Countdown to Kickoff: 78 Days
The countdown to kickoff continues.
The Tennessee Titans will open the 2020 regular season Sept. 14 at Denver. That is 78 days away. So, today we look at one way the number 78 figures into the team’s recent history.
Much has been made over the past 20-plus seasons about the homefield advantage the Tennessee Titans have enjoyed at Nissan Stadium, particularly in the early years.
Over the years, though, when the Titans have taken their show on the road they have been – relatively speaking – something to see. During the Titans era (1999-present) they have won 78 road games, which places them among the NFL’s top 10 during that span.
Their 78-90 record away from Nissan Stadium is tied with Dallas and Seattle for ninth place. Nine of the top 11 won at least one Super Bowl over that time. The Titans, of course, made it once but came up just short in Super Bowl XXXIV. The Cowboys are the only ones who didn’t make it all the way to the end of the playoff road.
Much credit for Tennessee’s place on that list goes to Jeff Fisher. Eight times between 1999 and 2010, including five straight (1999-03), his teams went .500 or better on the road. Tennessee’s best road records came in 2000 and 2008. Each time it went 6-2 away from home and finished with the league’s best regular season record (13-3).
None of Fisher’s successors won more than four road games in a season until Mike Vrabel got them back on track last season with a 5-3 record.
Only six teams – New England, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, Philadelphia, New Orleans and Green Bay – have winning road records since 1999. The Titans are not one of them, but they are not far behind.
