Tennessee Titans Vs. Jacksonville Jaguars: Will History Repeat Itself?

This Sunday the Tennessee Titans will take on their divisional foe, the Jacksonville Jaguars at noon on October 12.

12 years ago and a day, the Tennessee Titans took on their divisional foe, the Jacksonville Jaguars at noon on October 13th.

Both times the Titans were 1-4.

In 2002, the Titans won their first game of the season followed by a tailspin of 4 straight losses.  Included in these were losses to the Cowboys and the Browns, as well as blowouts to the Raiders and Redskins to the tune of 52-25 and 31-14 respectively.  The fourth loss came from the Redskins, where the Titans had the lead before giving up 21 consecutive points. Any of this sound familiar?

The team was in disarray and the fan base had given up on the franchise and the players.  The defense was getting gashed and the calls were becoming louder and louder for Steve McNair to be replaced by Neil O'Donnell.

The 2002 Titans managed to win 10 of their next 11 on their way to the playoffs and eventually to the AFC Championship game.

Let's be sure of one thing, this team is not that team.  Jake Locker is not Steve McNair, heck Jake probably won't even see the field, and the 2002 team didn't just undergo a coaching and schematic overhaul as well. The current Titans look lost in all three phases and there has been plenty of questionable coaching moves along the way to boot.

In hindsight, there's a lot of differences between this team and that one.  But at the time, sitting at 1-4, it sure didn't feel like it.  It felt just as bad, just as dejecting, just as hopeless.

Will the Tennessee Titans go on a run, repeating history, as they string together close wins and galvanize into a playoff team?

Probably not.

But then again, it has happened before.