a step down from fourth to seventh in the draft order.

Most Likely Outcome

The most probable outcome is that the Titans lose their game and remain at fourth in the draft order. However, there’s a plausible path for them to lose and still drop to fifth place. The key factor here is the strength of schedule (SOS) tiebreaker, which is crucial for teams with similar records.

Tennessee and the Arizona Cardinals are very close in SOS, with the Titans holding a slight edge by just three thousandths of a win percentage. This means the results of their opponents’ games in Week 18 could have a major impact on their draft position.

According to Tankathon.com, there are specific games that fans should be rooting for to maintain the Titans’ advantage. The most important one is the Cincinnati Bengals winning against the Cleveland Browns. Additionally, fans should hope for the Atlanta Falcons to beat the New Orleans Saints, the Dallas Cowboys to beat the New York Giants, the Green Bay Packers to beat the Minnesota Vikings, and the Miami Dolphins to beat the New England Patriots.

As long as most of these games go as expected, the Titans should remain in the lead. One more thing to root for is the Baltimore Ravens winning their regular-season finale against the Pittsburgh Steelers. This would ensure that the Titans’ conditional fifth-round pick becomes a fourth-round pick.

In the final game of the year, Titans fans are hoping for another strong performance from quarterback Derrick Henry. With so much on the line, every game and every play could impact the team’s future draft position.