TITANS HOLD TOP PICK IN DRAFT:After finishing the season with a 3-13 record, the Titans are scheduled to have the first overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, which will be held April 28-30 in Chicago, Ill. The Titans and Cleveland Browns finished with identical records, but the Titans won the tiebreaker based on a lower strength of schedule (.494 to .532). The two teams will rotate having the top pick in each round, meaning that in the second round, the Browns will pick first (32nd overall) and the Titans will pick second with the 33rd overall selection (31 picks in the first round based on New England's forfeiture of a pick). In the third round, the Titans own the top spot, which is the 64th overall pick. In total, the Titans currently own eight picks in the seven-round draft. They have all of their original picks plus an extra sixth-rounder obtained from the Atlanta Falcons in September in exchange for guard Andy Levitre. The Titans have picked first in the NFL Draft on two previous occasions. In 1974, the then-Oilers selected defensive end John Matuszak with the top pick, and in 1978, they traded up to select running back Earl Campbell with the first selection. They also owned the first pick in 1974 but traded it to Dallas.
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WALKER CAPS SEASON WITH NINE RECEPTIONS: Tight endDelanie Walkercaught nine passes for 94 yards against the Colts, including a long reception of 29 yards. His reception total matched his number from the previous week against Houston (Dec. 27) and tied for the third-highest single-game reception total of his career. **His 94 receiving yards ranked sixth in his career.
WHERE WALKER'S RECEPTION TOTAL RANKS:Entering the game at Indianapolis, Delanie Walker already had set the single-season franchise records for most catches and receiving yards by a tight end. He finished the 2015 campaign with 94 receptions for 1,088 yards (11.6 avg.) and six touchdowns. On the team's all-time single-season receptions list, Walker tied wide receiver Kendall Wright (94 receptions in 2013) for the fifth-highest total. Walker became the ninth tight end in NFL history to reach 90 receptions in a season, and those nine players have produced 17 total 90-catch seasons. Tony Gonzalez (five), Jason Witten (four) and Todd Christensen (two) all have multiple 90-reception campaigns, while Dallas Clark, Jimmy Graham, Ben Coates, Martellus Bennett, Rob Gronkowski and Walker are the others to reach the mark. Walker's 94 receptions are tied (Witten in 2009 and 2010) for the 10th–highest total in NFL history by a tight end.
WALKER TOPS 1,000:With a 13-yard catch in the first quarter, Delanie Walker became the first tight end in franchise history to reach 1,000 receiving yards in a season. Among all players in franchise history, Walker's 1,088 receiving yards in 2015 rank 17th for a single season. Walker recorded the highest total since 2004, when Drew Bennett recorded 1,247 receiving yards and Derrick Mason totaled 1,168 receiving yards.
CAREER LONG RUSH FOR WALKER:With a 36-yard rushing attempt in the second quarter, tight end Delanie Walker set a new career long, topping his previous long of 16 yards (2009). It was Walker's first rushing attempt since the 2011 season.
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WALKER'S SCRIMMAGE YARDS: With 94 receiving yards and 36 rushing yards,Delanie Walker's** 130 scrimmage yards made up the third-highest total of his career and his highest number since his career-high 155 scrimmage yards at Philadelphia on Nov. 23, 2014. His 130 scrimmage yards at Indianapolis were the most by a Titans player during the 2015 season.
GREEN-BECKHAM SCORES FOURTH TOUCHDOWN:In the fourth quarter, rookie wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham scored his fourth career touchdown on a five-yard pass from Alex Tanney. Green-Beckham caught two passes for 21 yards against the Colts and finished the season with 32 receptions for 549 yards and a team-best average of 17.2 yards per reception. In the "Titans era" (1999-present), Green-Beckham's 17.2-yard average ranked fourth among all players, trailing Justin Gage's 2008 season (19.1-yard average), Kenny Britt's 2010 season (18.5) and Justin McCareins' 2003 campaign (17.3). Green-Beckham's four touchdown receptions tied Tyrone Calico (2003) and Justin Hunter (2013) for the most by a Titans rookie since the 1999 season.
TANNEY SEES FIRST CAREER ACTION:In the third quarter, Titans backup quarterback Alex Tanney entered the game in relief of Zach Mettenberger, who left the contest with a forearm injury. Tanney, who spent an earlier portion of the season with the Colts on their practice squad, completed 10 passes on 14 attempts for 99 yards and a touchdown in his first career action in the regular season. On his first drive, he led the team to a field goal. Two possessions later, he threw his first career touchdown pass, finding Dorial Green-Beckham for a five-yard score. Tanney completed his first seven pass attempts of the game.
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A PAIR OF FIRSTS FOR COBB: RookieDavid Cobb** registered his first NFL start at running back. In the second quarter, the fifth-round pick recorded his first career touchdown, putting the Titans ahead 14-10 with a one-yard touchdown run. Cobb set season and career highs with 19 carries and 73 rushing yards in the game.
FIRST RUSHING TOUCHDOWN FOR METTENBERGER: Zach Mettenberger provided the Titans with a lead in the first quarter by scoring his first career touchdown. The second-year signal caller took a quarterback draw five yards for a score. His passing totals for the game included 13 attempts, five completions, 38 yards and an interception before he was forced to leave the game in the third quarter with a forearm injury.
BELL STARTS AT THIRD DIFFERENT POSITION:In his first campaign with the Titans, fifth-year NFL veteranByron Bell set a career high with 16 starts on the offensive line. At Indianapolis, he started for the first time of the season at left tackle, filling in for Taylor Lewan (concussion). Bell's previous starts in 2015 included seven games at left guard and eight games at right tackle.
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SEARCY RECORDS FIRST INTERCEPTION WITH TITANS: SafetyDa'Norris Searcyposted his first interception in a Titans uniform, picking off aJosh Freeman** pass in the first quarter. The fifth-year veteran, who was signed as an unrestricted free agent from Buffalo in the offseason, intercepted the pass at the Indianapolis 10-yard line and returned the ball to the five-yard line to set up a Titans score on the ensuing play. The play marked Searcy's sixth career interception.
BASS NOTCHES SACK:In the fourth quarter, outside linebacker David Bass sacked Josh Freeman for a seven-yard loss. The sack gave the third-year defender 1.5 sacks in 2015 and 5.5 sacks in his career.
GRIFFIN PASSES DISHMAN IN GAMES PLAYED:With his 141st career game as a member of the Titans, safety Michael Griffin passed former Oilers cornerback Cris Dishman (140) for 18th place on the team's all-time games played list. Among defensive backs in franchise history, the only player with more career games than Griffin is former cornerback Zeke Moore (145).
KERN ACHIEVES A FIRST-OF-ITS KIND FEAT:Against the Colts, Brett Kern punted six times, averaging 50.0 gross yards and 47.0 net yards per attempt, with two punts placed inside the 20. His net average set a season high and was the 10th-best single-game net average in franchise history. Additionally, he accomplished a first-of-its-kind feat, becoming the first punter in NFL history to record 80 or more punts, a net average of 40 yards, and one or zero touchbacks in a single season. His season totals included 88 punts (tied for fifth place in franchise history), a 47.4-yard gross average (second in franchise history), a 40.3 net average (third in franchise history), a career-high 34 punts inside the 20 (third in franchise history) and only one touchback (career low).
SEASON OFFENSIVE LEADERS:The Titans' statistical leaders in 2015 included second-year running back Antonio Andrews, who led the team with 520 rushing yards on 143 attempts. The team's leading receiver was tight end Delanie Walker, who had 94 receptions for 1,088 yards. Marcus Mariota led the team in passing, completing 230 of his 370 attempts for 2,818 yards, 19 touchdowns, 10 interceptions and a passer rating of 91.5. Kicker Ryan Succop was the team's high scorer with 71 points.
SEASON DEFENSIVE LEADERS:On defense, outside linebacker Brian Orakpo and defensive tackle Jurrell Casey tied for the team lead with seven sacks, while linebacker Zach Brown and cornerback Coty Sensabaugh each recorded two interceptions to pace the team. Inside linebacker Avery Williamson led the squad in tackles.
FOUR TITANS START ALL 16 GAMES:The Titans had a total of four players start every game during the 2015 season: offensive lineman Byron Bell, defensive tackle Jurrell Casey, defensive end DaQuan Jones and outside linebacker Brian Orakpo. It was the first time accomplishing the feat for Bell and Jones. Casey has started every game three times in his career, including each of the last two campaigns, while Orakpo also reached 16 starts for the third time (first since 2011).
INACTIVES: The Titans' seven inactive players were quarterback Marcus Mariota, wide receivers Kendall Wright and Damaris Johnson, cornerback Blidi Wreh-Wilson, safety Josh Aubrey, tackle Taylor Lewan and defensive lineman Ropati Pitoitua. Mariota (knee), Wright (knee) and Lewan (concussion) were listed on the injury report prior to the game.
