The Commercial Appeal

5 key home games on Titans’ 2020 schedule

- Erik Bacharach Nashville Tennessean USA TODAY NETWORK – TENNESSEE

The Titans‘ 2020 schedule is packed with intriguing matchups, beginning with their Week 1 game against the Broncos in Denver on “Monday Night Football.”

But there are plenty of must-see home games, too.

While the start of the season is still in question due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as it stands now the show is set to go on. With that in mind, here are five key games at Nissan Stadium scheduled for the Titans in 2020:

Week 4: Titans vs. Steelers (Oct. 4 at noon, CBS)

The Titans kick off three straight games at home against the Steelers, who are a playoff contender again in 2020 with quarterbac­k Ben Roethlisbe­rger poised to return after missing the majority of last season due to injury.

The last time Tennessee hosted Pittsburgh came in 2014, when the Steelers won 27-24 on “Monday Night Football” in the second-coldest game at Nissan Stadium (25 degrees at kickoff ).

Week 5: Titans vs. Bills (Oct. 11 at noon, CBS)

AFC East favorite Buffalo has had the Titans’ number of late, with wins in 2018 and 2019. Both games were lowscoring and featured the Titans squanderin­g opportunit­ies to make a play late. Last season’s game came in Week 5 and saw the teams tied at 7 heading into the fourth quarter, only for Tennessee to let it slip away at home.

Week 6: Titans vs. Texans (Oct. 18 at noon, CBS)

Bill O’brien orchestrat­ed the most confoundin­g trade of the offseason when he shipped Deandre Hopkins, a top-five receiver, to the Cardinals for running back David Johnson, a 2020 second-round pick and a 2021 fourthroun­der.

But Houston still has quarterbac­k Deshaun Watson, which still makes them a lot to handle on a weekly basis.

In 2019, the Titans played the Texans twice in a three-week span at the end of the regular season. They lost the first matchup but won the second to help secure their spot in the postseason.

Week 10: Titans vs. Colts (Nov. 12 at 7:20 p.m., FOX)

At the end of 2018, when Marcus Mariota was still leading the Titans and Andrew Luck the Colts, no one could have predicted the rivalry game would feature starting quarterbac­ks Ryan Tannehill and Philip Rivers just a couple of years later.

But here we are.

For the Titans, this game will represent their first crack at the Rivers-led Colts. The veteran quarterbac­k signed with Indianapol­is after spending the first 16 years of his career with the Chargers.

The game will be played on “Thursday Night Football,” marking the team’s second of three primetime games in 2020. It’s also worth noting that the Titans will head to Indianapol­is two weeks later with a trip to Baltimore sandwiched in between.

Week 15: Titans vs. Lions (Dec. 19 or 20, time TBD)

This is the Titans’ final home game of the regular season, and it’s a key game more because of what comes after it. Tennessee ends the season with a challengin­g two-game stretch at Green Bay and Houston, meaning it will be crucial to take care of business against the Lions. Detroit is the 28th-ranked team in ESPN’S latest NFL power rankings.

2020 NFL TEAM-BY-TEAM SCHEDULE

 ?? ANDREW NELLES/TENNESSEAN.COM ?? Titans wide receiver A.J. Brown (11) celebrates with fans after scoring a touchdown against the Houston Texans on Dec. 15, 2019.
ANDREW NELLES/TENNESSEAN.COM Titans wide receiver A.J. Brown (11) celebrates with fans after scoring a touchdown against the Houston Texans on Dec. 15, 2019.

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