Having tasted victory just four times in their last 27 contests over two years, the Titans will take a win anywhere they can find one.
But Tennessee would love to snap a home losing streak that’s creeping ever closer to “Titans era” franchise record territory.
The Titans head into Sunday’s home game against Seattle in the midst of a nine-game home losing streak, one that extends back to Nov. 10, 2024, the week after Tennessee defeated New England 20-17 in overtime at Nissan Stadium.
In other words, yes, it’s been more than a year — 381 days to be precise — since the Titans emerged victorious in front of their home fans.
“That’s definitely a tough stat,” Titans left guard Peter Skoronski said. “You want to reward your fans who come out and support you by winning. Home field advantage is supposed to be a good thing, and you want to take advantage of that.”
The “Titans era” record for consecutive home losses is 11, a streak that began Oct. 26, 2014, and ran through Nov. 29, 2015. It ended Dec. 6, 2015, the day that former Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota ran 87 yards for a touchdown to help beat Jacksonville 42-39 at Nissan.
The Houston Oilers, who would eventually become the Titans, once lost 13 straight home games during the 1972 and 1973 seasons.
The Titans are the only NFL team that hasn’t won a home game this season, after falling in Music City to the Los Angeles Rams, Indianapolis, New England, Los Angeles Chargers and Houston by an average of 12.6 points per contest.
Tennessee’s 16-13 loss to Houston came down to the game’s final play, which gave the small crowd on hand reason to become engaged in the contest.
“I feel like at times in [the Houston game], the crowd really got behind us, even [though it’s been] a tough season so far,” Skoronski said. “So, the fans are there. The fans want to be into it. They want to be part of that atmosphere. We have to find a way to reward them. I think that is winning at home. I think that’s a big factor.”
The odds are stacked against the Titans snapping the home losing streak Sunday.
The Seahawks (7-3) come into the contest having won nine of their last 10 road games, and they’re a 13.5-point favorite to beat the Titans, per BetOnline.ag. That’s the largest spread for a favored road team this season, 3.5 more points than Detroit was favored at Cincinnati in Week 5.
But who knows what might happen if the Titans build a little momentum in the early going, catch a break or two and get those diehard Tennessee fans excited enough to make a difference?
Strange things happen in the NFL every week, after all.
“The whole thing about home-field advantage is the crowd has energy, the players have energy,” Titans safety Amani Hooker said. “It’s our home turf and we want to protect it. In order to protect something, it has to be valuable. So we have to make sure we win to make sure that home field is valuable for us, to use to our advantage.”