The NFL released the 2026 schedule last Thursday, with the usual pomp and circumstance on its teams’ social media accounts. Is Tennessee blessed with hidden gems scattered throughout? Teams like the Chargers strut their highly praised social media teams’ stuff, while others like the Cardinals failed to make a mark. The Colts did an outstanding job, parodying themselves in Simpsons style. Both New York teams went with art themes to varying degrees of success. Tennessee went back to the well with its “man on the street” style interview classics after taking a year off to parody Big Pharma. Did the league lay off Tennessee after hammering them with an impossible 2025 schedule?
You never know who you'll see on the street @Shift4
NFL Schedule Release Show 5/14 on @nflnetwork at 7PM CT pic.twitter.com/uddftsZab2
— Tennessee Titans (@Titans) May 14, 2026
2026 Schedule Release: Tennessee Titans Blessed With Hidden Gems By Schedule Makers
Opening Salvoes: Reunions Galore Dot The Early Landscape
- Week 1: HOME vs. New York Jets
- Week 2: HOME vs. Philadelphia Eagles
- Week 3: AWAY @ New York Giants
- Week 4: AWAY @ Baltimore Ravens
How is Tennessee blessed with hidden gems during the early run?
The schedule makers at NFL headquarters are a funny bunch, to say the least. New Titans head coach Robert Saleh gets his administration off the ground with revenge in mind during Week 1. New York needs a win to open the season as they face a gauntlet to open the season. The Jets must play the Packers, Lions, and Bears consecutively. They could go a long way in determining the NFC North race in September.
The Titans possess the chance to become a trap game for the Eagles as they open with Washington, then travel to Chicago. After a home bout with the potential A.J. Brown-less Eagles, OC Brian Daboll gets his chance at extracting his pound of flesh against the Giants. New York will be coming off two consecutive brutally tough primetime games against the Cowboys and Rams (MNF) before hosting Tennessee. The early schedule has Tennessee blessed with hidden gems and gets off to a hot start.
Gruesome Foursome Pack a Punch In The Middle
- Week 5: HOME vs. Houston
- Week 6: AWAY @ Indianapolis
- Week 7: HOME vs. Cleveland
- Week 8: AWAY @ Cincinnati
Unfortunately for the Titans’ offensive line, the road gets significantly tougher with this four-pack of defenses ready to make Cam Ward’s life miserable. They start with a home game against the Texans’ defense, which could be argued to be the best defensive line in football. Tennessee’s offensive line must be in top form against the Texans and the Browns, who boast the most feared pass rusher in the league. Garrett is a familiar foe for these linemen, who desperately held on for dear life, tilting the entire game plan toward stopping him. Indianapolis’ front seven is nothing to sneeze at, either. Even the Bengals remade their entire defense to help Joe Burrow.
So, where is Tennessee blessed with hidden gems in this stretch?
The Titans host Houston after a not-so-nice four-game opening stretch of the Bills, Bengals, Colts, and Cowboys. Houston also has to travel to London in Week 6 to play AFC South contender Jacksonville in their home away from home. Indianapolis faces a tough opening phase as well, traveling to Pittsburgh and Minnesota before and after its game against Tennessee. Fortunately for the Colts, they are nearly invincible against Tennessee at Lucas Oil Stadium. The Bengals travel to Madrid to take on the Falcons the week after Tennessee. Cincinnati could be in for a letdown game against the Titans after playing its blood rival, Baltimore, the week before. The schedule makers definitely had Tennessee blessed with hidden gems through schedule breaks.
November Has Tennessee Blessed With Hidden Gems
- Week 9: BYE
- Week 10: HOME vs. Jacksonville
- Week 11: AWAY @ Dallas
- Week 12: AWAY @ Jacksonville
After facing that brutalizing gauntlet of defenses, the schedule gives the feeling that Tennessee is blessed with hidden gems. A midseason bye week is always preferred. Interestingly, Jacksonville has two consecutive international games in London this season. The Jaguars and Titans square off twice in three weeks, with Daboll trading notes with Liam Coen on how to play the Giants in between. AFC South supremacy could be decided within this set of games. A road trip to Dallas looms as a litmus test for the remade Titans defense in between games against the Jaguars. Jacksonville has a strong team to contend for the division and beyond, but its future is in question and possibly compromised.
Where are the Titans blessed with hidden gems?
Jacksonville faces a tough road before playing the Titans twice in three weeks. They start October with games against Cincinnati, Philadelphia, Houston*, Indianapolis*, and Baltimore, with a bye in the middle. However, the Jaguars will have the jump on the Titans in the first game, as they have a mini-bye after TNF. Tennessee could be a perfect get-right game or a trap game for the Cowboys. They have to face San Francisco before facing the Eagles on Thanksgiving Day after hosting Tennessee. The road for Dallas doesn’t get any easier after the Eagles on Thanksgiving, then traveling to the reigning Super Bowl champion, Seattle, the week after.
Note: The * denotes the London games
December Could Be a Month to Remember
- Week 13: HOME vs. Washington
- Week 14: AWAY @ Detroit
- Week 15: HOME vs. Indianapolis
- Week 16: AWAY @ Las Vegas
The Titans alternate home and away games throughout the month, facing two of the NFC’s best before finishing the holidays at home in Nashville. Washington holds the hideously massive schedule advantage over the Titans, playing Arizona before marching into Nashville. However, they have to play Houston after the match with Tennessee. The Commanders and Titans match up in a battle of young quarterbacks looking to make their mark in the league. Washington also has the revenge factor, with several former Titans who have not-so-fond memories of Nashville, like Treylon Burks and Marcus Mariota.
Is Tennessee Blessed With Hidden Gems Late?
Detroit, on the other hand, has a critical run-in with games against New England, Tampa Bay, Chicago, and Atlanta before hosting the Titans. The Lions have to play four games in 22 days, so Tennessee possesses the advantage. After battling NFC powers, they return to AFC play with a contest against the hated Colts. Indianapolis plays the Eagles before and the Bengals after their match with the Titans. Tennessee faces another former first overall selection and a new coach on the road in Sin City. Vegas must play the Chargers and Broncos before their showdown. Did the league finally look favorably on the Titans, or is Tennessee blessed with hidden gems during this stretch?
Grand Closing To An Old Home
- Week 17: HOME vs. Pittsburgh
Fittingly, the venerated former AFC Central rival Steelers come to Nashville to help the Titans close out Nissan Stadium. There were many fever-pitch battles between the Titans and Steelers in the early to mid-2000s, so the Terrible Towels are the right fit to close it out as a new dawn arises. Will Pittsburgh still have that curmudgeon and cranky old quarterback calling the shots, or will a young gun take the reins at that point? Time will tell for a veteran squad looking to right the ship under a new captain.
Neither team has the schedule advantage, as the Steelers take on hated AFC North rival Baltimore while Tennessee plays traditional curtain-closer Houston to end the regular season. The schedule makers didn’t have Tennessee blessed with hidden gems in the last two weeks of the season.
Main Photo: [Denny Simmons/The Tennessean] – Imagn Images
