- [Announcer] It's January 30th, the year 2000.
We're at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta for Super Bowl 34
where the Tennessee Titans and St. Louis Rams
have just six seconds separating them from history.
With the ball at the 10, down seven,
and no time outs remaining,
the Titans have one last chance to stay alive.
Otherwise, this Rams team that came from nowhere
will be going home champions.
No matter what happens, one of these franchises
will win their first Super Bowl tonight.
And once that's the case,
everything that's led us to this moment
will be overshadowed.
But in order to fully appreciate what's to come,
let's rewind.
Steve McNair has gotten the Titans in position
to do what has never been done by a franchise
that's on it's third city in just four years.
But it wasn't too long ago that McNair wasn't guaranteed
to be starting in this situation.
Following a week one shootout victory over the Bengals,
McNair needed surgery for an inflamed disc
which sidelined him until late October.
In his absence, veteran Neil O'Donnell kept Tennessee
atop the AFC, and played well enough to make Jeff Fisher's
decision a little tougher as McNair prepared to return.
Whether it was mind games or legitimate uncertainty,
the starter wasn't named until just before
their week eight match up
which happened to be against the then-undefeated
St. Louis Rams.
McNair ended up getting the nod,
and while his day was far from perfect
he accounted for all three Titan's touchdowns
in a close win.
Tennessee would only lose twice the rest of the way
setting a new franchise record for regular season wins.
The previous mark had been set six years earlier in Houston
by an Oilers team that unintentionally lay the foundation
for this current squad.
After six straight playoff appearances that ended before
the conference championship,
owner Bud Adams told the '93 Oilers team
that if they didn't win the Super Bowl that year
he'd break them up.
And, after that 12-4 team fell in their opening round,
Adams was true to his word.
He traded Houston hero Warren Moon to Minnesota
and stuck with career backup Cody Carlson.
The result was a 2-14 season in which Jeff Fisher
took over as head coach for the final six games.
Despite finishing with the worst record in the league,
thanks to a couple of expansion teams,
the Oilers had to settle for picking third in the draft.
It ended up working out though,
as they grabbed their next franchise QB.
And while he played well enough to get them here,
the Titans wouldn't have had the season that they did
without the guy next to McNair in the back field.
By the time McNair became the full time starter
in his third season,
Eddie George had already established himself
as one of the best runners in the league.
He was named the Offensive Rookie of the Year in 1996
and immediately looked to challenge
for the lead rushing title.
Controlling games on the ground with George
and the dual threat McNair
would become even more important for a team without
a home field advantage, let alone an actual home field.
In 1997 with an offense full of potential,
Adams moved the franchise
a year earlier than he had originally planned.
The first season in Tennessee, still under the Oilers' name,
they played their home games at the Liberty Bowl in Memphis.
But since the city knew
that the franchise wouldn't stick around,
fewer fans attended their games than the crowds
that came out for the Memphis Maniax in the XFL.
Adams realized he needed to get the team
to Nashville as soon as possible.
So in 1998, they played their home games at Vanderbilt
before finally getting their own place for the '99 season.
To coincide with the opening of Adelphia Coliseum
the team adopted the Titans' name
and in front of a sell-out crowd went 8-0 at home.
They handed the AFC leading Jaguars
their only two losses of the season,
as the Titans' offense improved from the last few years.
George found the end zone thirteen times
as he became more involved in the passing game
while McNair ran for another eight touchdowns himself.
And despite entering the post season
as a 13-3 wild card team
thanks to the division leading Jaguars,
this was a very different team than the Moon led Oilers
that had been unable to find their rhythm in the playoffs.
The Titans have come a long way to get to this point
but this Rams team might have come even further,
and thanks to a high powered offense,
they're just a play away from winning it all.
Going back to the start of the season,
there really wasn't much optimism
for this version of the Rams.
That offseason, they had signed Trent Green
to a 16 1/2 million dollar contract
and traded away their signal caller of the last three years,
Tony Banks.
Green's year came to an end though
in the third pre-season game.
And stepping up in his absence was the undrafted free agent
Kurt Warner.
This was only Warner's second season in the NFL
and he had all of 11 pass attempts to his name.
That, plus the fact that their other off-season splash
Marshall Faulk, held out until early August
led to their season outlook ranging from six wins
to worst in the league.
Considering the last time they finished
five hundred or better was 1989,
it was easy to look past the amount of talent
on their roster.
But once they got Faulk under contract,
who had been playing so well that the Colts decided
they couldn't afford him,
he'd help take pressure off of
Pro Bowl wideout Isaac Bruce.
The receiver was back to full health after missing time
the last two seasons with hamstring injuries.
In the '99 draft, the Rams got Bruce a new partner,
NC State's Torry Holt.
But with a quarterback not long removed
from bagging groceries,
few believed in the offensive potential.
That changed very quickly.
The Greatest Show on Turf averaged nearly 33 points per game
and were never held below 21.
Faulk became the second player to ever record
one thousand yards rushing and receiving in a season,
and Bruce started all 16 games,
finishing as the team leader
in receiving yards and touchdowns.
The offense was clicking in every way
and helped propel the Rams to be seven point favorites
for their rematch with the Titans.
So if this score holds, Tennessee won't be the only ones
taking a bad beat.
And the Rams' defense
is looking to make sure that's the case.
Sure, a good offense can make things
a bit easier for the defense,
but St. Louis was winning
by dominating on both sides of the ball.
At season's end, no one was tougher to run on than the Rams.
With opponents usually playing from behind,
they also made life miserable for the opposing quarterback.
Defensive end Kevin Carter racked up
a league leading 17 sacks,
and anything thrown over the middle
was in danger thanks to Mike Jones who had four picks
and three touchdowns on the season.
The unit did their part, and the team finished
with an ungodly point differential;
over one hundred points greater than the second highest team
and more than tripling that of anyone else.
This jump by St. Louis came in the third season
under Dick Vermeil,
who the Rams had lured out of a 15 year retirement
in hopes that he would spark just this sort of turnaround.
And just as he did with the Eagles,
Vermeil pulled it off and got this team to the Super Bowl.
But despite being up seven,
the offense hasn't played quite up to par.
That actually dates back to the NFC championship game
when they hosted the 11-win Buccaneers.
In a game where the Rams had a 5-3 halftime lead,
they would barely hang on to win 11-6.
And while it didn't exactly decide the game,
they did get some help from the refs
on an absolutely terrible call
where they decided this was an incomplete pass.
A week later, and the Rams' offense
has continued to sputter tonight.
They managed to out gain the Titans by a wide margin
in the first half, but only had nine points to show from it
thanks to the leg of Jeff Wilkins.
Faulk was held in check the entire game
and it wasn't until halfway through the third quarter
that they found the end zone,
when Warner hit Holt from nine yards out.
The good news for the Rams was
the Titans' offense had been stifled all day.
And their kicker hadn't helped them out.
As Del Greco missed his first attempt early on,
then had his next one blocked
at the start of the second half,
that plus the fact that no team had ever come back from
a deficit greater than 10 points in any Super Bowl
made the lead feel practically insurmountable.
But in the last quarter and a half,
the Titans chipped away.
Following the Rams' touchdown, Tennessee put together
a 12 play drive to cover 66 yards,
and capped it off with a short Eddie George touchdown.
Their two point conversion attempt failed,
keeping it a two score game.
But after a Rams' three-and-out, they once again
methodically drove down the field.
This time covering 79 yards in 13 plays,
George got into the end zone a second time
to cut the Rams' lead to three.
(Cheering)
- [TV commentator] ... breaking tackle, into the end zone.
- [Announcer] Their defense once again
forced a three-and-out which gave McNair and George
plenty of time to get the Titans in position
to kick the tying field goal.
And this time Del Greco didn't miss.
So with 2:12 remaining, Tennessee had pulled off
the largest comeback in Super Bowl history.
But now with six seconds left,
they're going to have to do it again.
Down seven is much more manageable than 16
but the way they found themselves here
is a bit more gut wrenching.
That's because the St. Louis offense
finally looked like the St. Louis offense.
On the first play from scrimmage
after the Tennessee field goal,
Warner hung it up near the sideline
where Bruce snagged it, made one man miss, and was off.
After going up 16-0, the Rams' offense held the ball
for just two of the last twenty plus minutes
but only needed one pass to find themselves back on top.
Although the Titans had put themselves in a decent position
just 10 yards out, moments ago it looked like
they'd be needing a true Hail Mary.
From the 32-yard line with one time out,
McNair couldn't find an open receiver
and attempted to extend the play on his own.
- [TV Commentator] (cheering) ... rolling, needs help.
- [Announcer] He somehow found an open Kevin Dyson
whose forward progress got the ball to the ten
and the Titans called their final time out.
And that brings us here.
The Titans have one play to score,
and the Rams just need to make one tackle
to cap off their unexpected season.
Unfortunately the guy that they have to tackle
has already proven more than capable of creating miracles.
That is, once again, Kevin Dyson.
Dyson is about as unassuming
as first round wide receivers go.
He led the Titans in receiving yards that year,
and McNair looked for the second year receiver
far more than any Titan wideout.
But in a limited passing attack, it didn't amount to much.
Regardless, his regular season stats
didn't matter to Tennessee
after what he'd already pulled off in these playoffs.
On Wildcard Weekend, the Titans hosted the 11-5 Bills.
Buffalo managed to kick a field goal
that put them up one with only 16 seconds remaining.
But then, on the ensuing kick off,
well, we got the Music City Miracle.
(cheering)
- [TV Commentator] ... taken by Dyson,
Dyson on the sideline, Dyson's gonna go all the way,
and there is no flag...
- But back to tonight, Tennessee's hero had been
mostly quiet.
Before McNair found him a play earlier to get here,
he only had two catches for 16 yards.
Still, all season when the Titans have needed a play,
he's been there.
McNair, Dyson, and the rest of the Titans' offense
have the chance to keep this going
and bring a championship to their new home in Nashville.
They've pulled off the miraculous just to get to this point
and the Rams know better than anyone
that all it takes is one play.
Their recently unheralded quarterback
watches from the sideline
as the Rams hope there defense can make one more stop.
One play, 10 yards.
Welcome to a moment in history.
(cheering)
- [TV Commentator] Probably the final play of the game
in regulation.
It is caught by Dyson.
Can he get in?
No, he can not.
Mike Jones made the tackle
and the Rams have won the Super Bowl.
- [Announcer] Hey new friend, since you're still here
I think you'd like this REWINDER episode about the time
Matt Hasselbeck made a bold overtime statement
and could not back it up.
Or, now that you've seen him win, watch Kurt Warner lose.
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