The final three weeks of the 2021 NFL season are here, and the league is dealing with a lot of challenges. Along with the COVID-19 surge, teams are fighting for playoff spots, including the two who are competing tonight —the San Francisco 49ers and the Tennessee Titans. The Week 16 edition of Thursday Night Football will kick off at 8:20 p.m. ET on the NFL Network. It will also stream on NFL.com, the NFL App and Yahoo Sports App.
The 49ers (8-6) are coming off a dominating performance against the Atlanta Falcons. They are in a good spot to make the playoffs as they have the No. 6 seed with three games remaining. The biggest challenge for San Francisco is it will be playing and traveling on a short week.
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“The best thing for recovery is sleep,” 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said, per the team’s official website. “That’s what we really stress about all the time when you get home … completely dedicate your mind and your body and everything to these four days because you’re still doing all the work mentally and everything and the game’s still going to be the same, but you’ve got to cram it all in. And the only way you do that is with extra sleep and rest.”
The Titans (9-5) are also inching closer to a playoff berth as the No. 3 seed. However, if they go a run these final weeks of the season, they could get the No. 1 spot and earn a first-round bye. Tennessee is looking to bounce back after losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers 19-13 on Sunday. The good news is wide receiver A.J. Brown was activated off of injured reserve this week and he could provide an offensive boost the Titans need, especially with the team missing running back Derrick Henry.
“He will have to go out there and he has been working with the trainers and the strength staff,” Titans head coach Mike Vrabel said of Brown, per the team’s official website. “Looking at conditioning and updates in how he responds to the work he has done. He will be with us in the jog through today and I am sure he will do some stuff a little bit faster.”
