2008 Tennessee Titans season
| 2008 Tennessee Titans season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Jeff Fisher |
| Home field | LP Field |
| Results | |
| Record | 13–3 |
| Division place | 1st AFC South |
| Playoff finish | Lost Divisional Playoffs (Ravens) 13–10 |
| Pro Bowlers | 6 |
The 2008 Tennessee Titans season was the team's 49th season and 39th in the National Football League, their 12th in Tennessee, and their tenth as the Titans.
Despite making the playoffs in the 2007 season with a record of 10-6, the Titans were expected by most sportswriters to finish third or even fourth in the AFC South. They compiled a 13–3 regular season record—the best in the NFL—and won home-field advantage for the duration of the playoffs after clinching AFC South on December 7 after a win over the Cleveland Browns and a 10-0 start. However, the Titans lost two of their last three regular season games, and were eliminated by the Baltimore Ravens in the divisional round.
This was the last season the Tennessee Titans qualified for the playoffs.
The Titans pulled off an important divisional win behind the strong running of rookie RB Chris Johnson, who rushed for 93 yards in his NFL debut, and the arm of backup quarterback Kerry Collins, who replaced starter Vince Young when he went down late in the 4th quarter. Young had been inconsistent, throwing 1 TD pass to Johnson and 2 INTs. However, Collins moved the ball down field effectively and that drive led to the eventual game winning touchdown run by LenDale White. Jacksonville trailed for much of the game and couldn't run the ball against a locked in Titans defense, who sacked Jaguars quarterback David Garrard 7 times. Both teams' defenses played well but the Titans held on. This game was also significant because the Jaguars, Texans, and Colts (in their debut at Lucas Oil Stadium) lost, so the Titans grabbed first place in the AFC South for the first week of the season, ending a 56 week streak of holding 1st place in the division by the Colts as the team started the season 1–0.
The Titans stayed in 1st place thanks to the extremely strong wind from the remnants of Hurricane Ike (which interfered with an important field goal attempt by Shayne Graham) and a sloppy Cincinnati offense in a 24–7 rout. Chris Johnson ran for over 100 yards for the first time in his career and Kerry Collins had a good day filling in for the injured Vince Young. The Titans first scored on a 1-yd TD run by LenDale White after a scoreless 1st quarter and then Cincinnati scored its only touchdown with a Chris Perry 13-yd TD run on 4th down. The Titans, with a little over a minute left, drove the ball downfield and took a 14–7 lead at the half thanks to an 11-yd TD reception by Justin Gage. The knockout punch was delivered early in the 4th quarter with the Titans leading 17–7. Keith Bulluck recovered a blocked punt in the endzone to finish off the Bengals and keep the Titans perfect.
...
Wikipedia