The 2000 Tennessee Titans season was the franchise’s 41st season and their 31st in the National Football League (NFL). It was the team’s second as the “Titans.” The team entered the season as the defending AFC Champions, having narrowly lost Super Bowl XXXIV to the St. Louis Rams.
Tennessee’s 13–3 record was the best in the NFL in 2000, and earned the Titans a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. In the Titans’ first playoff game, however, they were upset by their pre-realignment division rivals, fourth-seeded Baltimore Ravens, who would go on to win the Super Bowl.
The 2000 Titans are best remembered for their elite defensive squad, which allowed a mere 191 points during the regular season, the third-lowest of any team in the 16-game season era from 1978 to 2021, after only the 1986 Chicago Bears, and the 2000 Baltimore Ravens, the team that Tennessee would fall to in the divisional round of the playoffs.
The 2006 edition of Pro Football Prospectus,Pro Football Prospectus 2006 (), p.73-75 listed the 2000 Titans as one of their “Heartbreak Seasons”, in which teams “dominated the entire regular season only to falter in the playoffs, unable to close the deal.”
Said Pro Football Prospectus of the 2000 Titans,
Pro Football Prospectus continued
Offseason Additions SubtractionsWR Carl Pickens (Bengals) T Jon Runyan (Eagles)LB Randall Godfrey (Cowboys) LB Doug Colman (Browns)T Fred Miller (Rams) LB Barron Wortham (Cowboys) LB Joe Bowden (Cowboys) TE Jackie Harris (Cowboys) S Anthony Dorsett (Raiders)
NFL draft
Undrafted free agents
+ 2000 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeDemario BrownRunning backUtah StateKareem ClarkCornerbackArizona StateChris ColemanWide receiverNC StateWade DavisCornerbackWeber State
Personnel
Staff
Roster
Schedule
Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record 1 Kansas City Chiefs W 14–10 1–0 2 St. Louis Rams W 30–3 2–0 3 at Philadelphia Eagles L 32–34 2–1 4 at Chicago Bears W 34–28 3–1
Regular season Week Date Opponent Result Venue Attendance Record 1 September 3 at Buffalo Bills L 13–16 Ralph Wilson Stadium 72,492 0–1 2 September 10 Kansas City Chiefs W 17–14 Adelphia Coliseum 68,203 1–1 3 Bye 4 September 24 at Pittsburgh Steelers W 23–20 Three Rivers Stadium 51,769 2–1 5 October 1 New York Giants W 28–14 Adelphia Coliseum 68,341 3–1 6 October 8 at Cincinnati Bengals W 23–14 Paul Brown Stadium 63,406 4–1 7 October 16 Jacksonville Jaguars W 27–13 Adelphia Coliseum 68,498 5–1 8 October 22 at Baltimore Ravens W 14–6 PSINet Stadium 69,200 6–1 9 October 30 at Washington Redskins W 27–21 FedExField 83,472 7–1 10 November 5 Pittsburgh Steelers W 9–7 Adelphia Coliseum 68,498 8–1 11 November 12 Baltimore Ravens L 23–24 Adelphia Coliseum 68,490 8–2 12 November 19 Cleveland Browns W 24–10 Adelphia Coliseum 68,498 9–2 13 November 26 at Jacksonville Jaguars L 13–16 Alltel Stadium 65,454 9–3 14 December 3 at Philadelphia Eagles W 15–13 Veterans Stadium 65,639 10–3 15 December 10 Cincinnati Bengals W 35–3 Adelphia Coliseum 68,498 11–3 16 December 17 at Cleveland Browns W 24–0 Cleveland Browns Stadium 72,318 12–3 17 December 25 Dallas Cowboys W 31–0 Adelphia Coliseum 68,498 13–3
Week 14 @ Philadelphia Eagles
The Titans defeated the Eagles for the first time in franchise history, as they were 0-6 against the team when they were the Houston Oilers. Houston's current NFL team is 0-6 against the Eagles as of 2024.
Standings
Playoffs AFC Divisional Playoff
Despite having only 134 yards of total offense, six first downs, and two punts blocked by Chris Coleman, the Ravens broke a 10–10 tie in the fourth quarter with Anthony Mitchell's 90-yard touchdown return of a blocked Al Del Greco field goal and then added seven more with a 50-yard interception return by Ray Lewis.
Awards and records Led NFL, Average Time of Possession (33 minutes, 48 seconds per game)NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, , p. 215 Led NFL, Pass Defense Led NFL, Total Defense Eddie George, PFW/PFWA All-Pro TeamNFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, , p. 203 Derrick Mason, Associated Press All-Pro Derrick Mason, All-NFL Team (as selected by the Associated Press, Pro Football Weekly, and the Pro Football Writers of America)NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, , p. 202 Derrick Mason, NFL Special Teams Player of the Month, October Derrick Mason, Pro Football Writers of America All-Pro Team Bruce Matthews, All-NFL Team (as selected by the Associated Press, Pro Football Weekly, and the Pro Football Writers of America) Bruce Matthews, Associated Press All-Pro Bruce Matthews, PFW/PFWA All-Pro Team Samari Rolle, Associated Press All-Pro Samari Rolle, All-NFL Team (as selected by the Associated Press, Pro Football Weekly, and the Pro Football Writers of America) Samari Rolle, Pro Football Writers of America All-Pro Team
Notes
References
Titans on Pro Football Reference Titans on jt-sw.com