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Next Saturday, the New England Patriots will enter the 2017 NFL playoffs – and they now know which team they will face in their divisional round game: The defending world champions and number one playoff seed in the AFC will host the Tennessee Titans at Gillette Stadium on January 13.
New England will welcome the Titans to Foxboro as a result of today's game between the Buffalo Bills and the Jacksonville Jaguars: With the Jaguars defeating the Patriots' AFC East rivals 10-3, the Titans – as the original number five seed – are the lowest seeded team left in the AFC's bracket of the tournament. Tennessee is coming off a 9-7 regular season and a 22-21 wild card win over the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Patriots and Titans, who have not played each other since week 15 of the 2015 season, have met once before in the postseason: In one of the coldest games in recent memory, New England beat Tennessee 17-14 during the 2003 divisional playoff round. The Patriots ultimately went on to win the Super Bowl. They will now try to do the same 14 years later.