2009 Tennessee Titans season The 2009 Tennessee Titans season is the 50th season for the original American Football League team , their 40th in the NFL , and 13th in Tennessee . The Titans aimed to equal or improve on their 2008 NFL best 13 – 3 record ; however , they lost the first 6 games of that season . The Titans won 7 out of their next 8 games before a 42 – 17 loss to the Chargers in Week 16 eliminated the team from playoff contention . Second - year running back Chris Johnson won the NFL rushing title with 2 , 006 rushing yards , and set the NFL record for most yards from scrimmage in a single season , with 2 , 509 . Schedule . The Titans played the Buffalo Bills on August 8 in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game , pitting teams owned by Bud Adams ( Titans ) and Ralph C . Wilson , Jr . ( Bills ) . They are the only surviving members of the " " Foolish Club " " , the eight original owners of American Football League franchises . The 2009 Professional Football season will celebrate what would have been the AFL ' s 50th . Both the Bills and Titans wore AFL throwbacks , with the Titans in Houston Oilers uniforms . Regular season results . Week 1 : at Pittsburgh Steelers . The Titans began their season at Heinz Field for the annual kickoff game against the defending Super Bowl champions , the Pittsburgh Steelers . After a scoreless first quarter , Tennessee trailed near the end of the second quarter as Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger completed a 34 - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Santonio Holmes . Afterwards , the Titans would tie the game as quarterback Kerry Collins completed a 16 - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Justin Gage . After a scoreless third quarter , Tennessee took the lead as kicker Rob Bironas got a 45 - yard field goal , while Pittsburgh kicker Jeff Reed made a 32 - yard field goal to tie the game . In overtime , the Steelers got the win as Reed nailed a game - winning 33 - yard field goal . With the loss , the Titans started the season out at 0 – 1 . Week 2 : vs . Houston Texans . Hoping to rebound from their loss against the Steelers , the Titans went home for their Week 2 home opener against their AFC South foe , the Houston Texans . Tennessee would strike first in the opening quarter as running back Chris Johnson got a 57 - yard touchdown run . The Texans would answer with quarterback Matt Schaub completing a 19 - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Andre Johnson , yet the Titans would reply with quarterback Kerry Collins completing a 69 - yard touchdown pass to Johnson . Tennessee would add onto their lead in the second quarter as Collins completed a 8 - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Nate Washington . However , Houston took the lead as Schaub completed a 72 - yard touchdown pass to Johnson and a 29 - yard touchdown pass to Jacoby Jones , followed by a 38 - yard field goal from kicker Kris Brown . The Titans would close out the half as kicker Rob Bironas made a 40 - yard field goal . In the third quarter , Tennessee would regain the lead as Johnson got a 91 - yard touchdown run . The Texans would tie the game again as Schaub completed a 1 - yard touchdown pass to tight end Owen Daniels . In the fourth quarter , Houston took the lead as Brown nailed a 23 - yard field goal . Afterwards , the Texans ' defense prevented any attempt at an offensive rally . With the loss , the Titans drop to 0 – 2 . Week 3 : at New York Jets . Trying to snap a two - game losing skid , the Titans flew to The Meadowlands , donned their Houston Oilers throwbacks , and played a Week 3 AFL Legacy game with the New York Jets . Tennessee would struggle in the first quarter as Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez got a 14 - yard touchdown run and completed a 2 - yard touchdown pass to tight end Ben Hartsock . The Titans would climb into the game in the second quarter with running back LenDale White ' s 5 - yard touchdown run and kicker Rob Bironas ' 38 - yard field goal . In the third quarter , Tennessee would take the lead with quarterback Kerry Collins ' 9 - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Nate Washington . However , New York would strike back with Sanchez ' s 6 - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery . The Jets would increase their lead in the fourth quarter with kicker Jay Feely ' s 48 - yard field goal . The Titans tried to rally , but New York ' s defense would stand firm and prevented any possible comeback attempt . With the loss , Tennessee would fall to 0 – 3 for the first time since the 2006 season . Week 4 : at Jacksonville Jaguars . Hoping to save their season , the Titans flew to Jacksonville Municipal Stadium for a Week 4 AFC South duel with the Jacksonville Jaguars . Tennessee would trail early in the first quarter as Jaguars kicker Josh Scobee got a 22 - yard field goal , followed by running back Maurice Jones - Drew ' s 9 - yard Touchdown . The Titans would get in the game in the second quarter with kicker Rob Bironas making a 29 - yard field goal . However , Jacksonville came right back with quarterback David Garrard completing a 9 - yard and a 15 - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Mike Sims - Walker , with Scobee ' s 50 - yard field goal in between . The Jaguars would continue to build their lead as Scobee nailed a 33 - yard field goal . Tennessee would then begin its comeback attempt with quarterback Kerry Collins completing a 14 - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Nate Washington ( with a failed 2 - point conversion ) . The Titans kept their rally going in the fourth quarter with Collins getting a 10 - yard touchdown run , followed by running back Chris Johnson ' s 2 - point conversion run . However , Jacksonville would pull away with Garrard ' s 33 - yard touchdown pass to tight end Marcedes Lewis . With this loss , Tennessee fell to 0 – 4 . Week 5 : vs . Indianapolis Colts . Down four games , the Titans went home for a Week 5 Sunday night duel with their AFC South rival , the Indianapolis Colts . Tennessee would trail in the first quarter as Colts quarterback Peyton Manning found wide receiver Reggie Wayne on a 3 - yard touchdown pass . The Titans would answer with a 49 - yard and a 43 - yard field goal from kicker Rob Bironas , but Indianapolis came right back in the second quarter with running back Joseph Addai ' s 1 - yard touchdown run . Tennessee tried to keep it close with Bironas nailing a 46 - yard field goal , yet the Colts continued its domination with Manning hooking up with wide receiver Austin Collie on a 39 - yard touchdown pass . Afterwards , Indianapolis would pull away in the second half . Manning connected with Collie again on a 6 - yard touchdown pass , followed by kicker Adam Vinatieri booting a 23 - yard field goal . With the loss , the Titans fell to 0 – 5 . Week 6 : at New England Patriots . Still looking for their first win of the season , the Titans flew to Gillette Stadium , donned Oilers throwback uniforms , and played a Week 6 AFL Legacy game with the New England Patriots in a rare October snowstorm . Tennessee ' s struggles continued as Patriots running back Laurence Maroney got a 45 - yard touchdown run , followed by kicker Stephen Gostkowski making a 33 - yard field goal . Things got worse for the Titans in the second quarter as quarterback Tom Brady completed five touchdown passes , two to wide receiver Randy Moss ( 40 - yard and 28 - yard ) , one to running back Kevin Faulk ( 38 - yard ) , and two to wide receiver Wes Welker ( 30 - yard and 5 - yard ) . New England would then conclude their scoring in the third quarter with Brady ' s 9 - yard touchdown pass to Moss , followed by backup quarterback Brian Hoyer ' s one - yard touchdown run . With the loss , not only did the Titans go into the bye week at 0 – 6 ( their first such start since 1984 ) , but they suffered their worst loss in franchise history , eclipsing a 61 – 7 loss to Cincinnati in 1989 , when the team was the Houston Oilers . This was the first 59 – 0 game since 1976 , and only the fourth in NFL history . it was the biggest blowout in the 2009 NFL season . Week 8 : vs . Jacksonville Jaguars . Coming off their bye week , the Titans went home for a Week 8 AFC South rematch with the Jacksonville Jaguars . In this game , quarterback Vince Young would make his first start since Week 1 of the 2008 NFL season . Tennessee got off to a fast start in the first quarter with kicker Rob Bironas booting a 48 - yard field goal . In the second quarter , the Titans would add onto their lead as Young hooked up with wide receiver Nate Washington on a 6 - yrd touchdown pass , followed by Bironas nailing a 25 - yard field goal . The Jaguars would answer with an 80 - yard touchdown run from running back Maurice Jones - Drew . In the third quarter , Jacksonville would tie the game as Jones - Drew got a 79 - yard touchdown run ( with a blocked PAT ) , yet Tennessee came right back with a 52 - yard touchdown run from running back Chris Johnson and a 45 - yard field goal from Bironas . Afterwards , the Titans pulled away in the fourth quarter with Johnson getting an 89 - yard touchdown . With the win , Tennessee improved to 1 – 6 . This would become the first game in NFL history where there were 4 touchdown runs of 50 or more yards . Also , Johnson ( 24 carries for 228 yards ) and Jones - Drew ( 8 carries for 177 yards ) would join the Browns ' Bobby Mitchell ( 14 carries for 232 yards ) and the Redskins ' Johnny Olszewski ( 18 carries for 190 yards ) on November 15 , 1959 as the only pair of opposing running backs to both have at least 175 yards rushing in the same game . Week 9 : at San Francisco 49ers . Coming off their divisional home win over the Jaguars , the Titans flew to Candlestick Park for a Week 9 interconference duel with the San Francisco 49ers . Tennessee would trail early in the first quarter as 49ers kicker Joe Nedney got a 40 - yard field goal , yet the Titans would answer with kicker Rob Bironas making a 21 - yard field goal . The Titans would take the lead in the second quarter as quarterback Vince Young got a 10 - yard touchdown run , but San Francisco would close out the half with a 3 - yard touchdown run from running back Frank Gore and a 12 - yard touchdown pass from quarterback Alex Smith to wide receiver Jason Hill . In the third quarter , Tennessee would tie the game as running back Chris Johnson got a 1 - yard touchdown . The 49ers would retake their lead in the fourth quarter with Nedney nailing a 25 - yard field goal , yet the Titans would regain the lead with Johnson ' s 2 - yard touchdown run , Bironas ' 28 - yard field goal , and cornerback Cortland Finnegan ' s 39 - yard interception return for a touchdown . San Francisco tried to make a comeback as Smith found Hill again on a 3 - yard touchdown pass , yet Tennessee ' s defense held up for the victory . With the win , the Titans improved to 2 – 6 . Week 10 : vs . Buffalo Bills . Coming off their road win over the 49ers , the Titans went home , donned their Houston Oilers throwbacks , and played a Week 10 AFL Legacy game with the Buffalo Bills . Tennessee would trail early in the first quarter as Bills running back Fred Jackson threw a 27 - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Lee Evans . The Titans would respond as running back Chris Johnson got a 28 - yard touchdown run , followed by quarterback Vince Young hooking up with wide receiver Nate Washington on a 14 - yard touchdown pass . In the second quarter , Tennessee would increase their lead as kicker Rob Bironas booted a 38 - yard field goal . Buffalo would end the half with quarterback Trent Edwards finding Evans on an 8 - yard touchdown pass . The Bills would tie the game in the third quarter with kicker Rian Lindell booting a 25 - yard field goal , yet the Titans would explode with points in the fourth quarter . It began with Johnson ' s 1 - yard touchdown run , followed by Bironas ' 51 - yard field goal . It would follow up with safety Vincent Fuller returning an interception 26 yards for a touchdown and cornerback Rod Hood returning an inteception 31 yards for a touchdown . With the win , Tennessee would improve to 3 – 6 . Chris Johnson ( 26 carries , 132 yards , 2 TDs and 9 catches , 100 yards ) would join Billy Cannon as the only players in franchise history to rush and receive for 100 yards in one game . He would also join Earl Campbell in 1980 as the only players in franchise history to have two rushing touchdowns in three - straight games . Week 11 : at Houston Texans . Coming off their win over the Bills , the Titans flew to Reliant Stadium for an AFC South rivalry match against the Houston Texans . In the first quarter the Titans trailed early as QB Matt Schaub got a 3 - yard touchdown pass to RB Steve Slaton . In the second quarter they replied with QB Vince Young completing a 13 - yard touchdown pass to WR Kenny Britt . Then Houston tried to pull away as Schaub hooked up with WR Andre Johnson on a 13 - yard touchdown pass , until the Titans replied again with RB LenDale White making a 1 - yard touchdown run . The Titans got the lead in the third quarter as kicker Rob Bironas made a 50 - yard field goal , but the Texans replied to tie the game when kicker Kris Brown made a 26 - yard field goal . In the fourth quarter the Titans scored for the win when Bironas got a 53 - yard field goal . Brown had a chance to tie the game and sent it into overtime for the second game in a row and for the second game in a row he missed giving the Titans the victory . With the win , the Titans improve to 4 – 6 . Week 12 : vs . Arizona Cardinals . The game would start with a Rob Bironas field goal to take a 3 nothing lead . However , to end the first half , Tennessee was holding the defending NFC champs 6 – 3 , but an extended play with 5 seconds left on Arizona ' s 20 or so , would diminish Tennessees chances for a field goal . Tennessee scored the first touchdown during the second half to take a 13 – 3 lead , but Arizona scored 14 straight points with the help of Lerod Stevens - Howling returning a kickoff for a touchdown . Facing a 17 – 13 deficit at their own 1 yard line , Vince Young led the Titans on an 18 play drive which featured him throwing for 94 yards , running for 5 and converting three 4th downs including a 4th & goal to Kenny Britt as time expired for a touchdown to win 20 – 17 . The win improved the team to 5 – 6 and marked the first time in NFL history that a team won five - straight games after losing their first six . Week 13 : at Indianapolis Colts . With the loss , the Titans ' 5 - game winning streak came to an end and they were swept by the Colts after losing their 3rd straight game to them as they fell to 5 - 7 . Week 15 : vs . Miami Dolphins . With both teams fighting for their playoff lives the Titans clawed to a 24 – 9 lead over the Dolphins , but two fourth quarter touchdowns by Chad Henne forced overtime . Henne , however , was intercepted in overtime , setting up a 46 - yard game - winning Rob Bironas field goal .