1999 Tennessee Titans: Music City Miracle

1999 Tennessee Titans: Music City Miracle

1999 Tennessee Titans: Music City Miracle

The Houston Oilers moved to Tennessee for the 1997 season. In their first two years as the Tennessee Oilers, they finished 8-8 and failed to make the playoffs. The Tennessee Titans debuted during the 1999 season and played to their name. The Titans finished with a 13-3 record and made a deep run in the playoffs thanks to a miracle in the Wild Card round.

The Titans were 7th in points scored and 15th in points allowed. Their numbers weren’t dominating, but they won games. They handed the 14-2 Jacksonville Jaguars their only two losses in the regular season. They defeated the best team in the NFC, the St. Louis Rams, 24-21 in Week 8 to give them their first of three losses in the regular season.

Eddie George was the heartbeat of the offense rushing the ball 320 times for 1304 yards and 9 touchdowns. He added 47 receptions for 458 yards and 4 touchdowns. Steve McNair started the season opener against the Cincinnati Bengals, but injured his back and needed surgery. Neil O’Donnell stepped in and led the Titans to a 4-1 record. McNair returned to lead the Titans to a victory against the St. Louis Rams in Week 8 and the Titans won seven of their final nine games of the regular season. McNair threatened defenses in the air and on the ground. He scored 8 rushing touchdowns and added 327 rushing yards. McNair threw 2179 yards and 12 touchdowns in the eleven games he played.

The defense didn’t rank very high in points allowed, but they had an aggressive style under defensive coordinator, Gregg Williams. Under Williams, the Titans ranked 3rd in total sacks with 54. They were led by their first round draft pick out of the University of Florida, Jevon Kearse. Nicknamed, “The Freak,” Kearse was fourth in the NFL in sacks with 14.5. He also had 48 tackles and led the league with 8 forced fumbles. With his gaudy rookie numbers, Kearse was named Defensive Rookie of the Year.

Despite defeating them twice in the regular season, the Jaguars finished ahead of the Titans in the AFC Central. The Titans didn’t receive a bye and instead they faced the Buffalo Bills in the Wild Card round. The Titans were ahead 12-0 at halftime, but the Bills’ Antowain Smith scored two rushing touchdowns to give Buffalo a 13-12 lead early in the 4th quarter. Titans kicker Al Del Greco took the lead back with a field goal, but the Bills would answer with a field goal of their own with 16 seconds remaining. The Bills kicked off leading 16-15. The Titans’ Lorenzo Neal caught the kickoff and handed the ball to Frank Wycheck who then tossed the ball across the field. The pass was inches from being an illegal forward pass, but it wasn’t and found its way to Kevin Dyson who returned the ball 75 yards for the touchdown. The play would forever be known as the Music City Miracle. The Titans defeated the Bills 21-16 and carried the momentum throughout the AFC playoffs.

Following their miraculous victory against the Bills, Al Del Greco kicked four field goals and Eddie George scored a rushing touchdown to defeat the Indianapolis Colts 19-16. The Titans advanced to the AFC Championship game where they would face their division rival, the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Titans defeated the Jaguars twice during the regular season and their third meeting would not divert from the pattern. The Jaguars committed six turnovers as Steve McNair ran for 91 yards and scored 2 rushing touchdowns. The Titans defeated the Jaguars 33-14 to advance to Super Bowl XXXIV where they would face “The Greatest Show on Turf.”

The 1999 St. Louis Rams lit up scoreboards on their way to a 13-3 record. They scored a league high 529 points and had a top ranked defense. The Titans defeated the Rams in the regular season and hoped to carry over that success in the biggest game of the year. The game didn’t start well for the Titans as they fell behind 16-0 in the 3rd quarter. Eddie George brought the Titans back thanks to two rushing touchdowns. The game was tied 16-16 with less than two minutes left in the game when the Rams seized the lead thanks to a 73-yard touchdown pass from Kurt Warner to Isaac Bruce.

With the Rams ahead by a touchdown, the Titans hoped they had one more miracle up their sleeve. Steve McNair led the offense down the field and on the final play of the game, Kevin Dyson caught a pass inside the Rams’ 5-yard line. Dyson ran for the end zone, but was tackled at the one yard line. The Titans’ ran out of magic in the Super Bowl, but they made a lot of memories.