The 2011 season was the Tennessee Titans' 42nd in the National Football League (NFL), their 52nd overall and their 15th in the state of Tennessee. It was also their first season under head coach Mike Munchak, replacing longtime head coach Jeff Fisher, who resigned on January 27 after 17 seasons. The team improved on their 6–10 record from 2010 and finished tied with the Cincinnati Bengals for the last playoff spot, but lost the tiebreaker due to their 24–17 loss to the Bengals in Week 9, missing the playoffs for a third consecutive season.
Offseason
2011 draft class
Round Selection Player Position College 1 8 Jake Locker QB Washington 2 39 Akeem Ayers LB UCLA 3 77 Jurrell Casey DT USC 4 109 Colin McCarthy LB Miami (FL) 5 142 Karl Klug DE Iowa 6 175 Byron Stingily T Louisville 7 212 Zach Clayton DT Auburn
Coaching staff 2011 Tennessee Titans staff Front office Founder/owner/chairman/president/CEO – Bud Adams Executive vice president/general manager – Mike Reinfeldt Vice president of player personnel – Ruston Webster Vice president of football operations – Lake Dawson Vice president of football administration – Vincent Marino
Head coaches Head coach – Mike Munchak
Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator – Chris Palmer Quarterbacks/pass game coordinator – Dowell Loggains Running backs – Jim Skipper Wide receivers – Dave Ragone Tight ends – John Zernhelt Offensive line – Bruce Matthews Offensive line assistant – Art Valero Offensive assistant/quality control – Charles London Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Jerry Gray Defensive line – Tracy Rocker Linebackers – Frank Bush Secondary – Marcus Robertson Secondary assistant – Curtis Fuller Senior assistant – Dave McGinnis Defensive assistant/quality control – Arthur Smith
Special teams coaches Special teams – Alan Lowry Special teams assistant – Chet Parlavecchio
Strength and Conditioning Coaches Assistant head coach/strength and conditioning – Steve Watterson
Final roster
Preseason
Schedule
The Titans' preseason schedule was announced on April 12, 2011. Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 August 13 Minnesota Vikings W 14–3 1–0 LP Field Recap 2 August 20 at St. Louis Rams L 16–17 1–1 Edward Jones Dome Recap 3 August 27 Chicago Bears W 14–13 2–1 LP Field Recap 4 September 1 at New Orleans Saints W 32–9 3–1 Louisiana Superdome Recap
Regular season
Schedule
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 September 11 at Jacksonville Jaguars L 14–16 0–1 EverBank Field Recap 2 September 18 Baltimore Ravens W 26–13 1–1 LP Field Recap 3 September 25 Denver Broncos W 17–14 2–1 LP Field Recap 4 October 2 at Cleveland Browns W 31–13 3–1 Cleveland Browns Stadium Recap 5 October 9 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 17–38 3–2 Heinz Field Recap 6 Bye 7 October 23 Houston Texans L 7–41 3–3 LP Field Recap 8 October 30 Indianapolis Colts W 27–10 4–3 LP Field Recap 9 November 6 Cincinnati Bengals L 17–24 4–4 LP Field Recap 10 November 13 at Carolina Panthers W 30–3 5–4 Bank of America Stadium Recap 11 November 20 at Atlanta Falcons L 17–23 5–5 Georgia Dome Recap 12 November 27 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 23–17 6–5 LP Field Recap 13 December 4 at Buffalo Bills W 23–17 7–5 Ralph Wilson Stadium Recap 14 December 11 New Orleans Saints L 17–22 7–6 LP Field Recap 15 December 18 at Indianapolis Colts L 13–27 7–7 Lucas Oil Stadium Recap 16 December 24 Jacksonville Jaguars W 23–17 8–7 LP Field Recap 17 January 1 at Houston Texans W 23–22 9–7 Reliant Stadium Recap
Game summaries
Week 1: at Jacksonville Jaguars
Week 2: vs. Baltimore Ravens
Week 3: vs. Denver Broncos
Week 4: at Cleveland Browns
Week 5: at Pittsburgh Steelers
Coming off their road win over the Browns, the Titans flew to Heinz Field for a Week 5 intraconference duel with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Tennessee threw the game's opening punch in the first quarter with a 29-yard field goal from kicker Rob Bironas, but the Steelers answered with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger completing an 8-yard touchdown pass to tight end Heath Miller. Pittsburgh added onto their lead in the second with Roethlisberger completing a 7-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Hines Ward and a 1-yard touchdown pass to fullback David Johnson.
The Steelers continued their dominating performance in the third quarter with Roethlisberger completing a 5-yard touchdown pass to Ward. The Titans would respond with a 1-yard touchdown run from running back Chris Johnson, yet Pittsburgh came right back in the fourth quarter with kicker Shaun Suisham getting a 19-yard field goal. Tennessee tried to rally as quarterback Matt Hasselbeck found wide receiver Damian Williams on a 19-yard touchdown pass, but the Steelers closed out the game with Roethlisberger completing a 40-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Mike Wallace.
With the loss, the Titans fell to 3–2.
Week 7: vs. Houston Texans
Week 8: vs. Indianapolis Colts
Week 9: vs. Cincinnati Bengals
Week 10: at Carolina Panthers
Week 11: at Atlanta Falcons
Week 12: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Week 13: at Buffalo Bills
Week 14: vs. New Orleans Saints
Week 15: at Indianapolis Colts
Week 16: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
With the win the Titans improved to 8–7. In order to secure a playoff spot the Tennessee Titans need a win at Houston in Week 17, combined with a Bengals loss, a Broncos win, and Raiders win. If either Cincinnati wins against Baltimore or Denver loses against Kansas City, the Titans will be eliminated from postseason contention.
Week 17: at Houston Texans
With the win, the Titans finished the season 9–7 and would secure their first winning season since 2008. However, they were eliminated from postseason contention due to the Denver Broncos losing against the Kansas City Chiefs 7–3.
Standings
References