Tennessee completed the 2003 regular season with a 33-13 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Nashville.

Titans backup quarterback Neil O'Donnell started for the injured Steve McNair and threw for two touchdowns in the winning effort.

On Tennessee's first possession, a pass to Titans wide receiver Justin McCareins fell incomplete but McCareins took a hard hit from safety John Lynch well after the play.

No penalty was called but the hit enraged the Titans players and coaching staff.

McCareins left the game but did return to action in the second quarter.

Tennessee held a 3-0 lead over Tampa Bay after the Titans opening drive finished with a 37 yard field goal from place kicker Gary Anderson.

Tampa Bay answered on their first drive with a 27 yard field goal from kicker Martin Grammatica to tie the score at 3-3 with 6:43 left in the first quarter.

Later in the quarter, a 23 yard touchdown pass from Neil O'Donnell to wide receiver Derrick Mason gave the Titans a 10-3 lead and their only touchdown of the first half.

A Jevon Kearse interception off of Tampa Bay quarterback Brad Johnson gave Tennessee the ball inside the Buccaneers 10 yard line. The Titans, however, could not score on the ensuing drive as a Neil O'Donnell fourth down pass fell incomplete in the endzone giving the ball back to Tampa Bay.

But the Titans defense held the Buccaneers giving the Tennessee offense prime field position for the first touchdown of the game.

Four field goals from Titans place kicker Gary Anderson contributed to the Titans win.

Anderson hit from 33 yards, 37 yards, and 44 yards in the first half. His final first half score coming with two seconds left in the half.

On Tennessee's first drive in the second half, Anderson split the uprights on a 23 yard field goal to give the Titans a 19-3 lead with 9:27 left in the third quarter.

The scoring drive was set up by Titans safety Tank Williams' second interception of the game.

Anderson's second field goal, a 33 yard shot, was also set up by Williams who grabbed his first of two interceptions on the day on the Buccaneers previous drive.

Tampa Bay's place kicker Martin Grammatica added a 33 yard field goal for his second score of the day with 5:52 left in the third quarter.

O'Donnell connected with Mason for his second touchdown pass of the day later in the third quarter. The score came on a 34 yard touchdown pass increasing Tennessee's lead to 26-6 with 2:17 to go in the third quarter.

Tampa Bay answered on their next possession with a 10 play, 71 yard drive capped by a 14 yard touchdown catch from Aaron Stecker to bring the lead to within 13 points as Tennessee leads 26-13 with 13:20 left in the game.

The two teams remained scoreless for most of the fourth quarter until a Chris Brown fumble on the Tampa Bay two yard line rolled into the endzone. Titans tight end Erron Kinney pounced on the loose ball for a bizarre Tennessee touchdown late in the fourth quarter.

The score gave the Titans a 20 point lead and their 12th victory of the season.

Defensive end Jevon Kearse left the game late in the second quarter with a bruise to the lower back. Kearse did not return to action in the first half but, after receiving treatment at halftime, did return to the game in the second half.

Titans runningback Eddie George ran for 87 yards on 26 carries.

George surpassed the 1,000 yards rushing mark for the 2003 season and also surpassed the 10,000 yards rushing milestone for his career. George becomes only the 17th player in NFL history to accomplish the feat.

As a team, the Titans tallied 344 total yards including 232 passing yards and 112 rushing yards.

Tampa Bay amassed 274 total yards on 185 passing yards and 89 yards on the ground.

Titans backup quarterback Neil O'Donnell, making his first NFL start in over two years, completed 18 of 27 passes including two touchdowns and one interception.

Tennessee wide receiver Derrick Mason led the air attack with six catches for 90 yards including two touchdown receptions.

The Titans finish the regular season with a record of 12-4 and clinch the #5 seed in the AFC playoffs.

Tampa Bay finished the season at 7-9.

With the win, Tennessee will move on to face the Baltimore Ravens in Baltimore for the first round of the playoffs.