A rolling New Orleans Saints team comes into Week 17 as winners of three in a row. The Saints haven’t won four consecutive games since nine straight victories midway through the 2020 season. To get a fourth straight win, the 5-10 Saints will have to do it on the road against the 3-12 Tennessee Titans. Quietly, Tennessee has won two of their last three outings but are just 1-7 at home.
Dating back to when they were the Houston Oilers, this will be the 18th all-time meeting between the Saints and Titans/Oilers franchise. The Titans moved from Houston to Tennessee after the 1996 season. After two years as the Tennessee Oilers, they became the Tennessee Titans in 1999. Here’s a look through the history between the teams.
Saints vs. Titans Series History7-9-1 overall4-3-1 away (overall)3-5 vs. Titans2-2 away vs. TitansLast 5 matchups: 3-2Last meeting (2023): Saints (16-15)Last meeting in Tennessee (2021): Titans (23-21)
New Orleans didn’t first meet the Houston Oilers until 1971. A game played in the Astrodome, each team managed an identical 263 yards of total offense. The Saints got 184 yards on the ground and 89 receiving from Danny Abramowicz, but could only salvage a 13-13 tie. It was the only tie in the series history between the teams. The Oilers first played in New Orleans in 1976, the first year of the Superdome. Despite outgaining Houston, scoring 17 fourth quarter points, and getting 291 yards passing combined from Bobby Scott and Bobby Douglass, the Saints fell to the Oilers by a score of 31-26. Former Saint Ken Burrough, a first round choice of the Saints in 1970, led the Oilers with 5 receptions and 99 yards.
Bum Phillips led the Houston Oilers to four winning seasons, three playoff berths, and two appearances in the AFC Championship game along with two wins against the Saints between 1975 and 1980. As the new coach of New Orleans in 1981, Phillips led his Saints to their first ever victory against his former team Houston. Playing at the Astrodome, the Saints got 142 rushing yards from Rookie of the Year George Rogers to get the 27-24 victory. It was the first of three straight wins against Houston through 1987, their longest in the series.
New Orleans played the Oilers in the Superdome in 1996, their final season in Houston. The Oilers routed the Saints by a 31-14 score, equaling the largest margin of victory by either squad in the series. New Orleans would also face the Tennessee Titans in 1999, their first year of existence. Playing in Tennessee, the Saints got 354 passing yards from Billy Joe Tolliver but turned the ball over 4 times and gave up 155 rushing yards to Eddie George in a 24-21 Titans win. Those would be the first two of four straight victories by the Oilers/Titans against the Saints through 2007.
The Saints would get their first win in Tennessee during the 2011 campaign. Drew Brees threw for 337 yards and Marques Colston caught 7 passes for 105 yards and 2 fourth quarter touchdowns in a 22-17 victory. Brees would throw for 279 and 3 touchdowns during a 38-28 win over the Titans in Tennessee in 2019, the Saints last win in Tennessee. New Orleans wideout Michael Thomas had 12 catches for 136 yards in the win, in the process breaking the NFL single-season reception record.
New Orleans last played in Tennessee in 2021. The Saints got 298 passing yards from Trevor Siemian, but a missed 2-point conversion in the final minutes resulted in a 23-21 Titans victory. The Saints pulled out a 16-15 win against the Titans in the last meeting between these teams during the 2023 season opener in the Superdome. New Orleans quarterback Derek Carr threw for 305 yards, finding Chris Olave eight times for 112 yards in the 16-15 win.
Notable NumbersTyler Shough will be the fourth quarterback the Saints have started in their last four meetings against the Titans (Drew Brees, Trevor Siemian, Derek Carr)In his last three matchups against the Titans as a Saint, Drew Brees threw for 1,003 yards with 8 touchdowns and 1 interceptionIn five career games against the Titans, Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan has 1.5 sacksRookie quarterback Cam Ward will start for the Titans on Sunday. Ryan Tannehill had started for Tennessee in their last three games against the Saints.