Tennessee Titans

The 2006 Season

When the season began the Tennessee Titans were a team looking toward the future as they were not expected to make a run for the playoffs, while the fans anticipated when QB Vince Young the 3rd overall pick would get his chance to play. Young would play sparingly in the first two games, before finally getting his chance to start in Week 4 against the Dallas Cowboys. Young and the Titans would lose that game 45-14, as they got off to a 0-5 start. Young got his first win in Week 6 against the Washington Redskins, as the Titans overcame a 14-3 deficit, to win the game 25-22, before returning home the following week to beat the Houston Texans 28-22. However, there were still growing pains for the young Titans as they dropped their next two games and fell to 2-7. The Titans though would not end the season quietly as they stunned the Philadelphia Eagles 31-13 on the road, using the big play to win the games, as a 70-yard run by Travis Henry and a 90-yard punt return by Pacman Jones put the game out of reach in the 3rd Quarter. A week later the Titans came out flat as they trailed the New York Giants at home 21-0 in the 4th Quarter. However, the Titans would show fans that there was no quit in their team as they scored 24 unanswered points to stun the New York Giants 24-21, as Pacman Jones intercepted a pass by Eli Manning in the final minute to set the game winning field goal. The Titans used the momentum of that win to stun the Indianapolis Colts 20-17 the following week at LP Field as Rob Bironas nailed a game winning 60-yard field goal as time expired. A week later Vince Young returned to his hometown Houston to show Texans fans just what got away, leading the Titans to their fourth straight win with a 39-yard Touchdown run in overtime 26-20. Suddenly the Titans were the hottest team in football as they climbed to .500 with a 24-17 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. The streak appeared to be on the verge of ending the following week as they trailed the Buffalo Bills 29-20 on the road in the 4th Quarter. However, the never say die Titans rallied again for a 30-29 win with Bironas again kicking the game winner. With an outside chance of making the playoffs the Titans ended the season with a game against the New England Patriots. However, the Pats looking to finish the season strong jumped out to a big lead and never looked back, as the Titans finished the season with an 8-8 record, as Vince Young was named Offensive Rookie of the Year. However, not all news was good news for the Titans, as Pacman Jones, would find himself in legal hot water for his involvement in a nightclub shooting in Las Vegas. With a history of arrests, Jones became the poster child for out of control NFL players, and was made an example of by Commissioner Roger Goodell who suspended him the entire 2007 season.