NASHVILLE — A season after advancing to the AFC Championship Game, the Titans have been rewarded with three prime-time contests.
The Titans are scheduled to open the 2020 season on Monday Night Football on September 14 at the Denver Broncos. Kickoff for that contest is scheduled for 9:10 p.m. on ESPN.
The team’s home opener will be the following week against the Jacksonville Jaguars, a September 20 noon contest at Nissan Stadium.
The Titans are also set to host the Indianapolis Colts in a Thursday Night Football contest on FOX/NFL Network on November 12, and they’re scheduled to play at the Green Bay Packers on Sunday Night Football on NBC on December 27.
Those are among the highlights on the schedule, which includes six games against teams that went to the playoffs in 2019.
In a rematch of the AFC Divisional Round playoff contest, the Titans will travel to face the Baltimore Ravens on November 22.
The Steelers and the Bills visit Nissan Stadium in October, part of a stretch that has the Titans scheduled to play four of their first six games at home before a bye in Week 7.
The Titans will end the season playing with five of their final seven games on the road, including back-to-back road games at Green Bay and Houston to close out the season. A home game vs. the Lions will be played on either Saturday, December 19 or Sunday, December 20 – the NFL will finalize the day and time at least four weeks ahead of the game being played.
“It is always an honor to play on Monday Night Football,” Titans Coach Mike Vrabel said. “When you grow up watching football, you watch Monday Night Football. It is your last taste of football for the week. Certainly, it’s a great challenge to go on the road and face Denver. It is a great way to start the season, there will be a lot of excitement and I know there will be a lot of people tuning in.
“We need to start the season better than we did last year. We played well down the stretch last year and it is what allowed us to make the playoffs and win a couple of games, but we are going to need to start the season better so the margin for error isn’t so thin. The goal is to win the division and host home playoff games and to put ourselves in the best possible position and that will start with those games early in the season at home.”
The Titans’ strength of schedule is the 20th most difficult in the NFL based upon their opponents’ combined 2019 winning percentage of .498 (127-128-1).
In the preseason, the Titans will host the Giants (August 20-24) and Bears (Sept. 3-4) while playing on the road vs the Washington Redskins (August 13-17) and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (August 27-30).
Here’s a look at the entire 2020 regular season schedule:
Week 1
Date: Monday, September 14.
Opponent: at Denver Broncos.
Time/TV: 9:10 p.m., ESPN.
Last year’s record: 7-9.
Week 2
Date: Sunday, September 20.
Opponent: Jacksonville Jaguars.
Time/TV: Noon, CBS.
Last year’s record: 6-10.
Week 3
Date: Sunday, September 27.
Opponent: at Minnesota Vikings.
Time/TV: Noon, CBS.
Last year’s record: 10-6.
Week 4
Date: Sunday, October 4.
Opponent: Pittsburgh Steelers.
Time/TV: Noon, CBS.
Last year’s record: 8-8.
Week 5
Date: Sunday, October 11.
Opponent: Buffalo Bills.
Time/TV: Noon, CBS.
Last year’s record: 10-6.
Week 6
Date: Sunday, October 18.
Opponent: Houston Texans.
Time/TV: Noon, CBS.
Last year’s record: 10-6.
Week 7
BYE
Week 8
Date: Sunday, November 1.
Opponent: at Cincinnati Bengals.
Time/TV: Noon, CBS.
Last year’s record: 2-14.
Week 9
Date: Sunday, November 8.
Opponent: Chicago Bears.
Time/TV: Noon, FOX.
Last year’s record: 8-8.
Week 10
Date: Thursday, November 12.
Opponent: Indianapolis Colts.
Time/TV: 7:20 p.m., FOX/NFLN/Amazon.
Last year’s record: 7-9.
Week 11
Date: Sunday, November 22.
Opponent: at Baltimore Ravens.
Time/TV: Noon, CBS.
Last year’s record: 14-2.
Week 12
Date: Sunday, November 29.
Opponent: at Indianapolis Colts.
Time/TV: Noon, CBS.
Last year’s record: 7-9.
Week 13
Date: Sunday, December 6.
Opponent: Cleveland Browns.
Time/TV: Noon, CBS.
Last year’s record: 6-10.
Week 14
Date: Sunday, December 13.
Opponent: at Jacksonville Jaguars.
Time/TV: Noon, CBS.
Last year’s record: 6-10.
Week 15
Date: December 19 (Saturday) or December 20 (Sunday).
Opponent: Detroit Lions.
Time/TV: TBD.
Last year’s record: 3-12-1.
Week 16
Date: Sunday, December 27.
Opponent: at Green Bay Packers.
Time/TV: 7:20 p.m., NBC
Last year’s record: 13-3.
Week 17
Date: Sunday, January 3.
Opponent: at Houston Texans.
Time/TV: Noon, CBS.
Last year’s record: 10-6.
Also, the team’s preseason opponents are now set (exact dates TBD):
at Washington Redskins (August 13-17)
vs. New York Giants (August 20-24)
at Tampa Bay (August 27-30)
vs. Chicago Bears (September 3-4)
Week-by-Week Notes on the Titans schedule:
Week 1: The Titans open the season at Denver on Monday night, Sept. 14, marking the first Week 1 Monday night game in franchise history.
Sept. 14 is the latest date for an opener in the team’s “Titans era” (1999 – present) and the latest for the franchise since 1977 (Sept. 18).
The Sept. 14 game at Denver also marks the franchise’s third all-time opener against the Broncos and the first since 1972.
Week 2: For the first time since 2008, the Titans play their home opener against the division-rival Jaguars (Sept. 20).
Week 3: At Minnesota (Sept. 27), the Titans make their first appearance at U.S. Bank Stadium, which opened in 2016.
Week 4: Pittsburgh (Oct. 4) has not visited Nissan Stadium in the regular season since 2014. Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is expected to return to the field for his 17th season after missing the final 14 games of 2019 due to injury.
Week 5: Buffalo (Oct. 11) is the Titans’ only home opponent besides Houston coming off a postseason appearance. The Bills won at Nissan Stadium in 2019 and have won their last three matchups with the Titans by a combined total of nine points.
Week 6: The Texans (Oct. 18) won the AFC South in 2019 and have won the division four times in six seasons under head coach Bill O’Brien.
Week 7: The Titans’ Week 7 bye is their earliest since a Week 4 bye in 2015. With three consecutive home games prior to the bye, the Titans do not have a road game in October.
Week 8: At Cincinnati (Nov. 1), the Titans return from their bye to face a Bengals team that could feature the No. 1 overall selection in the 2020 NFL Draft, former Louisiana State quarterback Joe Burrow.
Week 9: Chicago (Nov. 8) makes its third regular season appearance at Nissan Stadium. The Bears have won both prior meetings in Tennessee (2004 and 2012).
Week 10: The Titans host the Colts on Thursday Night Football (Nov. 12) for the first time since 2013 and for the third time ever at Nissan Stadium.
Week 11: At Baltimore (Nov. 22), the Titans have a rematch with last season’s No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs. The Titans visited Baltimore in the divisional round and defeated the Ravens by a final score of 28-12. The Ravens are led by 2019 NFL MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson.
Week 12: The Titans travel to Indianapolis (Nov. 29) to face the Colts for the second time in three weeks.
Week 13: Cleveland (Dec. 6) is the only team on the Titans’ 2020 schedule with a rookie head coach. Kevin Stefanski was named to the post after his first full season as the offensive coordinator of the Vikings.
Week 14: At Jacksonville (Dec. 13), the Titans play their second of two yearly contests with their longest-standing division rival.
Week 15: In their last regular season home game, the Titans host the Lions on either Saturday, Dec. 19, or Sunday, Dec. 20. The last time the Titans played on Saturday during the regular season was Week 16 of 2018, when they hosted and defeated Washington. That game likewise was originally announced as a Saturday or Sunday contest.
Detroit makes its third regular season appearance at Nissan Stadium. The Titans have won both prior meetings at the venue (2004 and 2012) and five consecutive overall matchups with the Lions, dating back to 2001.
Week 16: At Green Bay (Dec. 27), the Titans are scheduled for a Sunday night game against the Packers at Lambeau Field. It marks the first time since 2009 that the Titans have been slated for a Sunday night contest at the initial schedule unveiling. Their last Sunday night appearance, a Week 17 matchup with the Colts in 2018, was flexed into primetime.
Also at Green Bay, Mike Vrabel’s squad will square off against Packers head coach Matt LaFleur, who Vrabel hired as Titans offensive coordinator in 2018. LaFleur was appointed to his current post in Green Bay during the following offseason.
Week 17: The Titans conclude the regular season at Houston (Jan. 3) for the second consecutive season.
