2000 Tennessee Titans season
The 2000 Tennessee Titans season was the franchise’s 41st season and their 31st in the National Football League. It was the team’s second being known as the “Titans.” The team entered the season as the defending AFC Champions, having narrowly lost Super Bowl XXXIV to the St. Louis Rams.
| 2000 Tennessee Titans season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Bud Adams |
| Head coach | Jeff Fisher |
| General manager | Floyd Reese |
| Home field | Adelphia Coliseum |
| Results | |
| Record | 13–3 |
| Division place | 1st AFC Central |
| Playoff finish | Lost Divisional Playoffs (Ravens) 24–10 |
| Pro Bowlers | RB Eddie George [1] T Brad Hopkins[1] LG Bruce Matthews TE Frank Wycheck[1] DE Jevon Kearse[1] CB Samari Rolle[1] S Blaine Bishop[1] KR Derrick Mason[1] |
Tennessee’s 13–3 record was the best in the NFL in 2000, and earned the Titans a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. In the Titans’ first playoff game, however, they were upset by their (pre-realignment) division rivals, fourth-seeded Baltimore Ravens, who would go on to win the Super Bowl.
The 2006 edition of Pro Football Prospectus,[2] listed the 2000 Titans as one of their “Heartbreak Seasons”, in which teams “dominated the entire regular season only to falter in the playoffs, unable to close the deal.”
Said Pro Football Prospectus of the 2000 Titans,
Only one of the last eight teams to lose the Super Bowl has made the playoffs the next season: the 2000 Tennessee Titans.[note 1] The Titans did not just make the playoffs; they waltzed in with the highest efficiency rating in the league and a 13–3 record. The three losses had come by a combined seven points.
The Titans first playoff game came against their bitter division rivals, the Baltimore Ravens,
Pro Football Prospectus continued
Clearly prepared for a rematch with Baltimore’s stifling defense, the Titans outgained the Ravens 317 yards to 134. They converted 23 first downs to the Ravens’ 6. They had a time of possession advantage of 40:29–19:31. And they lost the game 24–10.
Offseason
NFL Draft
| = Pro Bowler[note 2] |
| Round (Pick) | Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (30) | Keith Bulluck | Linebacker | Syracuse |
| 3 (68) | Erron Kinney | Tight End | Florida |
| 3 (93) | Byron Frisch | Defensive End | BYU |
| 4 (124) | Bobby Myers | Safety | Wisconsin |
| 4 (128) | Peter Sirmon | Linebacker | Oregon |
| 5 (135) | Aric Morris | Safety | Michigan State |
| 5 (160) | Frank Chamberlin | Linebacker | Boston College |
| 6 (197) | Robaire Smith | Defensive End | Michigan State |
| 7 (213) | Mike Green | Running Back | Houston |
| 7 (237) | Wes Shivers | Guard | Mississippi State |
Personnel
Staff
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
|
Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
| |||||
Roster
Schedule
Preseason
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | August 5, 2000 | Kansas City Chiefs | W 14–10 | 1–0 |
| 2 | August 14, 2000 | St. Louis Rams | W 30-3 | 2–0 |
| 3 | August 18, 2000 | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 32–34 | 2–1 |
| 4 | August 25, 2000 | at Chicago Bears | W 34–28 | 3–1 |
Regular season
| Week | Date | TV Time(CDT) | TV Announcers | Opponent | Result | Attendance | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 3, 2000 | ESPN 7:30pm | Mike Patrick, Joe Theismann, Paul Maguire, and Solomon Wilcots | at Buffalo Bills | L 13–16 | 0-1 | |
| 2 | September 10, 2000 | CBS 12:00pm | Ian Eagle and Mark May | Kansas City Chiefs | W 17–14 | 1-1 | |
| 3 | Bye | ||||||
| 4 | September 24, 2000 | CBS 12:00pm | Ian Eagle and Mark May | at Pittsburgh Steelers | W 23–20 | 2-1 | |
| 5 | October 1, 2000 | Fox 12:00pm | Dick Stockton, Matt Millen, and Pam Oliver | New York Giants | W 28–14 | 3-1 | |
| 6 | October 8, 2000 | CBS 12:00pm | Tim Brando and Spencer Tillman | at Cincinnati Bengals | W 23–14 | 4-1 | |
| 7 | October 16, 2000 | ABC 8:00pm | Al Michaels, Dan Fouts, Dennis Miller, Melissa Stark, and Eric Dickerson | Jacksonville Jaguars | W 27–13 | 5-1 | |
| 8 | October 22, 2000 | CBS 12:00pm | Kevin Harlan, Daryl Johnston, and Beasley Reece | at Baltimore Ravens | W 14–6 | 6-1 | |
| 9 | October 30, 2000 | ABC 8:00pm | Al Michaels, Dan Fouts, Dennis Miller, Melissa Stark, and Eric Dickerson | at Washington Redskins | W 27–21 | 7-1 | |
| 10 | November 5, 2000 | CBS 12:00pm | Gus Johnson and Brent Jones | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 9–7 | 8-1 | |
| 11 | November 12, 2000 | CBS 12:00pm | Dick Enberg, Dan Dierdorf, and Bonnie Bernstein | Baltimore Ravens | L 23–24 | 8-2 | |
| 12 | November 19, 2000 | CBS 12:00pm | Kevin Harlan, Daryl Johnston, and Beasley Reece | Cleveland Browns | W 24–10 | 9-2 | |
| 13 | November 26, 2000 | CBS 3:15pm | Kevin Harlan, Daryl Johnston, and Beasley Reece | at Jacksonville Jaguars | L 13–16 | 9-3 | |
| 14 | December 3, 2000 | CBS 12:00pm | Gus Johnson, Brent Jones, and Beasley Reece | at Philadelphia Eagles | W 15–13 | 10-3 | |
| 15 | December 10, 2000 | CBS 12:00pm | Ian Eagle and Mark May | Cincinnati Bengals | W 35–3 | 11-3 | |
| 16 | December 17, 2000 | CBS 12:00pm | Ian Eagle and Mark May | at Cleveland Browns | W 24–0 | 12-3 | |
| 17 | December 25, 2000 | ABC 8:00pm | Al Michaels, Dan Fouts, Dennis Miller, Melissa Stark, and Eric Dickerson | Dallas Cowboys | W 31–0 | 13-3 | |
Standings
| AFC Central | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK | |||
| (1) Tennessee Titans | 13 | 3 | 0 | .813 | 346 | 191 | W4 | ||
| (4) Baltimore Ravens | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 333 | 165 | W7 | ||
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 321 | 255 | W2 | ||
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 367 | 327 | L2 | ||
| Cincinnati Bengals | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 185 | 359 | L1 | ||
| Cleveland Browns | 3 | 13 | 0 | .188 | 161 | 419 | L5 | ||
Playoffs
AFC Divisional Playoff
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ravens | 0 | 7 | 3 | 14 | 24 |
| Titans | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
at Adelphia Coliseum, Nashville, Tennessee
- Game time: 12:30 p.m. EST/11:30 a.m. CST
- Game weather: 55 °F (13 °C), cloudy
- Game attendance: 68,527
- Referee: Bernie Kukar
- TV announcers (CBS): Dick Enberg, Dan Dierdorf, and Bonnie Bernstein
Despite having only 134 yards of total offense, six first downs, and two punts blocked by Chris Coleman, the Ravens broke a 10–10 tie in the fourth quarter with Anthony Mitchell's 90-yard touchdown return of a blocked Al Del Greco field goal and then added seven more with a 50-yard interception return by Ray Lewis.
Awards and records
- Led NFL, Average Time of Possession (33 minutes, 48 seconds per game)[3]
- Led NFL, Pass Defense[3]
- Led NFL, Total Defense[3]
- Eddie George, PFW/PFWA All-Pro Team[4]
- Derrick Mason, Associated Press All-Pro[4]
- Derrick Mason, All-NFL Team (as selected by the Associated Press, Pro Football Weekly, and the Pro Football Writers of America)[5]
- Derrick Mason, NFL Special Teams Player of the Month, October[3]
- Derrick Mason, Pro Football Writers of America All-Pro Team
- Bruce Matthews, All-NFL Team (as selected by the Associated Press, Pro Football Weekly, and the Pro Football Writers of America)[5]
- Bruce Matthews, Associated Press All-Pro[4]
- Bruce Matthews, PFW/PFWA All-Pro Team[4]
- Samari Rolle, Associated Press All-Pro
- Samari Rolle, All-NFL Team (as selected by the Associated Press, Pro Football Weekly, and the Pro Football Writers of America)[5]
- Samari Rolle, Pro Football Writers of America All-Pro Team
Notes
References
- NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 362
- Pro Football Prospectus 2006 (ISBN 0761142177), p.73-75
- NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 215
- NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 203
- NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 202