Countdown to Kickoff: 29 Days

The countdown to kickoff continues.

The Tennessee Titans will open the 2020 regular season Sept. 14 at Denver. That is 29 days away. So, today we look at one way the number 29 figures into the team’s recent history.

Like pretty much any NFL team, the Tennessee Titans have had their share of workhorse backs. And they have faced their share of workhorse backs.

Only one falls on both sides of that equation.

DeMarco Murray faced the Titans just once in his five seasons with the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles, and when he did, he carried the ball 29 times. That set the stage for him to become the only player over the past 21 seasons to have at least 25 carries in a game for and against Tennessee.

The Titans acquired Murray in a trade with Philadelphia following the 2015 season. In 31 games over two seasons before he retired, he logged three games with 25 or more carries. He topped out at 27 (for 121 yards) in a 2016 victory at Miami.

The one time he faced Tennessee was Sept. 14, 2014. That day, his 29 carries produced 167 rushing yards for the Cowboys, who won 26-10. It ranks as the seventh highest rushing total by an opposing back against the Titans (1999-present) and makes him one of 10 runners to top 150 rushing yards against Tennessee’s defense.

The only others who could have done the same but were Chris Brown, Travis Henry and Chris Johnson. Brown faced Tennessee twice but never carried the ball more than 11 times. Henry had 19 carries in the one game he faced the Titans, and Johnson had just 10 attempts in one meeting he had with the team that drafted him.

Eddie George and LenDale White are the only others to have at least 25 carries in a game for the Titans.