Countdown to Kickoff: 38 Days
The countdown to kickoff continues.
The Tennessee Titans will open the 2020 regular season Sept. 14 at Denver. That is 38 days away. So, today we look at one way the number 38 figures into the team’s recent history.
The moment that Steve McNair’s style of play changed is obvious. Equally apparent is that it was a change for the better.
In 2003, the Tennessee Titans quarterback ran the ball 38 times, a paltry number compared to what he had done as an NFL starter prior to that point despite the fact that he played all 16 games.
McNair finished each of the previous six seasons with at least 72 rushing attempts and as many as 101, the number he hit in his first season as a starter (1997). He averaged 471.2 rushing yards per season over that span and had topped 400 yards in each of the previous three years.
By comparison, McNair finished 2003 with just 138 rushing yards, which barely put him among that year’s top 15 quarterbacks for rushing yards.
It is likely not a coincidence that 2003 was the year McNair was named the NFL’s co-Most Valuable Player along with Peyton Manning and took the next step as a passer. He led the NFL with a 100.3 passer rating and an average of 8.0 yards per attempt. He also set a career-high with 24 touchdown passes against just seven interceptions.
Despite the judicious use of his feet, McNair scored four rushing touchdowns, tied for second among all NFL quarterbacks that season.
Over the four seasons that followed, two with Tennessee and two with Baltimore, McNair averaged 27.5 rushes per season and scored a total of just three rushing touchdowns.
After 2002, that simply no longer was a big part of his game.
