Skip to main content

Don't mess with the Terrible Towel -- just ask the Titans

Don't mess with the Terrible Towel.



Everyone scoffed at that idea last season after the Tennessee Titans beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-14 to secure home-field advantage in the playoffs and the No. 1 seed in the AFC.



On the sidelines, running back LenDale White and other Titans could be seen stomping on the Terrible Towel after the game. Defensive end Jevon Kearse pretended to blow his nose in the Towel.



Bad move.



The heinous acts cause an outcry in Pittsburgh and throughout Steeler Nation.



You don't mess with the Terrible Towel.



Period.



Everyone else laughed. It's just a towel, they said. The didn't believe in the magic of Myron Cope's creation.


Steelers fans knew better. They believed.

The Titans lost their final game of the regular season, but no one really paid too much attention to that as they finished with a 13-3 record. Plenty of NFL experts thought there would be a Steelers-Titans rematch in the AFC Championship Game.

Didn't play out that way.

The Titans lost to the Ravens 13-10 in the divisional round of the playoffs and were left wondering what happened to such a fantastic season, which should have included a trip to the Super Bowl.

We all know how the rest of the season played out.

The Steelers won their record sixth Lombardi Trophy, but that didn't stop the Titans from dissing the Terrible Towel.

The NFL gave us the should-have-been playoff rematch to start the 2009 season because the Titans couldn't hold up their end of the bargain. As the game approached, White kept talking.

"If there's a towel in the stands, I will stomp on it," he said. "I don't care who gets mad. ... If they throw a towel at me, I'm going to kick it and stomp all over it. If they don't want their towel stomped on, keep it out my face."

Sorry, LenDale, you didn't get your chance.

The Titans lost the opener in overtime and are still searching for their first win of a season that has quickly turned sour.

Their latest loss was an embarrassment, a record 59-0 drubbing by the New England Patriots on Sunday.

It was so bad, the Patriots totaled over 600 yards of offense, the Titans gave up 45 first-half points and coach Jeff Fisher was asked about his job security.

That makes the Titans 0-6 this season and 0-8 overall since White and Co. made fun of the Towel.

Their Tennessee Two-Step hasn't worked out the way they planned.

White, who scored 15 touchdowns last season, has rushed for just 148 yards and one touchdown in six games. Kearse has had just three tackles and a sack in his first four games and missed his last two games, which included a 31-9 loss to the Colts.

Today, everyone is scratching their heads wanting to know what the heck happened to cause the Titans to go from a 13-3 Super Bowl contender to one of the NFL's laughingstocks.

Here's a hint: Don't mess with the Terrible Towel.

We knew that a year ago.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Are the Steelers the team no one wants to face?

Embed from Getty Images There's a label attached to the Steelers this postseason: The team no one wants to face. Don't buy it? Monday Morning QB thinks so . Andy Benoit says an explosive passing game and creative defense makes Pittsburgh the most dangerous team in the AFC. I don't think the Ravens had any problems facing the Steelers two weeks ago. But, hey, the Ravens aren't in the playoffs, right? The problem with the Steelers is the defense. They might be creative, as Benoit suggests, but they're also vulnerable to the big play. The team seems to play up -- or down -- to its competition. So, again, there are no Ravens in the playoffs, so they can't be accused of playing down. However, the Steelers have to like their chances with the Bengals on Saturday. One Vegas line on Sunday night had Pittsburgh as a small favorite. Does that mean the Steelers could play down to Cincy? I'm sure the Steelers will be fired up. And it is the po

It was a Burfict ending for the Steelers against the Bengals

Embed from Getty Images I've never seen an ending like that . Oh, sure, I've seen games play out like the scoring summary did from Saturday night's unbelievable wild-card game. Steelers take a 15-0 lead. It looks like they have the game in hand. The Bengals take the lead late in the game. The Steelers win it with a field goal in the waning seconds. That doesn't quite sum it up, does it? Not this game. Not the way it unfolded. Let's get back to the 15-0 part. Martavis Bryant gave the Steelers that lead with an incredible TD catch from Ben Roethlisberger. He actually caught it with his butt. I'm not sure how that was a football move -- but I digress. At that point, it looked like the Steelers were in control. Then Vontaze Burfict took over for the Bengals. Yeah, that guy. Burfict sacked Roethlisberger at the end of the third quarter, knocking Big Ben out of the game. Embed from Getty Images But all the Ste

Don't compare the Steelers to last year's playoff team

Embed from Getty Images I'm already hearing talk about this year's playoff is unfolding like last year. You know how that went: The Steelers lost their starting running back in Week 17, then lost in the wild-card round against a divisional opponent. This year, DeAngelo Williams was injured in Week 17. And the Steelers face a divisional opponent -- the Bengals. That's where it stops. Williams has a sprained ankle, and is considered day-to-day. They also face an opponent that has a rich history -- of losing in the postseason. That's not to suggest that this game is a gimmie and the Steelers should book a trip to Denver. This will present it's share of challenges, namely A.J. Green and tight end Tyler Eifert. The Steelers will need to slow them down, no matter who's throwing the ball. But, if A.J. McCarron is behind center, that should be in favor of the Steelers -- also something different from a year ago.