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HomeSportsTennessee Titans open 2017 Season at Nissan Stadium against Oakland Raiders

Tennessee Titans open 2017 Season at Nissan Stadium against Oakland Raiders

Tennessee Titans (0-0) vs. Oakland Raiders (0-0)

Sunday, September 10th, 2017 | Noon CDT
Nashville, TN | Nissan Stadium | TV: CBS

Tennessee TitansNashville, TN – The Tennessee Titans (0-0) open the 2017 regular season at home this week against the Oakland Raiders (0-0). Kickoff at Nissan Stadium (capacity 69,143) is scheduled for noon CDT on Sunday, September 10th, 2017.

This is the 50th all-time meeting between the former American Football League rivals, including regular season and playoff games. In 2016, the Raiders beat the Titans at Nissan Stadium by a final score of 17-10 (September 25th). Nine of the previous 49 battles have taken place in Week 1, with the Titans owning a 6-3 advantage.

Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) throws a pass against the Chicago Bears during the first half at Nissan Stadium. (Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports)
Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) throws a pass against the Chicago Bears during the first half at Nissan Stadium. (Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports)

Most recently, the Titans hosted the Raiders on Kickoff Weekend in 2010 and prevailed 38-13.

The Titans are 30-27 all-time in Week 1, including a 5-4 Kickoff Weekend record at Nissan Stadium. They won three consecutive openers on the road from 2013–2015 (at Pittsburgh Steelers, at Kansas City  Chiefs and at Tampa Bay Buccaneers) before falling at home to the Minnesota Vikings in Week 1 last season.

The game will be televised regionally on CBS, including Nashville affiliate WTVF NewsChannel 5. Play-by-play announcer Jim Nantz and analyst Tony Romo will call the action, and Tracy Wolfson will report from the sidelines.

The Titans Radio Network, including Nashville flagship 104.5 The Zone, will carry the game across the Mid-South with the “Voice of the Titans” Mike Keith, analyst Dave McGinnis, gameday host Rhett Bryan and sideline reporter Jonathan Hutton.

LP PENCIL Box School Supply Drive

Fans attending the game are encouraged to participate in the LP PENCIL Box School Supply Drive.

LP PENCIL Box, a collaborative non-profit venture between PENCIL Foundation and LP Building Products, offers Nashville Metro teachers the opportunity to acquire school supplies for the city’s most in-need children.

Collection locations will be positioned outside of Nissan Stadium to collect donated items such as pencil boxes, paper towels, backpacks, construction paper, notebook paper, art supplies, primary tablets, kleenex and classroom cleaning supplies.

Titans Enter Year 2 Under Mike Mularkey

Tennessee TitansMike Mularkey enters his second full season as head coach after leading the Titans to a 9-7 record in 2016, tripling the win total from 2015. The six-win improvement tied for the most in franchise history (1967 and 1974).

Last year’s squad defeated six teams with winning records—Detroit, Miami, Green Bay, Denver, Kansas City and Houston—to tie the Dallas Cowboys for the most such victories in the NFL. Five of those wins were against playoff teams (all but Denver), which tied the Packers’ total for the most in the league. This year’s team will be tested similarly in the early stages, as four of the Titans’ first five regular season opponents—Oakland, Seattle, Houston and Miami—made the playoffs in 2016.

Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Mularkey. (Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports)
Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Mularkey. (Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports)

Quarterback Marcus Mariota has fully recovered from a right fibula injury that prematurely ended his second NFL campaign. His 2016 passing statistics—3,426 yards and 26 touchdowns with nine interceptions—were among the franchise’s all-time best for a single season, and his touchdown total finished fourth in team history.

Steve McNair (100.4 passer rating in 2003) and Warren Moon (96.8 passer rating in 1990) are the only two quarterbacks in franchise history to complete a season with a better passer rating than Mariota’s 95.6 in 2016.

Mariota has several new teammates scheduled to make their debut in Two-Tone Blue this week. General manager Jon Robinson’s free agent acquisitions during his second offseason with the team included cornerback Logan Ryan (from New England), safety Johnathan Cyprien (Jacksonville), nose tackle Sylvester Williams (Denver) and wide receiver Eric Decker (New York Jets).

In the 2017 NFL Draft, Robinson used first-round picks on wide receiver Corey Davis (fifth overall) and cornerback Adoree’ Jackson (18th overall) and added wide receiver Taywan Taylor and tight end Jonnu Smith in the third round.

About the Oakland Raiders

Oakland Raiders HelmetThe Raiders are led by Jack Del Rio, who begins his third campaign with the Raiders and his 12th as a head coach in the NFL. In 2016, Del Rio guided his team to a 12-4 record and a Wild Card playoff berth, just missing out on the AFC West crown to the Kansas City Chiefs as a result of a tiebreaker. The 2016 squad included a league-best seven players who were named to the Pro Bowl.

Although quarterback Derek Carr was named to the Pro Bowl, he was unable to participate due to a broken fibula suffered in Week 16—the same day Mariota sustained a similar injury. Carr, now healthy, is the first quarterback in Raiders history to throw for 3,000 yards in each of his first three seasons and has orchestrated 12 career fourth-quarter comebacks/game-winning drives.

Titans-Raiders Series At A Glance

  • Overall series (regular & postseason): Raiders lead 29-20
  • Regular season series: Raiders lead 25-20
  • Postseason series: Raiders lead 4-0
  • Total points: Titans 1,095, Raiders 1,174
  • Current streak: Two wins by Raiders
  • Titans at home vs. Raiders: 15-13
  • Titans on the road vs. Raiders: 5-16 (including 0-4 in playoffs)
  • Longest winning streak by Titans: 4 (1961-62)
  • Longest losing streak by Titans: 9 (1966-73)
  • Titans vs. Raiders at Nissan Stadium: 4-3
  • Last time at Nissan Stadium: RAIDERS 17 at Titans 10 (9-25-16)
  • Titans vs. Raiders at Oakland-Alameda Coliseum: 2-11
  • Last time at Oakland-Alameda Coliseum: TITANS 23 at Raiders 19 (11-24-13)
  • First time: OILERS 37 at Raiders 22 (9/11/60)
  • Mike Mularkey’s record vs. Raiders: 0-5
  • Jack Del Rio’s record vs. Titans: 10-9
  • Mike Mularkey’s record vs. Jack Del Rio: 0-3

A Titans Victory Would

  • Give the Titans four wins in their last five Week 1 games.
  • Give the Titans five consecutive home wins, dating back to October 27th, 2016.
  • Improve QB Marcus Mariota’s starting record to 12-16.
  • Improve Mike Mularkey’s career record as a head coach to 28-46.
  • Improve the Titans’ all-time record against the Raiders to 21-29.
  • Improve the Titans’ all-time Kickoff Weekend record to 31-27, including an 11-8 Kickoff Weekend record in the Titans era (since 1999).
  • Improve the Titans’ record to 10-9 in regular season home openers at Nissan Stadium.
  • Improve the Titans’ all-time record at Nissan Stadium, including playoffs, to 82-67.

Tennessee Titans host the Oakland Raiders at Nissan Stadium Sunday, September 10th, 2017. Kickoff is set for Noon CT.

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