Titans Throwback Thursday: 1999 Team parallels current underdog giants

Remember the Titans — the 1999 Tennessee Titans, a team that clinched a Super Bowl berth and offers parallels to the current underdog run in 2020.

The Tennessee Titans will play in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday, on the road for the third time in the 2020 NFL Playoffs as they travel to take on the Kansas City Chiefs. 20 years ago, the 1999 Titans team came up one yard short of forcing overtime against the then-St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXIV.

It was just their third season since moving to Tennessee from Houston, and the first as the Titans. That team finished the regular season with a record of 13-3. Eddie George ran for over 1,300 yards and nine touchdowns and he added over 450 receiving yards and four additional scores. Meanwhile, rookie defensive end Jevon Kearse recorded 14.5 sacks.

But there were some shocking numbers for a team that ended up in the Super Bowl. There was no 1,000-yard receiver in Tennessee among a group that included Kevin Dyson and Yancey Thigpen. In fact, the team leader in receiving yards was tight end Frank Wycheck with 640.

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During that regular season, journeyman quarterback Neil O’Donnell stepped up and went 4-1 as starting quarterback when filling in for injured Steve McNair. McNair, when healthy, started 11 games, posting a 9-2 record. He threw for just over 2,000 yards and rushed for over 300 more.

Their 13-3 record was only good enough for second place in the then AFC Central, one game behind the Jaguars who finished 14-2. Those two losses for Jacksonville, however, came against the Titans. And the stage was set for a remarkable playoff run.

Music City Miracle

The Titans playoff run started with a game against the Buffalo Bills. The game was a defensive battle throughout. Buffalo took the lead on a field goal with under a minute left, perhaps locking up the game — if not for a miracle.

A lateral on the ensuing kickoff from Wycheck to Dyson caught the Bills special teams unit by surprise completely and was taken to the house. After an official review of if it was a forward pass or not, the play stood and the Titans pulled out the improbable victory.

On the road against a future Hall-of-Famer

The Titans next task was a road game against second-year quarterback Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts. Like the week before, the game was a back and forth defensive battle, at least until Titans running back Eddie George broke through the Colts defense for a 68-yard touchdown run. The best thing about that run is when George in the open field was looking up at the jumbotron watching his own run as it was happening.

As the defense largely shut down the young future Hall-of-Fame quarterback and Edgerrin James, the Titans advanced again.

Back to Jacksonville for the AFC Championship Game

Tennessee got off to a slow start in the third installment against the Jaguars, trailing 14-10 at halftime. Whatever head coach Jeff Fisher said at halftime clearly worked, however.

The second half belonged to the Titans as everything went right. Outscoring Jacksonville 23-0 in the final two quarters, they left town with a 33-14 victory, thus earning a trip to Super Bowl 34 to face the St. Louis Rams.

One yard short

Everyone knows how that Super Bowl ended, much to the chagrin of fans: with Kevin Dyson getting tackled on the 1-yard line as time expired. But the game in its entirety was, if nothing else, exciting.

The Titans defense stood tall against the explosive Rams offense, holding them to minimal gains throughout the game. As the contest was winding down, momentum seemed to be on McNair George’s side. Methodically moving down the field, they seemed on track to score and force overtime. The tackle on the 1-yard line stopped that, though, sending Tennessee home without a ring.

Despite their success and painfully close Super Bowl loss, the 1999 Tennessee Titans didn’t have overwhelming stats by any means — with the exception of George and Kearse. But they played as a team with the defense picking up the offense and vice versa.

Sound familiar?

For some 20 years, the franchise has seemingly been defined by coming up one yard short (not to mention previous shortcomings while as the Houston Oilers). But as the 2019-20 Titans have reeled off two upset playoff wins to get to the AFC Championship Game, the similarities between them and the 1999 team are there.

Steve McNair and Ryan Tannehill: Mobile (or mobile-when-necessary) quarterbacks who don’t commit many critical mistakes while making enough plays to earn respect.
Eddie George and Derrick Henry: Big, bruising running backs who are tough to bring down, unafraid to run right at and through defenders. Also the heart of the offense.
Frank Wycheck and Tight-End-By-Committee: If all else fails, find your tight end. After Delanie Walker went down with an injury, Jonnu Smith, Anthony Firkser and MyCole Pruitt all made key plays at crucial times this season
Jevon Kearse/Kenny Holmes and Jurrell Casey/Harold Landry: Defensive line tandems that, though rife with youth, terrorize opposing offensive lines and quarterbacks routinely to anchor that side of the ball.
Jeff Fisher and Mike Vrabel: Defensive-minded coaches who aren’t afraid to take a few chances and get aggressive when the moment calls for a calculated risk.
Underdogs and Underdogs: Two Wild Card teams that have taken down seemingly “superior” teams to make their postseason run.

Next. NFL Playoffs: 20 Bold predictions for Conference Championships. dark

In the 2020 NFL Playoffs, the only thing remaining between the Tennessee Titans and a Super Bowl LIV berth is one more victory, getting back to the big game for the first time in two decades. And with two more wins, they can erase many of the almosts in franchise history, finally overcoming that extra yard that eluded the 1999 club.

Author’s Note: This will be the first in a series looking back at teams, players and more from Titans history.

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