Tennessee Titans · Franchise era 4 of 8

Moon and the run-and-shoot: the Tennessee Titans story

Franchise era

1985—1996

Moon and the run-and-shoot

Tennessee Titans

The story in one sentence

Moon flourished in Houston's wide-open offense and made seven straight playoffs, but the 32-point collapse in Buffalo became the era's defining ending.

01

A historic passing offense meets historic heartbreak

02

Warren Moon, Haywood Jeffires and Ray Childress gave the era its recognizable core.

03

Its ending created the conditions for the titans arrive.

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Before 1985

    What came before

    Campbell's punishing MVP seasons packed the Astrodome and sent Houston to consecutive conference championship games against Pittsburgh.

  2. After 1996

    What came next

    After two temporary seasons, Tennessee found its name and stadium, then came one yard short of overtime in Super Bowl XXXIV.

The core

Faces of the chapter

← Previous eraLuv Ya Blue1978—1984Next era →The Titans arrive1997—2004