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HomeSportsTennessee Titans take on the Dolphins Sunday in Miami

Tennessee Titans take on the Dolphins Sunday in Miami

Tennessee Titans (3-6) at Miami Dolphins (4-4)

Sunday, November 11th, 2012 • Noon CT
Sun Life Stadium • Miami Gardens, FL • TV: CBS

Tennessee TitansNashville, TN – The Tennessee Titans (3-6) travel to Miami this week to face the Dolphins (4-4). Kickoff at Sun Life Stadium (capacity 75,192) is scheduled for noon CT on Sunday, November 11th.

This week’s game will be televised regionally on CBS, including Nashville affiliate WTVF NewsChannel 5. Spero Dedes will handle play-by-play duties while Steve Tasker 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.

The game can be heard locally on 1400am WJZM.

Last Week

Tennessee TitansThe Titans hosted the Chicago Bears last week at LP Field and were unable to keep up with the current leaders of the NFC North. The Bears scored 28 points in the first quarter and forced five total turnovers in a 51-20 victory.

The Titans’ four lost fumbles and one interception led to a total of 21 points for the Bears, who added a touchdown on a blocked punt. Quarterback Jay Cutler completed 19 of 26 passes for 229 yards and three touchdown passes to wide receiver Brandon Marshall, while on the ground, Matt Forte accounted for 103 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries.

In the loss, Titans running back Chris Johnson rushed for 141 yards on 16 carries, including an 80-yard touchdown. It was his fifth career touchdown run of 80 yards or longer, extending his NFL record.

Johnson recorded his third 100-yard game in the past six weeks. He has rushed for 691 yards during that time period, second only to the Minnesota Vikings’ Adrian Peterson (727). Since entering the NFL in 2008, Johnson has 28 games with at least 110 rushing yards. He is tied with Jim Brown for the second-most games with 110 or more rushing yards in a player’s first five seasons.

Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, starting for the fifth straight week due to Jake Locker’s left (non-throwing) shoulder injury, was 20-of-35 for 195 yards against the Bears. He completed a 30-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Nate Washington.

The Miami Dolphins

Miami DolphinsThe Dolphins are halfway through the first year of a new era. During the off-season, they hired former Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator Joe Philbin as the 10th coach in team history.

The Dolphins also identified a new franchise quarterback in the off-season. With the eighth overall selection in the 2012 NFL Draft, they chose Texas A&M signal caller Ryan Tannehill. Starting all eight games this season, Tannehill has completed 142 of 241 passes for 1,762 yards, five touchdowns and six interceptions (78.2 passer rating).

Last week, the Dolphins traveled to the Indianapolis Colts and had their three-game winning streak snapped by the Colts. Despite 290 passing yards and a touchdown from Tannehill and an 18-yard touchdown run by Miami tailback Reggie Bush, the Colts used a late field goal to escape with a 23-20 win.

Bye Week

This week’s trip to Miami marks Tennessee’s final game before taking their Week 11 bye. It is their latest bye since the NFL introduced the off week in 1990.

In the “Titans era” (1999-present), the Titans are 8-5 before the bye and 8-5 after it. Against the Dolphins they will be looking to break a three-game losing streak in games before the bye.

Titans-Dolphins Series At A Glance

  • Overall series (regular & postseason): Dolphins lead 18-15
  • Regular season series: Dolphins lead 18-14
  • Postseason series: Titans lead 1-0
  • Total points: Titans 605, Dolphins 618
  • Current streak: One win by Dolphins
  • Titans at home vs. Dolphins: 8-7
  • Titans on the road vs. Dolphins: 7-11 (including 1-0 in playoffs)
  • Longest winning streak by Titans: 3 (twice, last 1978-79)
  • Longest losing streak by Titans: 5 (1992-01)
  • Titans vs. Dolphins at LP Field: 1-1
  • Last time at LP Field: Dolphins 24 at TITANS 27 in OT (12/20/09)
  • Titans vs. Dolphins at Sun Life Stadium: 2-6
  • Last time at Sun Life Stadium: Titans 17 at DOLPHINS 29 (11/14/10)
  • First time: DOLPHINS 20 at Oilers 13 (10/23/66)
  • Mike Munchak’s record vs. Dolphins: 0-0
  • Joe Philbin’s record vs. Titans: 0-0
  • Mike Munchak’s record vs. Joe Philbin: 0-0

A Titans Victory Would

  • Give the Titans two consecutive road victories.
  • Improve Mike Munchak’s career record as a head coach to 13-13.
  • Give Jake Locker a 2-3 career record as a starting quarterback, or give Matt Hasselbeck an 81-72 starting record in the regular season.

What To Look For This Week

K Rob Bironas (228 consecutive PATs) needs one extra point to tie and two consecutive extra points to break Al Del Greco’s franchise record of 229 consecutive PATs without a miss.

QB Matt Hasselbeck (201 career touchdown passes) needs two touchdown passes to tie Jim Everett (203) for 30th on the NFL’s all-time list.

RB Chris Johnson can record the 32nd 100-yard rushing game of his career and his fourth of 2012.

RB Chris Johnson (7,939 scrimmage yards) needs 61 rushing yards and/or receiving yards to reach 8,000 career yards from scrimmage. He would become the fourth player in franchise history to reach the mark, joining Eddie George, Earl Campbell and Ernest Givins.

WR Nate Washington can extend his streak of consecutive games with at least one reception to 72 (58 games with the Titans).

WR Nate Washington (297 career receptions) needs three receptions to reach 300 for his career.

WR Damian Williams needs five receiving yards to reach 1,000 for his career.

Titans-Dolphins Series History

This week the Titans and Dolphins will renew a rivalry that began in 1966, when the Dolphins entered the American Football League. The Titans are 15-18 all-time against Miami, including a playoff victory in 1978.

Four of the last five meetings have been played at Sun Life Stadium. The clubs met there in the 2004 season opener (September 11th), a 17-9 Titans victory that was played on a Saturday rather than Sunday due to the impending landfall of Hurricane Ivan.

In 2005, the Dolphins won by a final score of 24-10 on Christmas Eve, which was followed by a 13-10 Dolphins home victory over the Titans on September 24th, 2006. Most recently, the two teams squared off on November 14th, 2010. In that game, five total quarterbacks played between the two teams, with Miami third-stringer Tyler Thigpen ultimately helping the Dolphins pull away for a 29-17 victory.

The last meeting at LP Field occurred on December 20th, 2009, when the Titans defeated the Dolphins 27-24 in overtime. Michael Griffin’s interception set up Rob Bironas’ 46-yard field goal to win the game. Earlier, the Dolphins came back from 18 points down in the second half to tie the score at 24-24 in the final two minutes of regulation.

The Dolphins began play in 1966 as the American Football League’s first expansion franchise. Playing the Dolphins twice a year from 1966-69, the Oilers won five of eight games before 1970, when the Oilers moved to the newly-formed AFC Central Division and the Dolphins began play in the AFC East.

The teams have played in the postseason just once. In 1978, the Houston Oilers defeated the Dolphins 17-9 at the Orange Bowl for Houston’s first playoff win since 1961. The Oilers continued their postseason play on the road, winning at the New England Patriots before falling to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Championship Game.

Earlier in the 1978 season, the Oilers and the Dolphins were featured in a memorable Monday Night game, a 35-30 Oilers win that included four rushing touchdowns by Earl Campbell.

Titans-Dolphins: The Last Meeting

Tennessee Titans 17 at Miami Dolphins 29
Sunday, November 14th, 2010
Sun Life Stadium, Miami Gardens, FL

1 2 3 4 Final
Tennessee Titans 10 0 7 0 17
Miami Dolphins 7 3 10 9 29

 

In Week 9 of the 2010 season, the Miami Dolphins used their third-string quarterback to pull away from the Titans and earn a 29-17 victory at Sun Life Stadium.

Between the two teams, five total quarterbacks took the field. Kerry Collins and Chad Pennington started for the Titans and Dolphins, respectively, but both were lost in the first half with injuries. Pennington’s replacement, Chad Henne, went down in the third quarter, leaving it to third-stringer Tyler Thigpen to close the win.

With 5:15 on the clock in the fourth quarter, Thigpen delivered a nine-yard touchdown pass to tight end Anthony Fasano for what would be the final score of the game. Trailing by 12 points, Titans quarterback Vince Young drove into Miami territory, but a pass on fourth-and-20 was intercepted in the end zone by Dolphins cornerback Reshad Jones. The Dolphins then were able to run out the clock with a pair of first downs.

Miami jumped out in front early in the game. After recovering a fumble by Titans tight end Bo Scaife, the Dolphins took possession at the Tennessee 31-yard line. Six plays later, Ronnie Brown scored on a two-yard carry. Earlier on the drive, however, Pennington injured his shoulder and had to leave the field. Henne entered in relief and finished the scoring drive.

The Titans came back with an 80-yard march to tie the score. Helped by a 33-yard penalty on Dolphins cornerback Vontae Davis, who was covering Randy Moss on the play, the Titans scored on a 17-yard carry by Chris Johnson.

The teams then exchanged field goals. After stopping the Dolphins on a fake punt attempt, the Titans took a 10-7 lead on a 40-yard kick by Rob Bironas. The Dolphins gained 54 yards on a flea flicker from Henne to Brian Hartline, and then Dan Carpenter booted a 23-yard field goal.

At the close of the first half, Collins strained a calf muscle. He was replaced in the second half by Young, who did not start the game due to a lingering ankle injury. Before Young entered the game, Carpenter gave the Dolphins a 13-10 lead with a 26-yard field goal to open the half. Then, on Young’s first series, he had the ball stripped by Yeremiah Bell on a sack, and Randy Starks recovered it to give the Dolphins possession at the Tennessee 13. Two plays later, running back Patrick Cobbs scored on a 13-yard pass from Henne to extend the Dolphins lead to 20-10.

The Titans answered with an 11-play, 73-yard drive. Johnson’s 30-yard run led to a 14-yard touchdown pass from Young to Nate Washington.

Near the end of the third quarter, Henne was hit by defensive tackle Tony Brown on an incomplete pass, and the quarterback was forced leave the game with a knee injury. Employing their “Wildcat” offense, the Dolphins offense nevertheless gained ground on consecutive runs by Ricky Williams of 14 and 23 yards. That put Carpenter in position for a 42-yard field goal, making the score 23-17 in favor of Miami.

With the fourth quarter underway, Thigpen, who was listed as the inactive/third quarterback, was brought in to direct the Dolphins in the final period. He finished with four completions on six attempts for 64 yards, while Henne completed 19 of 28 passes for 240 yards.

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