With a 28-9 win over Cleveland, the Titans clinched the AFC South title and will host a playoff game in Nashville for the first time since Jan. 11, 2003.!
Titans fans celebrated their team clinching the AFC South title and a first-round bye in the AFC playoffs.
"We are certainly very excited to have put ourselves in a situation where we met and surpassed our first goal here which is to win the division," head coach Jeff Fisher said.
At 12-1, Tennessee has clinched at least the AFC's No. 2 seed as the New York Jets lost 24-14 to San Francisco. The Titans continue to own a two-game lead over Pittsburgh, which rallied in the final minutes to beat Dallas, 20-13, improving to 10-3. The Titans play at Houston next Sunday before hosting the Steelers in what could determine AFC home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
Tennessee was expected to beat the Browns (4-9) playing at LP Field, but they still had to show up to work on a frigid Sunday afternoon.
The Titans slogged through the first quarter and Kerry Collins threw two interceptions for the first time this season. The defense, however, kept injury replacement quarterback Ken Dorsey and the Browns out of the end zone and Tennessee clinched the division.
"We're all pleased; we're all happy that we won the division," Collins said. "We know there's a lot of things left that we want to accomplish."
Home-field advantage doesn't ensure success -- the New York Giants won last year's Super Bowl after surviving three road games -- but it gives teams an advantage, said cornerback Nick Harper, who won Super Bowl XLI with the Indianapolis Colts in 2006.
"That's very important. Having home field, you feel like you have to protect your back yard. To have teams come in here and think it's going to be a cake walk, you've got another thing coming," Harper said. "It's huge to have home-field advantage so your fans have that roar in them. It's like electricity goes through your body when you see that your crowd is into the game."
Tennessee holds the NFL's best record thanks to a defense allowing 14.2 points a game.
"You're only as good as your defense allows you to be. Defense wins championships," Harper said. "Your offense can put up 1,000 points, but if the opposing team puts up 1,001, you lose. The offense is only as good as we allow them to be."
The offense has improved by a touchdown from 2007 (18.8), averaging 25.5 points a game, boosted by the NFL's third-best rushing offense.
The Indianapolis Colts' streak of five straight division titles has officially ended. A sellout crowd at LP Field pulled their hands out of their jackets to give Tennessee a rousing ovation as the public address announcer informed them of the AFC South championship.
The Titans play at Indianapolis Dec. 28 to close the regular season, but the game may not have playoff implications. The Colts (9-4) have since won six straight games and lead the AFC Wild Card. Tennessee won the first meeting 31-21 on Monday Night Football, building an advantage that helped Tennessee clinch after Week 14.
Titans players remain focused on maintaining their success. Keep winning and the standings will turn out favorably.
"The more wins we get, the better chance we have of winning the Super Bowl," running back Chris Johnson said.
