Capsule summary of Sunday's AFC championship game:
Tennessee (AFC South, 12-5) at Oakland (AFC West 12-5)
Kickoff -- 6:30 p.m. EST
All-Time Series -- Oakland leads, 24-16.
Streaks -- Tennessee has won six of the last eight.
Coaches vs. Opponent -- Tennessee's Jeff Fisher, 3-1; Oakland's Bill Callahan, 1-0.
Teams vs. Common Opponent -- Tennessee 2-0 (New England 1-0, Pittsburgh 1-0); Oakland 2-0 (New England 1-0, Pittsburgh 1-0).
Playoff Records -- Tennessee 13-15; Oakland 24-17.
Last Week -- Tennessee defeated Pittsburgh in Nashville, 34-31 in overtime; Oakland defeated New York Jets in Oakland, 30-10.
Last Meeting -- Oakland won at home, 52-25, on Sept. 29, 2002. Oakland WR Jerry Rice had seven catches for 144 yards and one touchdown to pass Walter Payton for most career scrimmage yards. Oakland QB Rich Gannon had four touchdown passes.
Last Playoff Meeting -- Oakland won at home over Houston Oilers, 27-7, no Dec. 28, 1980. Oakland QB Jim Plunkett threw two touchdown passes in an AFC Wild Card game.
Statistics
Passing -- Tennessee, Steve McNair 301 of 492 for 3,387 yards, 22 touchdowns and 15 interceptions; Oakland, Rich Gannon, 418 of 618 for 4,689 yards, 26 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
Rushing -- Tennessee, Jeff George, 343 for 1,165 yards and 12 touchdowns; Oakland, Charlie Garner, 182 for 962 yards and seven touchdowns.
Receiving -- Tennessee, Derrick Mason, 79 for 1,012 yards and 12 touchdowns; Oakland, Jerry Rice, 92 for 1,211 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Offensive yards per game -- Tennessee, 329.5; Oakland 389.8.
Turnover ratio -- Tennessee, plus four; Oakland, plus 12.
Defensive yards per game -- Tennessee, 310.3; Oakland 311.2.
Sacks -- Tennessee, Kevin Carter, 10; Oakland, Rod Coleman, 11.
Interceptions-- Tennessee, Lance Schulters, 6; Oakland, Rod Woodson, 8.
Kicking -- Tennessee, Joe Nedney, 36-36 PAT, 25-31 FG; Oakland, Sebastian Janikowski, 50-50 PAT, 26-33 FG.
Notes -- Game features top two seeds in AFC (No. 1 Oakland vs. No. 2 Tennessee). Marks 11th time since 1975 (first year playoff teams seeded based upon record) that AFC's No. 1 and 2 seeds will meet AFC Championship Game. Home team has won six of those 10.
Tennessee -- Club earned third divisional title in winning AFC South. Titans have won 11 of past 12, outscoring opponents 294-196. Team is 5-3 on the road in 2002. Head Coach Jeff Fisher has won three of four career meetings vs. Oakland. QB Steve McNair has 3-1 career record vs. Raiders. In 2002 meeting vs. Oakland, McNair passed for career-best 398 yards. In six postseason games, McNair has rushed for 269 yards (44.8 yards per game) and four touchdowns on 43 carries. RB Eddie George has rushed for 573 yards in six playoff games for 95.5 yards per game avg. George has five touchdowns in those six. In four games vs. Raiders, George has rushed for 464 yards (116.0 yards per game) and four touchdowns, including career-best 215 yards on 8/31/97. Titans are 27-2 when George carries ball 27 or more times. TE Frank Wycheck tied career-high with 10 receptions and had career-best 123 yards with one touchdown last week vs. Steelers. WR-KR-PR Derrick Mason led club with 1,012 yards in posting back-to-back 1,000-yard receiving seasons for first time in career and became first Titan/Oiler to accomplish feat since 1990-91. Mason had six catches for 99 yards in 2002 meeting vs. Oakland. Among AFC receivers, Mason tied for second-most third-down receptions (27) and ranked fourth in 3rd-down receiving yards (335) in 14 games. WR DREW BENNETT had touchdown in 2002 meeting vs. Raiders and had seven catches for 85 yards last week vs. Steelers. Bennett made 18 of his 33 receptions on third down this season. Offensive line allowed fewest sacks in NFL (21). Rush defense allowed 89.0 yards per game, second in NFL. Titans allowed 4.98 yards per first down play (2,133 yards, 428 plays), second best in conference. In first season as starter, LB Keith Bulluck led team in tackles (177). Bulluck also added four interceptions and seven passes defensed. DE Kevin Carter led club and tied for fourth in AFC with 10.0 sacks and has reached double-digit sacks for fourth time in five seasons. Rookie DE Carlos Hall ranked third among NFL rookies in sacks with eight. S Lance Schulters tied for second in AFC with six interceptions. Special teams held opponents to avg. start at 24.8 yard line, best in NFL.
Oakland -- Has won 24 playoff games and can tie San Francisco (25) for seecond all-time in postseason wins. Team is making 14th appearance in AFL/AFC Championship Game, most in history. Raiders have scored 966 points in postseason, most among AFC clubs. Team needs 34 points to become third NFL team with 1,000 playoff points. Head Coach Bill Callahan is third coach to lead Raiders to championship game in first full season (John Madden, 1969, 12-1-1, AFL Championship Game and Art Shell, 1990, 12-4-0, AFC Championship Game). Club has defeated other three AFC division champions during season by combined score of 108-62. Raiders have won eight of past nine, outscoring opponents 254-126. Are 7-2 at home in 2002 and have won five of past six home playoff games. Team is one of nine NFL clubs to qualify for playoffs in each of past five decades. In 2002 meeting vs. Titans, Raiders scored 52 points, most since 12/24/00. Offense led league in total offense (389.8 yards per game), passing yards (279.7) and scored 450 points, second-most in NFL. Pro Bowl QB Rich Gannon, in 2002 meeting vs. Titans, completed 29 of 39 passes for 381 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions 138.9 passer rating. RB Charlie Garner ranked fourth among AFC total scrimmage yard leaders (1,903 -- 962 rushing, 941 receiving). With touchdown reception last week vs. New York Jets, Pro Bowl WR Jerry Rice tied Thurman Thomas and Emmitt Smith for most career playoff touchdowns (21). With 47 yards last week, Rice (2,132) surpassed Thomas (2,124) for most yards gained in playoff career. Rice's touchdown last Sunday bests his mark from last season as oldest player in NFL history to score in playoffs (40 years). In 2002 meeting vs. Tennessee, Rice had seven catches for 144 yards to become NFL's leader in scrimmage yards, surpassing Walter Payton. With 81 catches, WR Tim Brown has recorded 75-plus catches for past 10 seasons. In seven career meetings vs. Titans, Brown has six touchdowns. S Rod Woodson tied for NFL lead with eight interceptions. Had three interceptions in 2002 meeting vs. Titans, including 82-yard return for a touchdown. Raiders have eight interceptions vs. four touchdowns vs. Tennessee QB McNair. Defense ranked No. 3 in NFL vs. rush (90.8). DT Rod Coleman ranked third in AFC with 11.0 sacks and led NFL interior defensive linemen.
