NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Titans thorough 34-3 handling of the Dolphins at Nissan Stadium should effectively serve as a save the date card.

Please join us Sunday, January 30, 2:05 p.m. CT for the AFC Championship Game at Nissan Stadium, or set aside the time to view the game on CBS.

© George Walker IV / Tennessean.com / USA TODAY NETWORK

Yes, yes, I know.

Nothing is a given. Great NFL blueprints get torn up every week.

But the 11-5 Titans have paved the easiest imaginable path to get to and host the game.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Happy New Year from all of us (meaning me) to all of you.

I hope it's a giant weekend and that the Titans get the job done for you on Sunday.

Here is the best of what you gave me in response to the request for mail.

What is a successful post season IYO, based on what we've seen so far this year? Like most fans a SB appearance would be amazing, and 1 and done seems like a wasted season tbh. Is conference final a reasonable expectation?

— Tom (@OldEtonian55) December 30, 2021

By BLAKE BEDDINGFIELD, special correspondent

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Miami Dolphins are fighting for their playoff lives.

They started the season with one win and seven straight losses but are currently riding a seven-game win streak.

Courtesy Tennessee Titans

The Dolphins are much like the Titans in that they find a way to win games.

The Titans need this win to clinch the AFC South, though the Raiders can also do it for them Sunday by beating the Colts.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Tua Tagovailoa’s game doesn’t seem particularly complicated. But as the Titans prepare to face his Miami Dolphins, they will have some things to figure out.

Tagovailoa and Miami pass over 65 percent of the time on first down because of their anemic run game, one of the things that should make him a predictable pass rush target. But the shifty signal-caller's been sacked only 13 times in 302 dropbacks.

© Steve Roberts-USA TODAY Sports

More remarkably, a quarterback who’s generously listed at 6-foot-one has only had one pass attempt batted down by a defensive lineman near the line of scrimmage all season.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A couple of days after the Titans' loss to the Steelers, Mike Vrabel talked about one play where three defenders missed a tackle on Najee Harris. The result was not the typical problem from such a development.

“They gained a yard,” Vrabel said. “Guys were running. You don’t love the three missed tackles, but you love the swarm.”

Pool photo/ Donald Page, Tennessee Titans

Vrabel’s Titans have always been pretty good about converging on the ball. But in the last three weeks they’ve amped it up in an unmistakable way. In some TV shots that cover half the field and show a play being made on the sideline, it seemed all but a few guys appeared on the screen.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – To ensure the AFC South title resides in Nashville for the second consecutive year, the Titans need to win one of their final two – against Miami and at Houston – or have the Colts lose one of their final two – against Las Vegas or at Jacksonville.

Pool photo/ Donald Page, Tennessee Titans

The odds are in their favor. The New York Times playoff simulator gives them a 99 percent chance of that, with a 69 percent chance of hosting a wild-card-round game and a 24 percent chance of securing the No. 1 seed and the lone first-round bye.

Here are five Titans who need to maintain their recent level or raise their game to help them maximize their position:

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – At the onset of the season, it was reasonable to expect a team that had scored nearly 30 points per game to sustain a high level of offense. Get the poor defense up to the middle of the pack and the Tennessee Titans would be much improved.

That was the popular thinking, and thinking I subscribed to.

But the NFL’s unpredictability is its beauty, and a bit of underperformance with a lot of injuries acted as a strong gravitational force on the Titans’ offense this season. We’ve seen some outbursts, but overall, it’s nowhere near what it was a year ago.

Derrick Henry was lost after eight games, A.J. Brown missed four and Julio Jones has been a non0-factor. Lacking in weapons and protection Ryan Tannehill has been a much lesser quarterback.

The scoring is down nearly a touchdown per game and the turnovers are way up, from 12 in 16 games to 25 in 15 games so far.

By BLAKE BEDDINGFIELD, special correspondent

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Titans’ 20-17 win over the 49ers came down to three things: Turnovers, quarterback play, and coaching adjustments.

The Titans won in all three of those categories.

Pool photo/ Donald Page, Tennessee Titans

The Titans held on and kept the game close, started to find their footing, kept the score close enough and avoided their own turnovers.

The 49ers were outcoached and outplayed.