Tennessee Titans face the Chargers at San Diego Sunday Afternoon

Tennessee Titans (0-1) at San Diego Chargers (1-0)

Sunday, Sept. 16th, 2012 • 3:25pm CDT • Qualcomm Stadium • San Diego, CA • TV: CBS

Nashville, TN – The Tennessee Titans (0-1) take their first road trip of the regular season with a visit this week to San Diego. Kickoff against the Chargers (1-0) at Qualcomm Stadium (capacity 70,000) is scheduled for 3:25pm CDT on Sunday, September 16th.

This week’s game will be televised regionally on CBS, including Nashville affiliate WTVF NewsChannel 5. Ian Eagle will handle play-by-play duties while Dan Fouts provides analysis.

The Titans Radio Network, including Nashville flagship 104.5 The Zone, will broadcast the game across the Mid-South with the “Voice of the Titans” Mike Keith, color commentator Frank Wycheck, sideline reporter Cody Allison and gameday host Larry Stone.

Additionally, Dial Global Radio Sports (formerly Westwood One) will broadcast the game to a national radio audience. Wayne Larrivee (play-by-play) and Mark Malone (analyst) have the call.

The game can be heard locally on 1400am WJZM.

Last Week Against The New England Patriots

The Titans opened their season last week at LP Field with a 34-13 defeat at the hands of the New England Patriots.

Second-year quarterback Jake Locker made his first career start for the Titans in the game and completed 23 of 32 passes for 229 yards, including a 29-yard touchdown pass to Nate Washington. Tennessee’s only other scoring plays came on two field goals by Rob Bironas.

Locker and Washington were both forced out of the game on the same play early in the fourth quarter. Washington suffered a leg contusion, and Locker hurt his left (non-throwing) shoulder making a tackle after a fumble. A replay review changed the ruling on the play to an incomplete pass, but the damage was already done to both players. Matt Hasselbeck entered the game at quarterback when Locker exited, but the Titans were unable to close the gap.

Meanwhile, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was 23-of-31 for 236 yards and two touchdowns.

He was aided by 125 rushing yards from Stevan Ridley. The Patriots out-gained the Titans 390 yards to 284.

The San Diego Chargers

The Chargers are in their sixth season under the leadership of head coach Norv Turner.

In 2011, Turner’s squad tied for first place in the AFC West with a record of 8-8, but they lost out on the division title to the Denver Broncos based on a tiebreaker. It was the second consecutive season they missed out on the preseason after four consecutive division championships from 2006–2009.

At quarterback for the Chargers is Philip Rivers, now in his ninth season out of NC State.

Rivers, who passed for 4,624 yards and 27 touchdowns in 2011, is the all-time Chargers leader in career completion percentage and passer rating. San Diego’s offensive arsenal also includes running back Ryan Mathews, who rushed for 1,091 yards last season, and tight end Antonio Gates, the franchise’s all-time receptions leader.

Defensively, the Chargers field a 3-4 unit that features safety Eric Weddle, linebacker Takeo Spikes, and the team’s first-round draft choice, linebacker Melvin Ingram.

San Diego opened its 2012 schedule with a Monday night win in Oakland against the Raiders.

Titans-Chargers Series At A Glance

• Overall series (regular & postseason): Chargers lead 25-16-1
• Regular Season Series: Chargers lead 24-13-1
• Postseason Series: Titans lead series 3-1
• Total Points: Titans 894, Chargers 1,020
• Current streak: Eight wins by Chargers
• Titans at home vs. Chargers: 11-9
• Titans on the road vs. Chargers: 5-16-1
• Longest Winning Streak by Titans: 4 (1961-62, 1987-92)
• Longest Losing Streak by Titans: 8 (1963-67, 1993-present)
• Titans vs. Chargers at LP Field: 0-2
• Last Time at LP Field: CHARGERS 42 at Titans 17 (12/25/09)
• Titans vs. Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium: 3-11-1
• Last Time at Qualcomm Stadium: Titans 25 at CHARGERS 33 (10/31/10)
• First Time: L.A. Chargers 28 at HOUSTON OILERS 38 (9/18/60)
• Mike Munchak’s Record vs. Chargers: 0-0
• Norv Turner’s Record vs. Titans: 6-2 (0-2 with Washington, 2-0 with Oakland, 4-0 with San Diego)
• Mike Munchak’s Record vs. Norv Turner: 0-0

A Titans Victory Would

• Give the Titans their first victory against the Chargers since 1992 and their first win at San Diego since 1990.
• Improve Mike Munchak’s career record as a head coach to 10-8.
• Give Jake Locker his first career victory as a starting quarterback.

What To Look For This Week

• K Rob Bironas has made 17 consecutive field goals dating back to last season, the sixth-longest streak in franchise history. He is three consecutive field goals shy of tying the franchise mark (20).
• RB Chris Johnson can record the 29th 100-yard rushing game of his career.
• T Michael Roos can notch is 114th consecutive start.
• WR Nate Washington can extend his streak of consecutive games with at least one reception to 64 (50 games with the Titans).

Titans-Chargers Series History

The Titans and Chargers share a long and storied history. The two teams, founding members of the American Football League who originally existed as the Houston Oilers and Los Angeles Chargers, have met 42 times since 1960. The Chargers lead the series 25-16-1.

On September 18th, 1960, the two clubs met for the Oilers’ inaugural home game at Houston’s Jeppesen Stadium. The Oilers won that match-up 38-28. In November of that same year, the Chargers won the rematch in Los Angeles, 24-21. The AFL’s top two teams would meet once more that season—a rubber match for the first-ever AFL Championship. The Oilers were victorious at home, rejoicing in a 24-16 win that earned each member of the team an extra $1,016.42.

The following season, they met again for the AFL crown, and the Oilers again were the victors in a 10-3 final. They would clash twice more in the playoffs, first in a 17-14 Oilers win in a 1979 Divisional contest. Following the 2007 season, the Chargers hosted the Titans in a Wild Card matchup and earned their first victory in the postseason series, winning 17-6. It was part of the Chargers’ current eight-game winning streak against the Titans, dating back to 1993.

The Chargers and Oilers marked another significant day on September 13th, 1998, when the then-Tennessee Oilers, who played their home games in Memphis in 1997, hosted their first regular season home game in Nashville in front of 41,089 fans at Vanderbilt Stadium. To their dismay, the Chargers spoiled the festivities by handing the Oilers a 13-7 defeat.

The Titans and Chargers last met at Qualcomm Stadium on October 31st, 2010. Philip Rivers passed for 305 yards and two touchdowns en route to a come-from-behind 33-25 victory for San Diego.

The Last Meeting

Tennessee Titans 25 at San Diego Chargers 33
Sunday, October 31st, 2010
Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, CA

In Week 8 of the 2010 season, the Titans lost an early lead to the Chargers and then came up short trying to produce a comeback of their own in an eventual 33-25 defeat at Qualcomm Stadium.

The Chargers totaled 456 yards, converted 12 of 18 third down attempts (67 percent) and held the ball for more than 15 minutes longer than the Titans. Quarterback Philip Rivers completed 27 of 36 passes for 305 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.

Rivers’ passing yards were matched by Titans starter Vince Young and his back-up, Kerry Collins, who combined to complete 18 of 36 passes for 305 yards and a pair of touchdowns (97.6 rating). But it was the final incompletion that sealed the outcome in San Diego’s favor.

Collins, who entered the game in the fourth quarter when Young was knocked out with an ankle injury, drove the Titans into position to possibly tie the score. Needing a touchdown and two-point conversion, Collins and the offense took possession at their own 42-yard line with two minutes and 38 seconds remaining. They drove all the way to the 15-yard line, but on fourth-and-two, a pass for a would-be first down ricocheted off the hands of Chris Johnson.

The game began well for the Titans, as they got on the scoreboard before their offense took the field. At the conclusion of the Chargers’ first series, Nick Schommer blocked Mike Scifres’ punt, and the ball bounced off Schommer’s hands through the back of the end zone for a safety.

Following a one-yard touchdown run by Chargers fullback Mike Tolbert, the Titans went on a 17-0 scoring run. A 36-yard reception by tight end Jared Cook led to a 21-yard field goal by Rob Bironas.

Next, the Titans drove 80 yards on eight plays during a drive that featured a 26-yard reception by Damian Williams, a 24-yard reception by Lavelle Hawkins and a 28-yard catch by Craig Stevens. Young found Stevens in the back of the end zone for a one-yard touchdown pass, and the Titans took a 12-7 lead. On their next drive, which went 74 yards, the Titans benefitted from a 27-yard pass interference penalty on the Chargers.

Chris Johnson then scored on a 29-yard touchdown run to extend their lead to 19-7. The Chargers then scored 20 consecutive points. Late in the first half, running back Ryan Mathews scored on a seven-yard touchdown. Then, midway through the third quarter, Kris Brown added a 34-yard field goal to trim the Titans’ lead to 19-17.

Later in the third quarter, a 17-yard interception return for a touchdown by safety Michael Griffin was nullified by a defensive holding penalty on Griffin. Taking advantage of the penalty, Tolbert ran for a 36-yard gain, and Rivers found Antonio Gates for a 48-yard touchdown pass to put the Chargers back in the lead at 24-19.

In the fourth quarter, after Brown’s 36-yard field goal, the Titans got back on the board when Young hit Nate Washington in stride for a 71-yard touchdown pass. However, Young’s pass to Johnson was incomplete on the two-point attempt, leaving the Titans behind 27-25.

A 13-yard touchdown pass from Rivers to Darren Sproles proved to be the final score of the game, and on the ensuing Titans drive, Young had to be helped off the field after a four-yard scramble with 5:46 on the clock. Collins finished the drive, as well as the team’s final push that came up 15 yards short of the end zone.