WASHINGTON STARTS, SETS CAREER HIGH: Despite not practicing all week with an ankle injury, Nate Washington started at wide receiver for the Titans and set a career high with 130 yards on six receptions. In the fourth quarter, he notched his fifth touchdown reception of the season and the 29th of his career on a 40-yard strike from Jake Locker. On the Titans' final drive of the game, Washington added another 40-yard catch. He extended his streak of consecutive games with a reception to 59 (45 with the TItans).
CAREER SEASON HIGH FOR WASHINGTON: In addition to setting a single-game career high with 130 receiving yards against the Saints, wide receiver Nate Washington also reached a new career high for receiving yards in a season. He leads the Titans with 798 receiving yards, surpassing his previous career high of 687 yards in 2010.
LOCKER ENTERS GAME FOR INJURED HASSELBECK: With 11:13 to play in the second quarter, Matt Hasselbeck had to be taken out of the game with a left calf injury. Rookie Jake Locker got in the game for the fourth time this season. His passing totals included 13 completions on 29 attempts for 282 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions for a passer rating of 91.5. His 40-yard touchdown strike to Nate Washington gave him three touchdown passes in his rookie season. He also rushed six times for 36 yards, including his first career rushing touchdown on a six-yard run in the third quarter. It gave him his first career game with at least one touchdown run and one touchdown pass.
LOCKER'S PERFORMANCE SECOND IN FRANCHISE HISTORY BY ROOKIE QUARTERBACK: Jake Locker's 282 passing yards against the Saints rank second in franchise history by a rookie quarterback and the most since the Oilers' inaugural 1960 season. Jacky Lee's 331-yard performance at the Boston Patriots on Nov. 25, 1960 is the only higher total by a franchise rookie in a single game.
LOCKER AND WILLIAMS SET CAREER LONGS: In the third quarter, Jake Locker and wide receiver Damian Williams connected on a 54-yard pass on third-and-10. The play gave each player a career long.
HASSELBECK AND LOCKER TOTAL 326 PASSING YARDS: Between Matt Hasselbeck (44 yards) and Jake Locker (282 yards), Titans quarterbacks combined for 326 passing yards against the Saints. It marked the third time this season Titans quarterbacks reached 300 passing yards (Sept. 18 vs. Baltimore and Sept. 25 vs. Denver).
STEVENS RECORDS 31-YARD CATCH: Jake Locker and tight end Craig Stevens connected for a 31-yard pass in the second quarter. It was the second-longest reception of Stevens' career.
KLUG GETS TWO SACKS: Rookie defensive tackle Karl Klug was credited with a seven-yard sack of Drew Brees in the second quarter. In the fourth quarter, he ended a New Orleans drive with another seven-yard sack of Brees on third-and-four. It gave the fifth-round pick from Iowa his first career multi-sack game and a team-leading six sacks in 2011.
BIRONAS HITS ANOTHER FROM 40-PLUS: Rob Bironas tied the score at 3-3 in the second quarter with a 43-yard field goal. It marked the seventh consecutive week Bironas has made at least one field goal from 40-plus yards, the longest-such streak of his career. Since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger, Bironas leads all NFL kickers (minimum 100 field goals) in career percentage from 40 yards or longer.
SAINTS LIMITED TO SIX POINTS IN THE FIRST HALF: The Titans defense limited the Saints to six points in the first half. The Titans became only the second team in 2011 to not allow a touchdown to the Saints in the first half. Previously, the Saints were scoreless in the first half at St. Louis on Oct. 30.
TITANS INACTIVES: The Titans' seven inactive players were quarterback Rusty Smith, cornerback Jason McCourty, linebacker Barrett Ruud, linebacker Patrick Bailey, center Kevin Matthews, tackle Byron Stingily and defensive tackle Zach Clayton. McCourty (concussion), Ruud (groin) and Bailey (hamstring) were all out due to injuries.
