Are Titans in danger of missing NFL playoffs after lethargic loss to Cardinals?

The Tennessean

GLENDALE, Ariz. – Are the Titans in danger of missing the playoffs?

Could that really happen, after a lethargic 12-7 loss at Arizona knocked them a game out of first place in the AFC South with three to play?

The Titans (8-5) must remain no worse than a game behind the Jaguars (9-4) to ensure that the division title is up for grabs in the regular season finale, when the Jags play on New Year’s Eve in Nashville.

If the playoffs began today, the Titans would be the fifth seed, and on the road Wild Card weekend.

But several teams remain hot on their heels.

The Chiefs, Chargers, Ravens and Bills all have seven victories.

The Raiders have six wins – and a head-to-head tiebreaker against the Titans.

(The Titans own a head-to-head tiebreaker against Baltimore.)

Tennessee visits the 49ers (3-10) on Sunday before closing the regular season with games against the Rams (9-4) and Jags. None of those will be easy wins – the Niners have won two straight with Jimmy Garoppolo at quarterback.

But the Titans, while now forced to scrap to win the division, would need to collapse to miss the postseason.

The Titans now have a 37.3 percent chance of winning the division, and an 86.6 percent chance of making the playoffs, according to MakeNFLPlayoffs.com.

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Reach Jason Wolf at jwolf@tennessean.com and follow him on Twitter at @JasonWolf and on Instagram and Snapchat at TitansBeat.