Bengals are Latest to Reach Super Bowl After Eliminating Titans

NASHVILLE – One day after the loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs, coach Mike Vrabel characterized his Tennessee Titans as “not very close” to a being a championship team.

“Well, we are out of the tournament,” he reasoned. “… Right now, we are a long way away because we have no chance to win a Super Bowl.”

Nearly two weeks later, the distance does not seem as vast given that the Bengals have a chance to win it all and their margin of victory over the Titans was a last-second field goal. (Cincinnati beat Las Vegas the same way got past Kansas City with an overtime field goal.)

Maybe Vrabel’s feelings have not changed. But for most – particularly for fans – there is nothing that creates the impression that a title is within reach quite like watching the team that eliminated you win it all. So, if Cincinnati gets the best of the Los Angeles Rams on Feb. 13 there will be plenty of people who think about how close the Titans (and the Raiders and the Chiefs) were to being that team.

There is no denying, of course, that Tennessee was tantalizingly close back in 1999 when they lost to the then-St. Louis Rams in one of the most dramatic Super Bowls ever played.

Since then, they have been to the postseason nine times without getting back to the big game, and this is the sixth time the team the knocked them out has made it to the Super Bowl. Here is a look at how the teams that eliminated Tennessee during the Titans era (1999-present) fared after that.

SUPER BOWL WINNERS

2000 Baltimore Ravens

If ever a team that failed to win a playoff game had reason to believe it was second-best, this was the time. The Titans and Ravens finished first and second, respectively, in total defense and vice versa in scoring defense. Baltimore was the NFL’s best at stopping the run, and Tennessee was best at stopping the pass. The Titans lost 24-10 in the divisional round yet scored more points than any of the Ravens’ other three playoff opponents. Baltimore won the AFC Championship and the Super Bowl by a combined 50-10

2003 New England Patriots

New England led the league in scoring defense, finished second in takeaways and was among the top five against the run while no one on their offense rushed for 700 yards or had more than 57 receptions. Still, the Patriots went 14-2 and carried a 12-game win streak into the postseason. They beat the Titans 17-14 in the divisional round, which made it the only one of that year’s playoff games in which neither team scored 20 points and the final margin was less than a touchdown.

2019 Kansas City Chiefs

Quarterback Patrick Mahomes came of age and led Kansas City to a 12-4 record. The Chiefs’ offense ranked fifth in points and sixth in yards and scored on nearly half of its possessions during the regular season. In the AFC Championship, the Titans led 17-7 late in the second quarter but allowed the next 28 points in a 35-14 defeat, which might have been a stunning collapse except that a week earlier Kansas City overcame a 24-0 deficit and beat Houston 51-31.

SUPER BOWL LOSERS

2002 Oakland Raiders

With veteran Rich Gannon at quarterback the Raiders led the NFL in yards, passing yards and first downs and was second in points. They won seven of their last eight in the regular season and scored at least 24 points in each of those victories. The Titans led the conference championship game 17-14 late in the second quarter but gave up 10 points in the final minute before halftime and never recovered. The Raiders went on and got blown out 48-21 in the Super Bowl, a game in which they trailed 34-3 late in the third quarter.

2017 New England Patriots

Tennessee was one of four AFC teams that finished 9-7, and one of two that made the postseason based on tiebreakers. New England was a top 10 offense in total yards (first), points (second), passing yards (second) and rushing yards (10th). The Titans overcame an 18-point deficit in their wild card victory at Kansas City but could not keep pace with the Patriots, who scored five touchdowns in one stretch of seven possessions and fell 35-14 in the divisional round. It was the most lopsided of the AFC playoff games against the team that ultimately lost to Philadelphia in the Super Bowl.

WON ONE MORE

2007 San Diego Chargers

Vince Young’s lone NFL playoff game was a rough ride against a defense that led the league in takeaways and finished fifth in points allowed. Young threw for just 138 yards on 16 completions with one interception. The Titans also lost a fumble and managed just two field goals in the wild card game. Still, they led 6-0 at halftime before they fell 17-6 on a day when they limited two-time rushing champion LaDainian Tomlinson to 42 yards on 21 carries. The Chargers won one more playoff game, against Indianapolis, but lost the AFC Championship to the undefeated New England Patriots.

WON THEN DONE

2008 Baltimore Ravens

Talk about evening the score. The Ravens won this divisional round matchup 13-10 at Nissan Stadium, the exact same score by which the Titans won a Week 5 regular-season matchup in Baltimore. It was the second time Baltimore spoiled things after Tennessee finished with the NFL’s best regular-season record. The first time, the Ravens won the Super Bowl. This time, they lost to Pittsburgh in the AFC Championship.

2020 Baltimore Ravens

The Titans won the AFC South for the first time since 2008 but did not earn a first-round bye. That meant an all-too-familiar matchup with the Ravens and an all-too-familiar outcome, in this case a 20-13 loss in the wild card round. Just like 12 years earlier, it was a reversal of the regular season meeting (Tennessee won 30-24 in overtime at Baltimore). MVP Lamar Jackson ran for 136 yards and a touchdown, including a 48-yard touchdown run late in the second quarter that put his team ahead to stay. A week later, Jackson managed just 34 rushing yards and Baltimore failed to score a touchdown in a 17-3 loss to Buffalo.