Age: 30
9th season in pro football & with Oilers/Titans
College: Alcorn State
Height: 6’2” Weight: 229
Prelude:
Chosen in the first round of the 1995 NFL draft by the Oilers, “Air McNair” was brought along slowly, starting six games in his first two seasons. Very mobile, he had to polish his passing skills, but took over as the full-time starter in ’97, the team’s first in Tennessee. He rushed for 674 yards in 1997 and 559 in ’98 while improving on his passing numbers. In 1999, he missed five games due to a back injury but the team was 9-2 with him behind center and reached the Super Bowl, barely losing to the Rams. McNair was selected for the Pro Bowl in 2000 as he completed 62.6 % of his passes for 2847 yards and 15 TDs and rushed for 403 yards. Tennessee’s fortunes dipped in ’01, but bounced back in 2002 as McNair achieved new highs with 3350 and 3387 yards through the air, respectively, and 21 TD throws followed by 22 in ’02 – and despite being hindered by injuries that kept him out of practice, but not games, during the last five weeks of the year.
2003 Season Summary
Appeared and started in 14 of 16 games
[Bracketed numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]
Passing
Attempts – 400 [19]
Most attempts, game – 45 at New England 10/5
Completions – 250 [18]
Most completions, game – 25 vs. Oakland 9/7
Yards – 3215 [15]
Most yards, game – 421 vs. Houston 10/12
Completion percentage – 62.5 [9]
Yards per attempt – 8.0 [1]
TD passes – 24 [7, tied with Trent Green & Aaron Brooks]
Most TD passes, game – 3 at Pittsburgh 9/28, vs. Houston 10/12
Interceptions – 7
Most interceptions, game – 2 at NY Jets 12/1
Passer rating – 100.4 [1]
400-yard passing games – 1
300-yard passing games – 2
200-yard passing games – 8
Rushing
Attempts – 38
Most attempts, game - 6 (for 18 yds.) at New England 10/5
Yards – 138
Most yards, game – 30 yards (on 2 carries) at Carolina 10/19
Yards per attempt – 3.6
TDs – 4
Pass Receiving
Receptions – 1
Yards – 4
Yards per catch – 4.0
TDs - 0
Scoring
TDs – 4
2-pt PAT – 1
Points - 26
Postseason: 2 G
Pass attempts – 49
Most attempts, game – 26 at New England, AFC Divisional playoff
Pass completions – 32
Most completions, game - 18 at New England, AFC Divisional playoff
Passing yardage – 369
Most yards, game - 210 at New England, AFC Divisional playoff
TD passes – 2
Most TD passes, game - 1 at Baltimore, AFC Wild Card playoff, at New England, AFC Divisional playoff
Interceptions – 4
Most interceptions, game - 3 at Baltimore, AFC Wild Card playoff
Rushing attempts – 6
Most rushing attempts, game - 4 at Baltimore, AFC Wild Card playoff
Rushing yards – 27
Most rushing yards, game - 16 at Baltimore, AFC Wild Card playoff
Average gain rushing – 4.5
Rushing TDs – 0
Awards & Honors:
NFL Co-MVP: AP
2nd team All-NFL: AP
Pro Bowl
Titans went 12-4 to finish second in the AFC South and qualify for the postseason as a wild card team. Won AFC Wild Card playoff over Baltimore Ravens (20-17). Lost AFC Divisional playoff to New England Patriots (17-14).
Aftermath:
Injuries limited McNair to eight games in 2004 and, while he had another Pro Bowl season in ’05, the Titans went 4-12. He was traded to the Baltimore Ravens for 2006 and, although he performed ably for a 13-3 team that made the playoffs, he made it into only six contests in ’07 and retired. Overall, McNair passed for 31,304 yards and 174 TDs, against 119 interceptions, with an 82.8 rating and rushed for 3590 yards on 669 carries, a 5.4-yard average gain.
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MVP Profiles feature players who were named MVP or Player of the Year in the NFL, AAFC (1946-49), AFL (1960-69), WFL (1974), or USFL (1983-85) by a recognized organization (Associated Press, Pro Football Writers Association, Newspaper Enterprise Association, United Press International, The Sporting News, Maxwell Club – Bert Bell Award, or the league itself).
[Updated 2/9/14]
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