Countdown to Kickoff: 66 Days
The countdown to kickoff continues.
The Tennessee Titans will open the 2020 regular season Sept. 14 at Denver. That is 66 days away. So, today we look at one way the number 66 figures into the team’s recent history.
Marcus Mariota had plenty of memorable moments during his five years with the Tennessee Titans. There is at least one day, though, that he certainly would like to forget.
In a loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Oct. 14, 2018, Mariota and the Titans lost 66 yards to sacks.
The Ravens got to the quarterback 11 times, the most by an opponent in a single game during the Titans era (1999-present) and one short of the franchise record set in 1985.
As a means of comparison, in 2008 when the Titans finished with the NFL’s best record (13-3) opponents managed just 12 sacks the entire season.
The stage was set early against Baltimore when Tennessee’s opening drive ended after seven plays, the last two of them sacks for losses of six and seven yards, respectively. Baltimore notched one more sack before the end of the first quarter, three more in the second, two in the third and three in the fourth.
The offense had nine possessions that day, and Mariota was sacked at least once on eight of them. The final possession started with 5:35 remaining and ended after three plays – a sack for a loss of seven yards on first down and a sack for a loss of four yards on third down.
Seven different players on Baltimore’s defense had a least one sack.
Mariota started 61 games for the Titans from 2015-19. That was his worst game in terms of the number of times and the number of yards lost to sacks.
Not surprisingly, Tennessee lost that day 21-0, which made it a day no one will forget any time soon. It was the first time they were held scoreless at Nissan Stadium.
