On the cusp of contention
7. San Francisco 49ers (6-4, No. 7) 8. Minnesota Vikings (8-2, No. 3) 9. Tennessee Titans (7-3, No. 10) 10. Cincinnati Bengals (6-4, No. 11) 11. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-5, No. 12)
In a year full of worthy candidates for Coach of the Year, Mike Vrabel deserves a look. Since starting 0-2, the Titans have won seven of their past eight games, with the one loss in overtime to the Chiefs while playing their backup rookie quarterback. Thursday night’s 27-17 win over the Packers was yet another strong showing, with quarterback Ryan Tannehill throwing for 333 yards and two touchdowns and first-round draft pick Treylon Burks catching a career-high seven passes for 111 yards on a night running back Derrick Henry was held in check. Nothing about the Titans screams Super Bowl contender, but this is a deep roster that hardly ever makes mistakes. They’re going to be an extremely tough matchup in the postseason.