Countdown to Kickoff: 54 Days

There are 54 different players in the Titans era who have forced two or more fumbles.

The countdown to kickoff continues.

The Tennessee Titans will open the 2020 regular season Sept. 14 at Denver. That is 54 days away. So, today we look at one way the number 54 figures into the team’s recent history.

A fumble can change a football game in an instant.

So, those who have a knack for knocking the ball loose are of great value to a defense.

Since the start of the 1999 season, when the Oilers were rebranded as the Tennessee Titans, 54 different players have forced two or more fumbles for them. That group includes current team members Adoreé Jackson (three), Harold Landry (two), Jayon Brown (two) and Tye Smith (two).

No one was better at it than defensive end Jevon Kearse (pi, who forced 22 fumbles during his 88 games over two stints with Tennessee (an average of one every four contests). Linebacker Keith Bulluck (15), defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch (14) and safety Michael Griffin (11) are the only others to have done it 10 times or more.

Among those in the top 10, defensive end Kenny Holmes, who had six forced fumbles, played the fewest games (26).

Defensive lineman Jurrell Casey, with eight, was the Titans’ active leader until he was traded to Denver in March.

Another 44 players forced one fumble each, including current defensive lineman DaQuan Jones.

The Titans were at their best forcing fumbles in 1999 and 2000, when they produced back-to-back 13-3 records and made their only Super Bowl appearance. Both teams forced 39, but the 1999 one recovered 24, which was 11 more than the next season.

Kearse recorded 12 over those seasons, twice as many as any other Tennessee player, including eight in 1999, when he was the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. Free agent middle linebacker Randall Godfrey had a team-high five in 2000.