2002 Tennessee Titans season

43rd season in franchise history; last AFC Championship appearance until 2019 November 2013 March 2026 Tennessee Titans 2002 11–5 1st AFC South Jeff Fisher Floyd Reese Bud Adams The Coliseum Won Divisional Playoffs(vs. Steelers) 34–31 (OT Overtime)Lost AFC Championship(at Raiders) 24–41 DE Kevin Carter Titans seasons The 2002 season was the Tennessee Titans' 33rd in the National Football League and 43rd overall. The team improved upon their previous season's output of 7–9, managing eleven victories.2002 Tennessee Titans After starting 1–4, the Titans won 10 of their next 11 games. They qualified for the playoffs with a first-round bye, but were unable to reach the Super Bowl, losing to the Oakland Raiders in the AFC Championship. The Titans would not return to the AFC Championship again until 2019. The season also marked the first time that the Titans would return to Houston, in a week 17 match against the Texans since relocating 5 years earlier. As of 2025, this was the last time the Titans won a home playoff game, having gone 0–3 since. Offseason Signings Departures S Rich Coady (Rams) DT Josh Evans (Jets) FB Robert Holcombe (Rams) DT Jason Fisk (Chargers) FS Lance Schulters (49ers) C Bruce Matthews (retired) OLB Eddie Robinson (Bills) NFL draft 2002 Tennessee Titans 1 12 Albert Haynesworth Defensive tackle Tennessee from N. Y. Giants yes yes 2 45 Tank Williams Safety Stanford yes 3 77 Rocky Calmus Linebacker Oklahoma yes 4 110 Mike Echols Cornerback Wisconsin from N. Y. Giants yes 4 115 Tony Beckham Cornerback UW–Stout yes 4 133 Rocky Boiman Linebacker Notre Dame yes 5 151 Jake Schifino Wide receiver Akron no 6 187 Justin Hartwig Center Kansas yes 7 225 Darrell Hill Wide receiver NIU yes 7 240 Carlos Hall Defensive end Arkansas from Green Bay yes no Undrafted free agents + 2002 undrafted free agents of note Player Position CollegeKevin AldridgeDefensive endSMUNate BradyTight endChattanoogaKyle BennCenterWashingtonAntuian BradfordLinebackerVanderbiltMarion BushDefensive tackleUABDedrick DewaltWide receiverBoston CollegeOrlando IglesiasWide receiverHoustonNate JacksonSafetyHawaiiJoe JudgeSafetyMcNeese StateBrad KassellLinebackerNorth TexasMatt MartinGuardKansas StateDicenzo MillerRunning backMississippi StateNate MorrowLinebackerVanderbiltBilly NewmanSafetyWashington StateJohn SimonRunning backLouisiana TechMarcus SmithCornerbackMemphisRyan WatsonDefensive tackleAppalachian State Personnel Coaching staff 2002 Tennessee Titans Founder/owner/chairman of the board/CEO – Bud Adams President/chief operating officer – Jeff Diamond Executive VP/general manager/director of football operations – Floyd Reese Director of player personnel – Rich Snead Director of college scouting – Mike Ackerley National coordinator of college scouting – C. O. Brocato Executive vice president/head coach – Jeff Fisher Assistant head coach/offense – George Henshaw Assistant head coach/linebackers – Gunther Cunningham Offensive coordinator – Mike Heimerdinger Quarterbacks – Craig Johnson Running backs – Sherman Smith Wide receivers – Steve Walters Offensive line – Mike Munchak Offensive assistant/quality control – Ned James Defensive coordinator – Jim Schwartz Defensive line – Jim Washburn Defensive backs – Everett Withers Defensive assistant/quality control – Chuck Cecil Special teams – Alan Lowry Strength and conditioning – Steve Watterson Assistant strength and conditioning – Sammy Cribb Roster 2002 Tennessee Titans 53 6 4  9 Steve McNair 14 Neil O'Donnell  7 Billy Volek 34 Greg Comella FB 27 Eddie George 20 Mike Green running back 35 Robert Holcombe 45 John Simon running back KR/PR y 83 Drew Bennett 82 Eddie Berlin KR 80 Darrell Hill American football y 85 Derrick Mason PR 86 Justin McCareins KR/PR 81 Chris Sanders wide receiver 88 Erron Kinney 84 Shad Meier 89 Frank Wycheck 67 Tom Ackerman G American football 64 Gennaro DiNapoli C 77 Justin Hartwig G y 72 Brad Hopkins T 68 Matt Martin American football T y 76 Jason Mathews T 71 Fred Miller American football, born 1973 T 75 Benji Olson G 69 Zach Piller G 93 Kevin Carter American football DE 92 Henry Ford defensive lineman DT 97 Carlos Hall DE y 91 Albert Haynesworth DT y 90 Jevon Kearse DE 98 Robaire Smith DT 94 Juqua Thomas DE 78 John Thornton American football DE/DT 50 Rocky Boiman OLB y 53 Keith Bulluck OLB 54 Rocky Calmus MLB y 57 Frank Chamberlin MLB 56 Randall Godfrey MLB 55 Brad Kassell OLB y 59 Peter Sirmon OLB 24 Tony Beckham CB y 29 Rich Coady defensive back FS 22 Andre Dyson CB 30 Donald Mitchell American football CB 28 Aric Morris SS 21 Samari Rolle CB 31 Lance Schulters FS 37 Dainon Sidney CB 25 Tank Williams SS y 60 Aaron Graham LS 15 Craig Hentrich P  6 Joe Nedney K 87 Kevin Dyson WR IR 36 Mike Echols gridiron football CB IR y 16 Orlando Iglesias WR NF-Inj. 99 Kris Kocurek DT IR 32 Bobby Myers American football S IR -- Jake Schifino y WR IR 79 Kevin Aldridge DE y 96 James Atkins defensive tackle y DT 49 Chad Hayes American football TE y 62 Mike Malano G Preseason Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record 1 August 10, 2002 St. Louis Rams W 28–26 1–0 2 August 15, 2002 Oakland Raiders W 24–14 2–0 3 August 23, 2002 at Minnesota Vikings L 10–14 2–1 4 August 30, 2002 at Green Bay Packers L 20–21 2–2 Regular season Under the NFL's divisional realignment, the Titans were moved from the AFC Central, where they had played since the NFL–AFL merger in 1970, into the new AFC South. In addition to their home and away games with AFC South opponents, the Titans in 2002 played games against the AFC North and NFC East according to the league's new schedule rotation. They also played one game each against the Patriots and the Raiders based upon standings from 2001. Schedule Week Date Opponent Result TV Time (CT) Record Attendance 1 September 8 Philadelphia Eagles W 27–24 FOX 12:00 pm 1–0 68,804 2 September 15 at Dallas Cowboys L 13–21 CBS 12:00 pm 1–1 62,527 3 September 22 Cleveland Browns L 28–31 (OT) CBS 12:00 pm 1–2 68,804 4 September 29 at Oakland Raiders L 25–52 CBS 3:15 pm 1–3 58,719 5 October 6 Washington Redskins L 14–31 FOX 12:00 pm 1–4 68,804 6 October 13 Jacksonville Jaguars W 23–14 CBS 3:15 pm 2–4 68,804 7 Bye 8 October 27 at Cincinnati Bengals W 30–24 CBS 12:00 pm 3–4 52,822 9 November 3 at Indianapolis Colts W 23–15 CBS 12:00 pm 4–4 56,752 10 November 10 Houston Texans W 17–10 CBS 12:00 pm 5–4 68,804 11 November 17 Pittsburgh Steelers W 31–23 CBS 12:00 pm 6–4 68,804 12 November 24 at Baltimore Ravens L 12–13 CBS 12:00 pm 6–5 69,365 13 December 1 at New York Giants W 32–29 (OT) CBS 12:00 pm 7–5 78,640 14 December 8 Indianapolis Colts W 27–17 CBS 12:00 pm 8–5 68,804 15 December 16 New England Patriots W 24–7 ABC 8:08 pm 9–5 68,809 16 December 22 at Jacksonville Jaguars W 28–10 CBS 12:00 pm 10–5 51,033 17 December 29 at Houston Texans W 13–3 CBS 12:00 pm 11–5 70,694 Note: Division opponents are in bold text. Game summaries Week 1: vs. Philadelphia Eagles Tennessee Titans 2002 2;text-align:center; autocollapse Week 1: Philadelphia Eagles at Tennessee Titans Eagles 14 10 0 0 Titans 7 3 3 14 The Coliseum, Nashville, Tennessee September 8, 2002 12:00 PM Hot and Hazy, 83 F C 1 FOX Dick Stockton and Daryl Johnston Terry McAulay (77) 68,804 Recap, Game Book First quarter' TEN – Eddie George 14-yard pass from Steve McNair (Joe Nedney kick), 7:10. Titans 7-0. Drive: 8 plays, 80 yards, 5:19. PHI – James Thrash 18-yard pass from Donovan McNabb (David Akers kick), 5:20. Tied 7-7. Drive: 2 plays, 6 yards, 0:53. PHI – Duce Staley 7-yard pass from Donovan McNabb (David Akers kick), 2:36. Eagles 14-7. Drive: 6 plays, 61 yards, 2:44. Second quarter TEN – Joe Nedney 33-yard field goal, 11:00. Eagles 14-10. Drive: 10 plays, 75 yards, 6:36. PHI – Chad Lewis 7-yard pass from Donovan McNabb (David Akers kick), 5:05. Eagles 21-10. Drive: 11 plays, 80 yards, 5:55. PHI – David Akers 30-yard field goal, 0:48. Eagles 24-10. Drive: 4 plays, 18 yards, 1:00. Third quarter TEN – Joe Nedney 47-yard field goal, 11:06. Eagles 24-13. Drive: 8 plays, 51 yards, 3:54. Fourth quarter TEN – Justin McCareins 2-yard pass from Steve McNair (2PT run failed), 12:49. Eagles 24-19. Drive: 6 plays, 67 yards, 2:21. TEN – Eddie George 2-yard run (Eddie George run), 3:09. Titans 27-24. Drive: 14 plays, 84 yards, 5:41. Top passers PHI – Donovan McNabb – 18/36, 212 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT TEN – Steve McNair – 24/34, 269 yards, 2 TD, INT Top rushers PHI – Brian Westbrook – 8 rushes, 42 yards TEN – Eddie George – 18 rushes, 42 yards, TD Top receivers PHI – Antonio Freeman – 3 receptions, 54 yards TEN – Derrick Mason – 7 receptions, 109 yards Week 2: at Dallas Cowboys Tennessee Titans 2002 2;text-align:center; autocollapse Week 2: Tennessee Titans at Dallas Cowboys Titans 7 3 0 3 Cowboys 0 7 7 7 Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas September 15, 2002 12:00 PM Cloudy skies, 81 F C 1 CBS Kevin Harlan and Randy Cross Ed Hochuli (85) 62,527 Recap, Game Book First quarter' TEN – Frank Wycheck 1-yard pass from Steve McNair (Joe Nedney kick), 0:00. Titans 7-0. Drive: 12 plays, 85 yards, 8:27. Second quarter DAL – Tony McGee 17-yard pass from Quincy Carter (Billy Cundiff kick), 12:00. Tied 7-7. Drive: 6 plays, 71 yards, 3:00. TEN – Joe Nedney 37-yard field goal, 5:31. Titans 10-7. Drive: 13 plays, 55 yards, 6:29. Third quarter DAL – Dexter Coakley 52-yard interception return (Billy Cundiff kick), 3:10. Cowboys 14-10. Fourth quarter DAL – Joey Galloway 38-yard pass from Quincy Carter (Billy Cundiff kick), 11:25. Cowboys 21-10. Drive: 7 plays, 95 yards, 3:22. TEN – Joe Nedney 53-yard field goal, 5:18. Cowboys 21-13. Drive: 8 plays, 28 yards, 2:36. Top passers TEN – Steve McNair – 20/38, 226 yards, TD, INT DAL – Quincy Carter – 14/24, 240 yards, 2 TD Top rushers TEN – Eddie George – 19 rushes, 65 yards DAL – Emmitt Smith – 18 rushes, 59 yards Top receivers TEN – Derrick Mason – 7 receptions, 118 yards DAL – Joey Galloway – 5 receptions, 88 yards, TD Week 3: vs. Cleveland Browns Week 15: vs. New England Patriots Tennessee Titans 2002 2;text-align:center; autocollapse Week 15: New England Patriots (8–5) at Tennessee Titans (8–5) – Game summary Patriots 0 0 7 0 Titans 0 14 7 3 The Coliseum, Nashville, Tennessee December 16, 2002 9:00 pm Cloudy, 57 F C 1 ABC Al Michaels, John Madden and Melissa Stark Ron Winter (14) 68,809 Recap, Game Book Second quarter TEN – Steve McNair 11-yard run (Joe Nedney kick), 12:16. Titans 7–0. Drive: 12 plays, 78 yards, 6:18. TEN – Steve McNair 1-yard run (Joe Nedney kick), 0:32. Titans 14–0. Drive: 12 plays, 58 yards, 6:48. Third quarter NE – Tom Brady 10-yard run (Adam Vinatieri kick), 13:08. Titans 14–7. Drive: 6 plays, 69 yards, 1:52. TEN – Rich Coady 24-yard interception return (Joe Nedney kick), 9:58. Titans 21–7. Fourth quarter TEN – Joe Nedney 28-yard field goal, 9:22. Titans 24–7. Drive: 15 plays, 69 yards, 9:24. Top passers NE – Tom Brady – 14/29, 134 yards, INT TEN – Steve McNair – 11/24, 136 yards, INT Top rushers NE – Antowain Smith – 6 rushes, 31 yards TEN – Eddie George – 31 rushes, 101 yards Top receivers NE – Troy Brown – 8 receptions, 73 yards TEN – Derrick Mason – 6 receptions, 86 yards Standings Division Conference Playoffs Week Date Opponent Result Attendance Divisional January 11, 2003 Pittsburgh Steelers W 34–31 (OT Overtime) 68,809 Conference Championship January 19, 2003 at Oakland Raiders L 24–41 62,544 AFC Divisional Playoff vs Pittsburgh Steelers Tennessee Titans 34, Pittsburgh Steelers 31 Steelers 0 13 7 11 0 Titans 14 0 14 3 3 Adelphia Coliseum, Nashville, Tennessee 4:30 pm EST Sunny, 34 F C 1 68,809 Ron Blum CBS Dick Enberg, Dan Dierdorf, and Bonnie Bernstein This was the Titans franchise's first playoff win over the Steelers in four tries, following three losses as the Oilers in 1978, 1979 and 1989, the last of which was also in overtime. The Titans went to the AFC Championship to the Oakland Raiders and lost 41-24. AFC Championship Game Oakland Raiders 41, Tennessee Titans 24 Titans 7 10 7 0 Raiders 14 10 3 14 6:30 p.m. EST/3:30 p.m. PST Network Associates Coliseum, Oakland, California 62,544 Clear, 52 °F °C 1 CBS Greg Gumbel, Phil Simms, Armen Keteyian and Bonnie Bernstein Ed Hochuli This was the Titans' last appearance at the AFC championship game until 2019. The Titans were crashed and in 2003 finished 12-4, the same récord as the Colts they win to the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Wild Card Round 20-17. But lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion New England Patriots in the AFC Divisional Round 17-14. References 2002 Category:AFC South championship seasons Tennessee Titans Titans