Titans Take AFC Championship: Next Stop Atlanta

Amidst the celebration and delirium of the Tennessee Titans' 33-14 AFC Championship victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars, one group was suspiciously silent.

That group consisted of those critics who have consistently looked down on the Titans' chances all year long.

The Titans (16-3) ignored the theory that says it is impossible to defeat the same team three times in one season. Tennessee clearly had division rival Jacksonville (15-3) figured out.

During the first half, however, the Titans' offense was visibly affected by the noise generated by the capacity crowd in ALLTel Stadium. Jacksonville stopped Tennessee's opening drive easily, but quarterback Steve McNair quickly settled down.

The Jaguars found the endzone on their first possession of the game as quarterback Mark Brunell found tight end Kyle Brady for a 7-yard touchdown pass.

After getting excellent field position courtesy of a Derrick Mason return, McNair drove the Titans back downfield and delivered a 9-yard touchdown strike to wide receiver Yancey Thigpen.

McNair connected on six of his first seven passes and finished 14-of-23 for 112 yards on the afternoon. The fifth-year veteran also ran for 91 yards.

Jacksonville added a James Stewart touchdown in the second frame to take a seven-point advantage. Then, with only a few minutes remaining, Jacksonville's Reggie Barlow fumbled a punt, which Tennessee's Steve Jackson snapped up.

The end result was a 34-yard Al Del Greco field goal and a 14-10 Jaguars lead at intermission.

The star of the second half was the Titans' defensive unit. Tennessee's outstanding play on the defensive end allowed the offfense to outscore Jacksonville 23-0 in the second half.

The Titans' were able to score on their first drive as a pass interference near the goal line then allowed McNair to push through the pile for a 1-yard touchdown.

After linebacker Eddie Robinson recovered a Brady fumble, passes to Isaac Byrd and Jackie Harris set up a apparent McNair TD toss to tight end Frank Wycheck. Wycheck, however, fumbled on the goal line.

On the positive side, though, Titans' defensive lineman Josh Evans was able to sack Brunell in the endzone for a safety, thanks to Jacksonville's horrendous field position.

Jacksonviille was then forced to kickoff to the waiting hands of Mason. Mason received the ball and took off 80 yards for a touchdown return.

With a 26-14 advantage in hand, the Titans' defense locked down and sustained the second half shutout. Midway through the fourth quarter, rookie cornerback Donald Mitchell picked off a Brunell pass.

McNair's 52-yard run on the subsequent possession set up his second 1-yard touchdown run.

'He (Steve) just wins ballgames,' head coach Jeff Fisher said. 'He knew he was going to have to make plays on the ground as well as with his arm and he did just that.'

The Titans will undoubtedly face more criticsm leading up to the Super Bowl at the Georgia Dome on Sunday. What the experts think doesn't mattter, though, because being the underdog has gotten Tennessee this far.

'We expected to play well and we expected to win,' said Fisher.