Each week this season, Titans Online is taking a look back at a game in Titans/Oilers franchise history against the upcoming opponent.
Nov. 1, 2009: Titans 30, Jaguars 13
This flashback goes back to a career-high and franchise-record 228 rushing yards for Chris Johnson when he and the Titans' offense outdueled 177 rushing yards by Jacksonville's Maurice Jones-Drew.
Johnson scored from 52 yards with 11 minutes left in the third quarter to break a tie at 13, and added an 89-yard touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter for the game's final score.
He carried the ball 24 times, averaging 9.5 yards per carry in his third career game against the Jaguars. Jones-Drew countered with an 80-yard touchdown in the second quarter and tied the game with a 79-yarder on the first play from scrimmage of the third quarter. He averaged 22.5 yards on eight carries. The Jaguars, however, were unable to take the lead on Jones-Drew's second touchdown because Michael Griffin blocked Josh Scobee's extra point kick.
Johnson and Jones-Drew have enjoyed the competitions between their teams over the years, but will not experience that this season. Jones-Drew missed the Nov. 25 contest and was placed on injured reserve Friday, guaranteeing that he will miss the season finale.
Johnson said this week that he's determined to play this Sunday, despite an ankle injury he suffered last week. He is 168 yards shy from 7,000 rushing yards, a mark that only three previous players — Eric Dickerson, LaDainian Tomlinson and Emmitt Smith — hit in their first five seasons.
In addition to the explosive scoring plays from Johnson, the Titans also benefitted from controlling the clock with shorter runs and efficient passing. Tennessee rushed a whopping 49 times for 305 yards (second highest total in a game in franchise history) against Jacksonville, and Vince Young completed 15 of 18 passes for 125 yards and a short TD pass to Nate Washington for a passer rating of 114.1 as the Titans kept the ball for more than 39 minutes, including an incredible 13:08 (87 percent) of the first quarter.
Tennessee's defense, meanwhile, limited Jacksonville to 16 rushes, and the combination of Jaguars QBs David Garrard and Luke McCown went 14-for-29 for 139 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions for a passer rating of 33.5. The Titans also recorded four sacks: David Thornton, Kyle Vanden Bosch and Jacob Ford sacked Garrard, and Jason Jones dropped McCown for a loss.
Rob Bironas kicked field goals from 48, 25 and 45 yards and three extra points to round out the scoring.
