The Tennessee Titans did not start the 2023 season on the best foot.
The Titans lost to the New Orleans Saints 1-2 in a competitive game, then performed embarrassingly against the Cleveland Browns losing 27-3.
The Titans haven’t always performed this badly. With great players and better games, the Titans have decades of rich history.
The Titans, formerly known as the Oilers, were established on August 3rd, 1959 by Bud Adams. The team began to play in the 1960 season in the American Football League (AFL). This league was created to try and gain the same popularity as the National Football League (NFL).
The Creation of the AFL would help new prospects coming out of college get a better shot to show off their skills giving the new league immense popularity growth. The Oilers were back-to-back champs in the new league led by Heisman-winning Quarterback Billy Cannon from Louisiana.
Before the 1970 season, the AFL and NFL had a merger bringing the Oilers into the NFL to compete with other big names, such as the Giants and Jets. After the 1996 season, the Oilers moved to Tennessee, and a couple of years later in 1999, they changed their name to the Titans, finishing their relocation.
The new change of scenery seemed to bring good luck to the Titans as they made it to the 2000 Superbowl carried by quarterback Steve McNair and running back Eddie George. Myles Singh a former football player for the Stroudsburg Mountaineers said “I belive the Titans made a good decision in moving to Nashville it really increased the revenue and popularity of the new expansion team.”
During the game, McNair completed a strike over the middle to wide receiver Kevin Dyson arousing fans’ hopes of victory. Unfortunately for the Titans, they would go on to lose in dramatic fashion. An amazing tackle by Rams linebacker, Mike Jones, left Dyson reaching for the endzone short by a yard as the clock ticked to zero.
Since the Titans’ Superbowl loss, they have drafted Chris Johnson, being the 6th player in NFL history to rush for over 2,000 yards in a single NFL season. However, the Titans would fall to 8-8 in the season and miss the playoffs.
During the 2020 season, running back, Derick Henry, known as “The King ”, would have a dominant season being the 8th player in NFL history to rush for 2,000 yards. Thus, the Titans became the only team in the NFL to have two 2,000-yard rushers. Henry and recently acquired quarterback, Ryan Tannehill, from the Miami Dolphins, led the Titans to an AFC Championship after a victory against Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.
In the wildcard round, the Titans would make an upset victory over the number one seed Baltimore Ravens. They would go on to lose to the Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes in the AFC Championship game but the future of the team is bright.
The Titans have had four players wear the jersey to make the NFL Hall of Fame: Randy Moss (2010), Kevin Mawae (2006-2009), Steve Hutchinson (2012), and Bruce Mathews (1983-2001), with aforementioned players such as Eddie George and Chris Johnson being nominated this year for the class of 2023.
With the recent NFL draft, the Titans selected Quarterback Will Levis coming out of Kentucky University, and lineman Peter Skoronski out of Northwestern University. These players as well as young talents such as wide receiver Treylon Burks and cornerback Roger McCreary are expected to step up and propel them into the top tiers of the NFL and bring the Lambardi trophy home to Nashville.
