DRAFT ORDER FINALIZED: The Titans' 2013 draft position has been determined, and they will pick 10th in the first round. Tennessee was one of three teams to finish the season with a 6-10 record, along with the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets, and the three clubs will alternate the eighth, ninth and 10th picks in each round. The Titans are scheduled to pick 39th in the second round and 71st in the third round (order affected by the Cleveland Browns losing a second-rounder in the 2012 supplemental draft and a second-rounder being taken from the New Orleans Saints).
2013 OPPONENTS DETERMINED: The Titans now know all of their 16 regular-season opponents for 2013. In addition to home and road games against each of their AFC South rivals (Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts and Jacksonville Jaguars), the Titans will face every team from the AFC West (on the road against the Denver Broncos and Oakland Raiders; at home against the Kansas City Chiefs and San Diego Chargers) and every team from the NFC West (at home against the Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers; on the road against the St. Louis Rams and Seattle Seahawks). Additionally, based on finishing in third place in the AFC South, the Titans will have a 2013 home game against the AFC East's third-place New York Jets and a road contest against the AFC North's third-place Pittsburgh Steelers.
TITANS SET NFL RECORD: The Titans trailed 14-7 before scoring four consecutive touchdowns on returns. Linebacker Zach Brown scored twice on interception returns and Darius Reynaud added a pair of touchdowns on punt returns. The Titans became the first team in NFL history with two punt return touchdowns and two interception return touchdowns in the same game, and they became only the second team in NFL history with four total return touchdowns in a game. The only previous club to accomplish the feat was Seattle against Kansas City on Nov. 4, 1984.
SEVEN SACKS TIES FIVE-YEAR HIGH: For the second time against the Jaguars in 2012, the Titans defense finished the game with seven sacks. The unit was led by defensive end Derrick Morgan, whose two sacks in the contest gave him a team-leading 6.5 sacks in 2012 and 10.5 in his career. Totaling one sack against Jacksonville were linebacker Akeem Ayers (6.0 in 2012, 8.0 career), defensive tackle Jurrell Casey (3.0 in 2012, 5.5 career), defensive end Kamerion Wimbley (6.0 in 2012, 48.5 career) and rookie linebacker Zach Brown (5.5). Additionally, defensive tackles Sen'Derrick Marks (1.5 in 2012, 3.0 career) and Karl Klug (3.5 in 2012, 10.5 career) each recorded a half sack. The seven total sacks by the Titans tied their season high, set Nov. 25 at Jacksonville. Prior to that game, the last time the Titans recorded seven sacks in a single contest was Sept. 7, 2008, also against the Jaguars.
TITANS FINISH WITH TWO CONSECUTIVE WINS AT HOME: The Titans won their final two games of the season at LP Field. Prior to beating the Jaguars, they defeated the New York Jets 14-10 on Dec. 17. The Titans went 4-4 at home in 2012.
MOONEY GETS FIRST CAREER CARRIES: Fullback Collin Mooney got his first career rushing attempts in the game, totaling 19 yards on five attempts. Mooney, a West Point graduate who spent the previous three years fulfilling his commitment to the U.S. Army, was signed as a rookie free agent during the offseason. He made his NFL debut on Dec. 2 against Houston.
KERN CAPS RECORD-SETTING SEASON: Against the Jaguars, Brett Kern averaged 51.0 gross yards and 35.8 net yards on four punts, with one punt blocked. He finished 2012 with a pair of single-season franchise records. His 47.6-yard gross average topped Craig Hentrich's previous record of 47.2 (1998), and his 40.4-yard net average beat out his own 39.9-yard franchise record he set in 2011.
GRIFFIN RECORDS FOURTH INTERCEPTION OF SEASON: In the third quarter, sixth-year safety Michael Griffin picked off a Chad Henne pass and returned the ball 33 yards. It was his fourth interception of the 2012 season, tying him with cornerback Jason McCourty for the team lead. Griffin has led the team or tied for the team lead in interceptions four times in his career, joining Darryl Lewis (five times) and Samari Rolle (four) as the only players in franchise history to accomplish the feat. Griffin has 21 career interceptions, tied with Gregg Bingham for 13th place in the team record books.
WRIGHT TIED FOR ROOKIE RECEPTION LEAD: With two receptions for 40 yards against the Jaguars, including a 36-yarder, wide receiver Kendall Wright finished the season with a team-high 64 catches. That put him in a first-place tie with Jacksonville receiver Justin Blackmon for the most receptions in 2012 by a rookie.
BROWN ADDS SACK TO HIS BIG DAY: In addition to his two interceptions for touchdowns against the Jaguars, linebacker Zach Brown added a sack. In the fourth quarter, he dropped Chad Henne for an eight-yard loss to give him 5.5 sacks in his rookie season.
SACKS ON CONSECUTIVE PLAYS: The Titans recorded two of their seven sacks on back-to-back plays in the fourth quarter. Defensive end Kamerion Wimbley and defensive tackle Sen'Derrick Marks combined for an eight-yard sack on second down, and on the next play linebacker Akeem Ayers and defensive end Derrick Morgan split a six-yard sack to end the series.
BIRONAS MAKES 48-YARDER: Rob Bironas made his only field goal attempt of the game, a 48-yarder in the fourth quarter. Bironas finished the season with 25 field goals on 31 attempts. His 110 points in 2012 gave him six consecutive seasons with 110 or more points.
REYNAUD THIRD IN TEAM HISTORY IN TOTAL KICKOFF & PUNT RETURN YARDS: Darius Reynaud finished the season with 1,240 kickoff return yards and 410 punt return yards. His 1,650 combined kickoff and punt return yards ranked third in franchise history, trailing only Marc Mariani's 1,859 yards in 2010 and Derrick Mason's 1,794 yards in 2000.
REYNAUD THIRD IN TEAM HISTORY IN KICKOFF RETURN YARDS: Darius Reynaud finished the season with 1,240 kickoff return yards to rank third in franchise history behind Marc Mariani's 1,530 yards in 2010 and Bobby Jancik's 1,317 yards in 1963.
REYNAUD'S SEASON AVERAGE FOURTH IN TEAM HISTORY: Darius Reynaud's big day against the Jaguars boosted his season totals to 31 punt returns for 410 yards and two touchdowns. His average of 13.2 yards per punt return in 2012 ranked fourth in team history, trailing only three separate campaigns by Billy Johnson: a 15.4-yard average in 1977, a 15.3-yard average in 1975 and a 13.6-yard average in 1974.
REYNAUD SETS YARDAGE RECORD: Darius Reynaud returned three punts for 160 yards (53.3 avg.) against the Jaguars. His punt return yardage total set a new franchise record for a single game, topping Billy Johnson's 127 punt return yards against Cincinnati on Oct. 5, 1975.
REYNAUD SCORES TWICE: With less than a minute remaining in the first half, Darius Reynaud put the Titans ahead 21-14 on a 69-yard punt return for a touchdown, the first punt return for a touchdown in his career. Then, two minutes into the third quarter, he scored again on an 81-yard punt return. Reynaud set the franchise record and tied the NFL record with two punt return touchdowns in the same game. Only 13 NFL players had previously accomplished the feat, most recently Reggie Bush on Oct. 6, 2008. Reynaud now has three total career touchdowns. He scored earlier in the season (Sept. 23 against Detroit) on a kickoff return.
BROWN SCORES TWICE ON INTERCEPTIONS: Late in the second quarter, Zach Brown intercepted a Chad Henne pass and raced 79 yards for his first career touchdown. *It was the team's longest interception return sinceJordan Babineaux's97-yarder at Cleveland on Oct. 2, 2011. In the third quarter, he struck again, picking off a pass from Henne and racing 30 yards for a score. Brown tied the NFL record (reached several times) for interception return touchdowns in a game, and he became the third player in franchise history to accomplish the feat, joiningMiller Farr(Dec. 7, 1968) andKen Houston* (Dec. 19, 1971). Brown's touchdowns gave the team four interceptions for touchdowns in 2012.
JOHNSON OVER 1,200: Chris Johnson recorded 21 carries for 56 yards and a touchdown against the Jaguars. He finished the season with 1,243 rushing yards, giving him four career seasons with more than 1,200 yards (2008, 2009, 2010, 2012).
JOHNSON TIES FOR FOURTH IN CAREER TOUCHDOWNS: Chris Johnson helped put the Titans ahead 7-0 early in the first quarter on a two-yard touchdown run. It marked Johnson's sixth rushing touchdown of the season and the 44th of his five-year career. Including his four receiving touchdowns, Johnson now has 48 total touchdowns in his career, tying him with Ken Burrough and Ernest Givens for fourth on the franchise's all-time touchdowns list.
TOUCHDOWN ON FIRST DRIVE: On their first series of the game, the Titans scored on a seven-play, 79-yard drive. Chris Johnson's two-yard touchdown run provided their third opening-drive touchdown of the season. They scored eight total times on opening drives in 2012, including field goals and touchdowns.
HAWKINS SETS CAREER LONG: On the Titans' opening drive of the game, wide receiver Lavelle Hawkins recorded a career-long 42-yard reception on a pass from Jake Locker. It topped his previous long of 32 yards (twice, last at Atlanta on Nov. 20, 2011).
WASHINGTON EXTENDS STREAK: Early in the first quarter, wide receiver Nate Washington caught a 21-yard pass from Jake Locker. The play extended Washington's streak of consecutive games with at least one reception to 78, including all 64 games he has played with the Titans. Washington finished the 2012 campaign with a team-high 746 yards and four touchdowns on 46 receptions.
SIXTEEN-GAME STARTERS: There were seven Titans players who finished the 2012 season with starts in all 16 games: defensive tackle Jurrell Casey, safety Michael Griffin, cornerback Jason McCourty, defensive end Derrick Morgan, center/guard Fernando Velasco, cornerback Alterraun Verner and defensive end Kamerion Wimbley.
TITANS INACTIVES: The Titans' seven inactives in the game were quarterback Rusty Smith, wide receiver Damian Williams, cornerback Ryan Mouton, center Kevin Matthews, tackle Daniel Baldridge, tight end Craig Stevens and defensive tackle DaJohn Harris.
