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GAME DAY PREVIEW Game time: 1:00pm ET Cincinnati (0-0-0) at Tennessee (0-0-0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Records
NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Ticker) -- A new name, a new logo and finally a new stadium. The Tennessee Oilers are now the Tennessee Titans and will host the Cincinnati Bengals in the new 67,000-seat Adelphia Coliseum located on the east bank of the Cumberland River in the season opener for the AFC Central rivals. It is no secret that both coaches -- Bruce Coslet of the Bengals and Jeff Fisher of the Titans -- are on the hot seat. Coslet survived a 3-13 disaster last season while Fisher has strung together three consecutive 8-8 campaigns. Titans owner Bud Adams has publicly said he expects the team to make the playoffs this year. Tennessee swept the season series from the Bengals last year for the first time since 1993, winning 23-14 at Cincinnati on September 6 and 44-14 on October 18. In the second meeting, Steve McNair completed 16-of-21 passes for 277 yards and ran and threw for touchdowns and Eddie George rushed for 107 yards. It was the largest point total for the franchise since a 47-17 rout of the Raiders in December 1991. Neil O'Donnell, the starting quarterback for the Bengals last year, is now the backup to McNair in Tennessee. Jeff Blake, who lost his starting job to O'Donnell last year, is back as the Bengals starter. Rookie Akili Smith, the third overall pick in the draft, is waiting in the wings for Cincinnati. Cincinnati received an unexpected boost when receiver Carl Pickens signed a one-year tender with the Bengals after vowing to never play for the team again. He is the franchise's all-time leader with 473 receptions. Bengals runing back Corey Dillon has averaged 6.3 yards per carry (80 for 500 yards) opposed to 4.2 yards per carry against all other foes. Meanwhile, Tennessee's Eddie George has rushed for 538 yards in six games against the Bengals. Yancey Thigpen has 15 receptions for 308 yards and two scores in his last three games against the Bengals. The Titans have won six in a row against AFC Central teams and are 3-1 in openers under Fisher. The Bengals are 10-51 in September and October since 1991. The new color scheme of the Titans -- light blue, navy and red -- retains a link to the team's past. The new logo is a "T" shaped like a Titan's sword with a shield bearing the state of Tennessee's three stars.
Records source: STATS, Inc. Copyright 1999 STATS, Inc. Commercial distribution without the express written consent of STATS is prohibited. | ALSO SEE NFL Scoreboard Cincinnati Clubhouse Tennessee Clubhouse |