Tennessee Titans (2-10) vs. New York Giants (3-9)
Sunday, December 7th, 2014 | Noon CST
Nashville, TN | LP Field | TV: FOX
Nashville, TN – This week the Tennessee Titans (2-10) play host to the New York Giants (3-9). Kickoff at LP Field (capacity 69,143) is scheduled for noon CST on Sunday, December 7th.
The game will be televised regionally on FOX, including Nashville affiliate WZTV FOX 17. Thom Brennaman will handle play-by-play duties, and David Diehl will serve as analyst. Laura Okmin will report from the sidelines.
Tennessee Titans
The Titans have four games in December to conclude their 2014 season, with three of the remaining contests to be played at home. They welcome the New York Jets to LP Field a week after hosting the Giants, followed by a trip to the Jacksonville Jaguars for a Thursday night matchup with the Jaguars. The season concludes at home versus the Indianapolis Colts.
Last week, the Titans traveled to Houston to face the AFC South rival Texans. They fell behind 24-0 in the first half and were never able to catch up, ultimately losing by a final score of 45-21. It was their sixth consecutive loss.
Rookie quarterback Zach Mettenberger recorded his fifth career start but was unable to finish the contest. Through two-and-a-half quarters, he completed 13 of 19 passes for 184 yards, a touchdown and an interception. However, he was taken to the turf by J.J. Watt in the third quarter and suffered a right shoulder injury, ending his day.
Mettenberger’s season passing totals stand at 93-of-155 for 1,287 yards, eight touchdowns and six interceptions. His 87.8 passer rating leads the four NFL rookie quarterbacks who have recorded at least one start this season, ahead of the Minnesota Vikings’ Teddy Bridgewater (79.0), Oakland Raiders’ Derek Carr (74.4) and Jacksonville Jaguars’ Blake Bortles (72.2).
Kendall Wright had the biggest day among Titans receivers, hauling in seven passes for 132 yards. He also became the only player for the franchise other than Ernest Givins to reach 50 receptions in each of his first three NFL seasons.
The Titans offensive line was beset by injuries last week. The unit arrived in Houston down three starters from the previous week at the Philadelphia Eagles: left tackle Taylor Lewan (inactive with an ankle injury), center Brian Schwenke (injured reserve/knee) and right tackle Michael Oher (did not play/toe). Will Svitek, Chris Spencer and Byron Stingily started in those spots, respectively. Then during the third quarter, right guard Chance Warmack went down briefly with an ankle injury and was replaced by the newly-signed Eric Olsen.
New York Giants
Having lost seven consecutive games, the Giants are tied with the Washington Redskins for third place in the NFC East. Last week they traveled to another AFC South opponent, the Jacksonville Jaguars, and fell by a final score of 25-24. The Giants built a 21-0 lead in the first half, only to see the Jaguars storm back and ultimately win on a 43-yard field goal with less than a minute remaining in the fourth quarter.
Tom Coughlin is in his 11th season as head coach of the Giants and his 19th NFL season as a head coach. The two-time Super Bowl Champion is second in Giants history for career wins by a head coach, trailing only Steve Owen.
Giants quarterback Eli Manning was 24-of-34 passing for 247 yards and a touchdown against the Jaguars. The 11th-year veteran reached the 3,000-yard passing mark for the 10th consecutive season in the loss. With more than 38,000 career passing yards, he is the franchise’s all-time leader in every major passing category. Additionally, his 163 consecutive starts make up the third-longest streak by a quarterback in NFL history, behind Brett Favre and Peyton Manning.
Titans-Giants Series At A Glance
- Overall series (regular & postseason): Series tied 5-5
- Regular season series: Series tied 5-5
- Postseason series: None
- Total points: Titans 195, Giants 203
- Current streak: Five wins by Titans
- Titans at home vs. Giants: 3-2
- Titans on the road vs. Giants: 2-3
- Longest winning streak by Titans: 5 (1997-present)
- Longest losing streak by Titans: 5 (1973-94)
- Titans vs. Giants at LP Field: 2-0
- Last time at LP Field: Giants 21 at Titans 24 (11/26/06)
- Titans vs. Giants at MetLife Stadium: 1-0
- Last Time at MetLife Stadium: Titans 29 at Giants 10 (9/26/10)
- First time: Oilers 14 at Giants 34 (9/16/73)
- Ken Whisenhunt’s record vs. Giants: 1-2
- Tom Coughlin’s record vs. Titans: 7-12 (7-10 with Jax., 0-2 with N.Y. Giants)
- Ken Whisenhunt’s record vs. Tom Coughlin: 1-2
A Titans Victory Would
- Improve Ken Whisenhunt’s career record as a head coach to 52-63 (including playoffs).
- Improve the Titans’ all-time record against the Giants to 6-5.
- Improve the Titans’ interconference record since 2002 realignment to 31-21, including a 9-7 mark against the NFC East.
What To Look For This Week
S Michael Griffin (785 career tackles) needs four tackles to move past Blaine Bishop (788) for the most tackles by a safety in franchise history.
P Brett Kern needs four punts to reach 500 for his career.
QB Jake Locker (4,829 career passing yards) needs needs 110 passing yards to pass Matt Hasselbeck (4,938) for ninth place on the team’s all-time passing yards list.
RB/PR Dexter McCluster needs four punt returns to reach 100 for his career. Also, he needs six receptions to reach 200 for his career.
QB Zach Mettenberger can become the first Titans rookie quarterback to win a game as a starter since Vince Young in 2006.
QB Zach Mettenberger can become the third quarterback in franchise history to start at least six games as a rookie, joining Dan Pastorini (eight in 1971), and Vince Young (13 in 2006).
QB Zach Mettenberger could pass for at least one touchdown for the sixth time in six NFL starts.
TE Delanie Walker (673 receiving yards) needs 96 receiving yards to set a single-season franchise record for receiving yards by a tight end. Frank Wycheck is the current record holder among tight ends with 768 yards in 1998.
TE Delanie Walker can become the first Titans/Oilers tight end since Alvin Reed in 1968 to record three 100-yard receiving games in the same season.
WR Nate Washington needs four receptions to become the ninth player to reach 300 receptions as a member of the Titans/Oilers franchise.
LB Wesley Woodyard is scheduled to play in his 100th career regular-season game.
Titans-Giants Series History
This week’s game marks the 11th meeting between the Titans and Giants. The series is tied 5-5, dating back to September 16th, 1973, when the Giants defeated the Houston Oilers 34-14 in the season opener at Yankee Stadium.
Of all opponents that have been in existence since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger, the Giants, Arizona Cardinals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers have played the Oilers/Titans the fewest amount of times—10 games each.
After the Giants won the first five matchups with the franchise, the Titans/Oilers have won the last five meetings. The streak includes a 10-6 Oilers win in 1997, a 28-14 win in 2000, a 32-29 overtime victory in 2002, a come-from-behind 24-21 win in 2006, and most recently a 29-10 decision in 2010.
On a cold and windy day at the Meadowlands in 2002, McNair helped force overtime with a touchdown pass and a two-point conversion in the final seconds of regulation, and Joe Nedney sealed the win when he connected on a 38-yard field goal. George rushed for 64 yards to pass Earl Campbell as the all-time rushing leader in franchise history.
In 2006, rookie quarterback Vince Young led arguably one of the greatest comebacks in NFL history against the Giants. Down 21-0 with less than 10 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the Titans rallied to score touchdowns on three consecutive drives and then won the game on a 49-yard field goal by kicker Rob Bironas. It tied for the second-biggest comeback in NFL history with 10 minutes to go in the fourth quarter and was the largest comeback in NFL history (fourth quarter or otherwise) led by a rookie quarterback.
The 2010 matchup marked the first-ever Titans-Giants game at MetLife Stadium. The Titans defense forced three turnovers, while Chris Johnson rushed for 125 yards and two touchdowns on 32 carries to help the Titans to a 29-10 victory.
Titans-Giants: The Last Meeting
Tennessee Titans 29 at New York Giants 10
Sunday, September 26th, 2010
MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Tennessee Titans | 3 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 29 |
| New York Giants | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
In Week 3 of the 2010 season, the Titans used 19 unanswered second half points and forced crucial turnovers to pull away for a 29-10 victory over the Giants at MetLife Stadium (then New Meadowlands Stadium).
While the Giants won many of the statistical battles, the Titans came up with the majority of key plays at pivotal moments. The Giants outgained the Titans by 200 yards (471 to 271), but the Titans intercepted two passes and recovered a Giants fumble to keep their opponents at bay. Two of the Titans’ takeaways came when they were backed up near their own end zone. The Giants contributed to their own woes with 11 penalties.
The Titans got on the scoreboard first. On the Giants’ first offensive series, Sen’Derrick Marks intercepted an Eli Manning pass that was intended for Hakeem Nicks. After the ball bounced off the hands of Nicks and cornerback Cortland Finnegan, Marks corralled it at the Tennessee 49-yard line. Rob Bironas gave the Titans a 3-0 lead with a 48-yard field goal.
A 54-yard pass from Manning to tight end Kevin Boss put the Giants in scoring position. However, on third-and-goal, Manning’s attempted pass to Boss was tipped by linebacker Will Witherspoon and then intercepted in the end zone by cornerback Jason McCourty.
The Giants responded with 10 unanswered points to tie the game near the end the first half. First, an an eight-play, 38-yard drive ended with a 50-yard field goal by Tynes. Then, after a Titans punt, the Giants began a drive on their own 37-yard line with less than three minutes on the clock.
Manning directed the offense down the field, and with 36 seconds remaining in the half, Ahmad Bradshaw ran into the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown. It would be the Giants’ final score of the afternoon.
In the third quarter, a 45-yard kickoff return by Marc Mariani did not directly produced points, but it led to Michael Griffin downing a punt at New York’s one-yard line. Three plays later, Manning completed a 43-yard reception to Mario Manningham, but on the play, Bradshaw was called for a chop block on Tony Brown in the end zone, negating the gain and resulting in a safety.
On the ensuing drive, the Titans drove 51 yards on six plays, including four completed passes by Vince Young totaling 48 yards. His 13-yard touchdown pass to Kenny Britt in the back of the end zone gave the Titans a 19-10 lead.
The Giants then moved the ball down the field, helped by runs by Bradshaw of 22 and 20 yards. However, on first-and-goal from the six yard line, Bradshaw was stripped of the ball by safety Michael Griffin, and cornerback Alterraun Verner recovered at the five-yard line for Tennessee.
Tynes missed a 44-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter that would have made it a one-score game, and the Titans responded with a 12-play, 46-yard drive that used more than five minutes of the clock. Bironas’ 22-yard field goal gave the Titans a 22-10 lead.
Later in the fourth quarter, Johnson recorded a 42-yard carry and an eight-yard touchdown run three plays later to conclude the scoring. Johnson finished the game with 32 rushing attempts for 125 yards.
