Countdown to Kickoff: 33 Days
The countdown to kickoff continues.
The Tennessee Titans will open the 2020 regular season Sept. 14 at Denver. That is 33 days away. So, today we look at one way the number 33 figures into the team’s recent history.
Everybody has bad days at the office, even those for whom the “office” is a stadium filled with nearly 70,000 spectators.
The Tennessee Titans understand that fact all too well. In the 21 seasons since the franchise was rebranded and moved into its current workplace, Nissan Stadium, there have been 33 times when they have lost by more than 21 points.
For perspective, Cleveland, which has two winning seasons in the last 21, has lost 30 games by 22 or more during that time. There are teams with more such lopsided losses – Arizona with 43 and Detroit with 35, for example – but the Titans clearly have taken their lumps along the way.
Stop for a moment and consider that 46.5 percent of all NFL contests over the last two decades have been decided by seven points or fewer. The most common winning margin over that time period was three points, in 15.1 percent of the contests.
Then think about the fact that 17 different franchises have at least one victory by more than three touchdowns over the Titans. Indianapolis has done it seven times, and Houston has done it five. Among non-division foes, the Chargers have three such routs of the Titans as does Pittsburgh, although one by the Steelers was when both teams were in the old AFC Central.
The worst, of course, was the 59-0 loss at New England in Week 6 of the 2009 season.
Every head coach during the Titans era, however, has had it happen at least once and there has been one such defeat in 17 of those 21 seasons. Jeff Fisher (1999-2010) absorbed the most, 16 in all. Mike Munchak (2011-13) had seven, including five – the franchises most in a single season – in 2012. Ken Whisenhunt (2014-15) had six, Mike Mularkey (2015-17) had three, including one late in 2015 when he was interim head coach, and current coach Mike Vrabel has had one.
By comparison, Tennessee has won just 19 by 22 points or more over the same span.
