2002 Tennessee Titans season

43rd season in franchise history; last AFC Championship appearance until 2019

The 2002 season was the Tennessee Titans' 33rd in the National Football League and 43rd overall. The team improved upon their previous season's output of 7–9, managing eleven victories.[1] After starting 1-4, the Titans won 10 of their next 11 games. They qualified for the playoffs with a first-round bye, but were unable to reach the Super Bowl, losing to the Oakland Raiders in the AFC Championship. The Titans would not return to the AFC Championship again until 2019.

Offseason

Signings Departures
DB Rich Coady (Rams) DT Josh Evans (Jets)
RB Robert Holcombe (Rams) DT Jason Fisk (Chargers)
FS Lance Schulters (49ers) C Bruce Matthews (retired)
LB Eddie Robinson (Bills)

NFL Draft

2002 Tennessee Titans draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 12 Albert Haynesworth *  Defensive tackle Tennessee from N. Y. Giants
2 45 Tank Williams  Defensive back Stanford
3 77 Rocky Calmus  Linebacker Oklahoma
4 110 Mike Echols  Defensive back Wisconsin from N. Y. Giants
4 115 Tony Beckham  Defensive back UW–Stout
4 133 Rocky Boiman  Linebacker Notre Dame
5 151 Jake Schifino  Wide receiver Akron
6 187 Justin Hartwig  Center Kansas
7 225 Darrell Hill  Wide receiver NIU
7 240 Carlos Hall  Defensive end Arkansas from Green Bay
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Undrafted free agents

2002 Undrafted Free Agents of note
Player Position College
Brad Kassell Linebacker North Texas
John Simon Running back Louisiana Tech

Personnel

Coaching staff

2002 Tennessee Titans staff

Front office

  • Founder/owner/chairman of the board/CEO – Bud Adams
  • President/chief operating officer – Jeff Diamond
  • Executive VP/general manager/director of football operations – Floyd Reese
  • Director of player personnel – Rich Snead
  • Director of college scouting – Mike Ackerley
  • National coordinator of college scouting – C. O. Brocato

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

  • Offensive coordinator – Mike Heimerdinger
  • Quarterbacks – Craig Johnson
  • Running backs – Sherman Smith
  • Wide receivers – Steve Walters
  • Offensive line – Mike Munchak
  • Offensive assistant/quality control – Ned James
 Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

  • Strength and conditioning – Steve Watterson
  • Assistant strength and conditioning – Sammy Cribb

Roster

2002 Tennessee Titans final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists
  • 87 Kevin Dyson WR (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 36 Mike Echols CB (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 16 Orlando Iglesias WR (NF-Inj.Tooltip Non-football injury and illness)
  • 99 Kris Kocurek DT (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 32 Bobby Myers S (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • -- Jake Schifino WR (IRTooltip Injured reserve)


Practice squad

  • 79 Kevin Aldridge DE
  • 96 James Atkins DT
  • 49 Chad Hayes TE
  • 62 Mike Malano G


Rookies in italics
 53 active, 6 inactive, 4 practice squad

Preseason

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record
1 August 10, 2002 St. Louis Rams W 28–26 1–0
2 August 15, 2002 Oakland Raiders W 24-14 2–0
3 August 23, 2002 at Minnesota Vikings L 10–14 2–1
4 August 30, 2002 at Green Bay Packers L 20–21 2–2

Regular season

Under the NFL’s divisional realignment, the Titans were moved from the AFC Central, where they had played since the NFL–AFL merger in 1970, into the new AFC South. In addition to their home and away games with AFC South opponents, the Titans in 2002 played games against the AFC North and NFC East according to the league’s new schedule rotation. They also played one game each against the Patriots and the Raiders based upon standings from 2001.

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result TV Time (CT) Record Attendance
1 September 8 Philadelphia Eagles W 27–24 FOX 12:00 pm 1–0 68,804
2 September 15 at Dallas Cowboys L 13–21 CBS 12:00 pm 1–1 62,527
3 September 22 Cleveland Browns L 28–31 (OT) CBS 12:00 pm 1–2 68,804
4 September 29 at Oakland Raiders L 25–52 CBS 3:15 pm 1–3 58,719
5 October 6 Washington Redskins L 14–31 FOX 12:00 pm 1–4 68,804
6 October 13 Jacksonville Jaguars W 23–14 CBS 3:15 pm 2–4 68,804
7 Bye
8 October 27 at Cincinnati Bengals W 30–24 CBS 12:00 pm 3–4 52,822
9 November 3 at Indianapolis Colts W 23–15 CBS 12:00 pm 4–4 56,752
10 November 10 Houston Texans W 17–10 CBS 12:00 pm 5–4 68,804
11 November 17 Pittsburgh Steelers W 31–23 CBS 12:00 pm 6–4 68,804
12 November 24 at Baltimore Ravens L 12–13 CBS 12:00 pm 6–5 69,365
13 December 1 at New York Giants W 32–29 (OT) CBS 12:00 pm 7–5 78,640
14 December 8 Indianapolis Colts W 27–17 CBS 12:00 pm 8–5 68,804
15 December 16 New England Patriots W 24–7 ABC 8:08 pm 9–5 68,809
16 December 22 at Jacksonville Jaguars W 28–10 CBS 12:00 pm 10–5 51,033
17 December 29 at Houston Texans W 13–3 CBS 12:00 pm 11–5 70,694

Note: Division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. Philadelphia Eagles

Week 1: Philadelphia Eagles at Tennessee Titans
Period 1 2 34Total
Eagles 14 10 0024
Titans 7 3 31427

at The Coliseum, Nashville, Tennessee

  • Date: September 8, 2002
  • Game time: 12:00 PM
  • Game weather: Hot and Hazy, 83 °F (28.3 °C)
  • Game attendance: 68,804
  • Referee: Terry McAulay (77)
  • TV announcers (FOX): Unknown
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

First quarter'

  • TEN – Eddie George 14-yard pass from Steve McNair (Joe Nedney kick), 7:10. Titans 7-0. Drive: 8 plays, 80 yards, 5:19.
  • PHI – James Thrash 18-yard pass from Donovan McNabb (David Akers kick), 5:20. Tied 7-7. Drive: 2 plays, 6 yards, 0:53.
  • PHI – Duce Staley 7-yard pass from Donovan McNabb (David Akers kick), 2:36. Eagles 14-7. Drive: 6 plays, 61 yards, 2:44.

Second quarter

  • TEN – Joe Nedney 33-yard field goal, 11:00. Eagles 14-10. Drive: 10 plays, 75 yards, 6:36.
  • PHI – Chad Lewis 7-yard pass from Donovan McNabb (David Akers kick), 5:05. Eagles 21-10. Drive: 11 plays, 80 yards, 5:55.
  • PHI – David Akers 30-yard field goal, 0:48. Eagles 24-10. Drive: 4 plays, 18 yards, 1:00.

Third quarter

  • TEN – Joe Nedney 47-yard field goal, 11:06. Eagles 24-13. Drive: 8 plays, 51 yards, 3:54.

Fourth quarter

  • TEN – Justin McCareins 2-yard pass from Steve McNair (2PT run failed), 12:49. Eagles 24-19. Drive: 6 plays, 67 yards, 2:21.
  • TEN – Eddie George 2-yard run (Eddie George run), 3:09. Titans 27-24. Drive: 14 plays, 84 yards, 5:41.

Top passers

  • PHI – Donovan McNabb – 18/36, 212 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT
  • TEN – Steve McNair – 24/34, 269 yards, 2 TD, INT

Top rushers

  • PHI – Brian Westbrook – 8 rushes, 42 yards
  • TEN – Eddie George – 18 rushes, 42 yards, TD

Top receivers

  • PHI – Antonio Freeman – 3 receptions, 54 yards
  • TEN – Derrick Mason – 7 receptions, 109 yards

Week 2: at Dallas Cowboys

Week 2: Tennessee Titans at Dallas Cowboys
Period 1 2 34Total
Titans 7 3 0313
Cowboys 0 7 7721

at Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas

  • Date: September 15, 2002
  • Game time: 12:00 PM
  • Game weather: Cloudy skies, 81 °F (27.2 °C)
  • Game attendance: 62,527
  • Referee: Ed Hochuli (85)
  • TV announcers (CBS): Unknown
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

First quarter'

  • TEN – Frank Wycheck 1-yard pass from Steve McNair (Joe Nedney kick), 0:00. Titans 7-0. Drive: 12 plays, 85 yards, 8:27.

Second quarter

  • DAL – Tony McGee 17-yard pass from Quincy Carter (Billy Cundiff kick), 12:00. Tied 7-7. Drive: 6 plays, 71 yards, 3:00.
  • TEN – Joe Nedney 37-yard field goal, 5:31. Titans 10-7. Drive: 13 plays, 55 yards, 6:29.

Third quarter

  • DAL – Dexter Coakley 52-yard interception return (Billy Cundiff kick), 3:10. Cowboys 14-10.

Fourth quarter

  • DAL – Joey Galloway 38-yard pass from Quincy Carter (Billy Cundiff kick), 11:25. Cowboys 21-10. Drive: 7 plays, 95 yards, 3:22.
  • TEN – Joe Nedney 53-yard field goal, 5:18. Cowboys 21-13. Drive: 8 plays, 28 yards, 2:36.

Top passers

  • TEN – Steve McNair – 20/38, 226 yards, TD, INT
  • DAL – Quincy Carter – 14/24, 240 yards, 2 TD

Top rushers

  • TEN – Eddie George – 19 rushes, 65 yards
  • DAL – Emmitt Smith – 18 rushes, 59 yards

Top receivers

  • TEN – Derrick Mason – 7 receptions, 118 yards
  • DAL – Joey Galloway – 5 receptions, 88 yards, TD

Week 3: vs. Cleveland Browns

Week 15: vs. New England Patriots

Week 15: New England Patriots at Tennessee Titans
Period 1 2 34Total
Patriots 0 0 707
Titans 0 14 7324

at The Coliseum, Nashville, Tennessee

Game information

Second quarter

  • TEN – Steve McNair 11-yard run (Joe Nedney kick), 12:16. Titans 7–0. Drive: 12 plays, 78 yards, 6:18.
  • TEN – Steve McNair 1-yard run (Joe Nedney kick), 0:32. Titans 14–0. Drive: 12 plays, 58 yards, 6:48.

Third quarter

  • NE – Tom Brady 10-yard run (Adam Vinatieri kick), 13:08. Titans 14–7. Drive: 6 plays, 69 yards, 1:52.
  • TEN – Rich Coady 24-yard interception return (Joe Nedney kick), 9:58. Titans 21–7.

Fourth quarter

  • TEN – Joe Nedney 28-yard field goal, 9:22. Titans 24–7. Drive: 15 plays, 69 yards, 9:24.

Top passers

  • NE – Tom Brady – 14/29, 134 yards, INT
  • TEN – Steve McNair – 11/24, 136 yards, INT

Top rushers

  • NE – Antowain Smith – 6 rushes, 31 yards
  • TEN – Eddie George – 31 rushes, 101 yards

Top receivers

  • NE – Troy Brown – 8 receptions, 73 yards
  • TEN – Derrick Mason – 6 receptions, 86 yards

Standings

Division

AFC South
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 W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
(2) Tennessee Titans 11 5 0 .688 6–0 9–3 367 324 W5
(5) Indianapolis Colts 10 6 0 .625 4–2 8–4 349 313 W1
Jacksonville Jaguars 6 10 0 .375 1–5 4–8 328 315 L2
Houston Texans 4 12 0 .250 1–5 2–10 213 356 L3

Conference

AFC
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# Team Division W L T PCT DIV CONF SOS SOV
Division leaders
1[a] Oakland Raiders West 11 5 0 .688 4–2 9–3 .529 .531
2[a] Tennessee Titans South 11 5 0 .688 6–0 9–3 .479 .474
3 Pittsburgh Steelers North 10 5 1 .656 6–0 8–4 .486 .451
4[b] New York Jets East 9 7 0 .563 4–2 6–6 .500 .500
Wild Cards
5 Indianapolis Colts South 10 6 0 .625 4–2 8–4 .479 .400
6[c] Cleveland Browns North 9 7 0 .563 3–3 7–5 .486 .413
Did not qualify for the postseason
7[c][d] Denver Broncos West 9 7 0 .563 3–3 5–7 .527 .486
8[b][c][d][e] New England Patriots East 9 7 0 .563 4–2 6–6 .525 .455
9[b][e] Miami Dolphins East 9 7 0 .563 2–4 7–5 .508 .486
10[f] Buffalo Bills East 8 8 0 .500 2–4 5–7 .473 .352
11[f][g] San Diego Chargers West 8 8 0 .500 3–3 6–6 .492 .453
12[g] Kansas City Chiefs West 8 8 0 .500 2–4 6–6 .527 .516
13 Baltimore Ravens North 7 9 0 .438 3–3 7–5 .506 .384
14 Jacksonville Jaguars South 6 10 0 .375 1–5 4–8 .506 .438
15 Houston Texans South 4 12 0 .250 1–5 2–10 .518 .492
16 Cincinnati Bengals North 2 14 0 .125 0–6 1–11 .537 .406
Tiebreakers[h]
  1. ^ a b Oakland finished ahead of Tennessee based on head-to-head victory.
  2. ^ a b c N.Y. Jets finished ahead of New England based on win percentage in common games (8–4 to 7–5) and Miami based on division record (4–2 to 2–4).
  3. ^ a b c Cleveland finished ahead of Denver and New England based on conference record (7–5 vs 5–7/6–6)
  4. ^ a b Denver finished ahead of New England based on head-to-head victory.
  5. ^ a b New England finished ahead of Miami based on division record (4–2 to 2–4).
  6. ^ a b Buffalo finished ahead of San Diego based on head-to-head victory.
  7. ^ a b San Diego finished ahead of Kansas City based on division record (3–3 to 2–4).
  8. ^ When breaking ties for three or more teams under the NFL's rules, they are first broken within divisions, then comparing only the highest ranked remaining team from each division.

Playoffs

Week Date Opponent Result Attendance
Divisional January 11, 2003 Pittsburgh Steelers W 34–31 68,809
Conference Championship January 19, 2003 at Oakland Raiders L 24–41 62,544

AFC Divisional Playoff vs Pittsburgh Steelers

Tennessee Titans 34, Pittsburgh Steelers 31
Period 1 2 34OTTotal
Steelers 0 13 711031
Titans 14 0 143334

at Adelphia Coliseum, Nashville, Tennessee

This was the Titans franchise's first playoff win over the Steelers in four tries, following three losses as the Oilers in 1978, 1979 and 1989, the last of which was also in overtime.

AFC Championship Game

Oakland Raiders 41, Tennessee Titans 24
Period 1 2 34Total
Titans 7 10 7024
Raiders 14 10 31441

at Network Associates Coliseum, Oakland, California

This was the Titans' last appearance at the AFC championship game until 2019.

References

  1. ^ 2002 Tennessee Titans
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  • Founded in 1960
  • Formerly the Houston Oilers (1960–1996) and the Tennessee Oilers (1997–1998)
  • Based and headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee
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Tennessee Titans seasons
Formerly the Houston Oilers (1960–1996) and the Tennessee Oilers (1997–1998)
Bold indicates AFL Championship (1960–69) or Super Bowl (1966–present) victory
Italics indicates Super Bowl (1966–present) appearance