National Football League
Tennessee Titans
NFC/South
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Tennessee Titans Team History
The franchise that was once The Houston Oilers left that city in 1997 and took his team to Tennessee and played 5 games at the Liberty Bowl in Memphis. Due to stagnant ticket sales, Team Owner Bud Adams moved his team again to the city where the stadium for his team was being built. Until then they took up shop on the campus of Vanderbilt University until the completion of Adelphia Coliseum. In 1998, the team continues to groom QB Steve “Air” McNair and RB Eddie George who develop into All Pro Players. The team again finishes 8-8 but the prospect of playing in a new home excites the city and its fans.
The 1999 season opened with a new stadium and with that the franchise decides to change its name to something more compatible with its fans. After a “Guess the Name” contest, the team decided on the Titans in an effort to portray strength.
The team opened the season with a victory over the Cincinnati Bengals 36-35, This would set the precedent as the team wouldn’t lose a single game at home and only 3-all season. The team finishes at 13-3 and finished 2nd in the AFC Central. In their first Wild-Card game, the Titans beat the Buffalo Bills 22-16 and moved on to take on the Indianapolis Colts for the Divisional game 19-16.
In the AFC Championship game, the Titans took on the Jacksonville Jaguars. Behind 14-10 in the middle of the third, Titans would score 23 unanswered points and win the game 33-14 to advance to the Super Bowl.
Super Bowl XXXIV pitted the Titans against the St. Louis Rams in Atlanta Georgia. The Titans got off to a rough start and faced a 16-0 deficit going into the 3rd quarter. RB Eddie George finally got the team on the board with a short run in the final second of the quarter and reduced the score to 16-6. The Titans then go on to score 10-more points in the 4th quarter bringing the game to a tie at 16. Rams QB Kurt Warner then organized a drive that culminated in a 73-yard TD Pass to take a 23-16 lead with less than 2 minutes.
QB Steve McNair then drove the Titans down to the 9-yard line with only 7-seconds left. With time for one more play, the Titans send WR Kevin Dyson into the end zone. Dyson caught the ball but was brought down 1-yard short of the goal line ending Tennessee’s bid for the Lombardi Trophy.
The new millennium saw more success for the Titans as they again finish with a 13-3 record, capturing Home Field Advantage throughout the playoffs. In the Division Game, the Titans played the Baltimore Ravens and had their chances to take control but failed to do so as PK Al Del Greco, the franchise’s all time scoring leader, had a miserable game. Entering the 4th, the game was tied at 10. Prior to that, Del Greco missed a FG and had another blocked. As the Titans drove, to the Ravens 10, Del Greco set up for a chip shot FG. The kick was blocked by and returned 90-yards for a touchdown. After taking possession of the ball again , the Titans begin moving down the field until Ray Lewis takes an interception and returns it for a touchdown, sealing the Ravens victory 24-10. Del Greco was released following the game.
2001 saw the team lose All Pro FB Lorenzo Neal. Neal helped RB Eddie George reach the 1000 yard plateau twice and was voted the best blocking Fullback in the NFL.
Neal’s absence became quite apparent when in the first game of the season against the Miami Dolphins both George and QB Steve McNair were knocked out of the game. While McNair came back after 3-games, George struggled all season and did not have the explosive power of a year earlier. He finished the season with 939 yards as the team finished 7-9.
The 2002 season saw the Titans open with a win against the Eagles at home but the injury bug would again hit as Jevon Kearse suffers a foot injury that would hamper him throughout the season. The team responded by losing the next 4-games. The Titans regain control reel off 5-straight wins. The team would eventually capture the AFC South Title with an 11-5 record, earning them a 1st round bye. In the Divisional Playoffs against the Steelers, the injury bug strikes again as RB Eddie George is knocked out of the game with a concussion and QB Steve McNair injured his thumb but took the game into overtime tied at 31. The Titans drive down the field after receiving the ball and Joe Nedney set up for the game winning kick at the Steelers 31-yard line. The kick goes up and is made and as fireworks begin the referees stop throw a flag as they rule that the Steelers called a timeout before the kick. The Titans set up and kick again only this time, the ball sails wide and the kick is missed, but, the Steelers were called for running into the kicker and Nedney was again allowed to kick for the third time and this time make the kick sending the Titans the AFC Championship game against the Oakland Raiders.
The Raiders lead the game going into halftime 24-17 as the Titans fumble twice at the end of the 1st half. The gaffs would prove costly as the Titans were never able to recover and lost the game 41-24.
The 2003 season saw the team again finish with a strong 12-4 record as QB Steve McNair shares NFL MVP honors with Indianapolis QB Peyton Manning. The Titans would dismiss the Ravens in the first round, and met up against the New England Patriots in Foxboro. Steve McNair would go on to pass for over 200 yards and the game was tied entering the 4th quarter. The Pats would score one more time with a FG leaving the Titans over 4 minutes to take the lead. It was not to be as the drive ended midfield. Both Eddie George and Jevon Kearse would be released at the end of the season.
Between 2004 and 2006, the Titans combined record was 17-30 (.361) and it was the end of the ’06 season that landed University of Texas QB Vince Young in a Titans uniform.
Vince Young led the Titans to a solid start winning 3 of the 4 first games. However, in week 6, Young would go down with a knee injury and backup QB Kerry Collins took the reins and has yet to relinquish them.
The Titans have made the playoffs 5 times in14 seasons. They have won their Division 2 times (1998, 1999), they have won the Conference Championship 2 times (1996 and 1999).
The Titans have had no Hall of Famer on their Rosters.
There are no Team Awards for the Titans.
The Titans have not retired any jerseys.
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