Titans Beat Steelers 34-31 In OT
By Crystal Burns January 11, 2003

Titans kicker Joe Nedney connected on a 26-yard field goal in overtime to give the Titans a 34-31 win over the Steelers.

''What can you say: from 1-4 to the championship game,'' Titans head coach Jeff Fisher said. ''I’ve been fond of a lot of players in my career and fond of a lot of teams, but right now I can’t put into words to describe how I feel about these players.''

''You talk about character, and you talk about perseverance and all those things associated with this effort, and that’s what this thing was all about. We had a lot of confidence going into this ballgame. We expected to win.''

Nedney missed a 48-yard field goal at the end of regulation, but the Titans won the overtime coin toss, electing to receive.

Quarterback Steve McNair hit Justin McCareins on two receptions for 53 yards to set up Nedney for a 31-yard field goal.

''Justin’s been struggling so hard since the New England game, and to come through with those two things,'' Titans offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger said. ''That’s one of the reasons we’ve stuck with him.''

Nedney missed the kick, but a Steelers penalty gave the Titans five yards and a replayed down. Nedney hit the 26-yarder to send the Titans to the AFC Championship game.

''As soon as I hit the ball, I knew that I was in trouble,'' Nedney said. ''Then somebody hit me on the ankle and spun me around, and I hit the ground. Then the roughing the kicker penalty was called, and I got another shot.''

''He got a pretty good hit on me, but I think when I’m done playing ball I might try acting,'' Nedney said.

The Titans overcame four turnovers to get the win.

''You don’t do that very often in a playoff game,'' Heimerdinger said. ''We made four big mistakes that put our defense in some holes. The good part about it is they had enough stamina and enough heart to fight back after four turnovers and answered the bell twice when they had to.''

The Titans kept the ball for 12:22 to take a 14-0 lead over the Steelers in the first quarter.

With the Steelers moving on their first possession of the game, Titans cornerback Samari Rolle intercepted a Tommy Maddox pass to give the momentum to the Titans.

On third-and-seven from the 11-yard line, McNair ran the quarterback draw into the endzone. The touchdown capped a 7-play, 52-yard drive and gave the Titans an early 7-0 lead with 11:01 left in the first quarter.

A tough defensive stand forced the Steelers to punt on their next possession.

The Titans had to convert a third-and-16 to keep their second drive alive. McNair hit wide receiver Drew Bennett for a 19-yard gain.

''Drew made some great catches with people all over him,'' Heimerdinger said. ''He did a great job with his body.''

McNair hit Bennett again in the same drive for another crucial third down. On the next third down play, McNair ran the quarterback draw again to keep the Titans in the hunt for a touchdown.

Three plays later, running back Eddie George ran into the endzone for a 1-yard touchdown.

The touchdown ended a 16-play, 76-yard drive that took 9:03 off the clock. The Titans took a 14-0 lead into the second quarter.

The Steelers capitalized on two Titans turnovers to fight their way back into the game.

The Titans forced the Steelers to punt early in the second quarter, but a George fumble gave the Steelers the ball back at the Titans 8-yard line. Strong safety Lee Flowers recovered the loose ball.

Maddox hit Hines Ward for a touchdown, cutting the Titans lead to 14-7.

On the Titans next possession, cornerback Chad Scott intercepted McNair. The turnover led to a 30-yard Jeff Reed field goal to get the Steelers within four, 14-10.

The Titans next drive stalled as the Titans failed to convert their first third down of the half.

The Steelers received help from a pass interference call on Rolle. The penalty gave the Steelers a first-and-10 from the Titans 28-yard line.

A direct snap to Ward kept the Steelers offense moving with a gain of 11 yards, but Titans cornerback Donald Mitchell stopped the Steelers touchdown threat with a Maddox sack. The Steelers lost nine yards on the play and time off the clock.

Reed connected on a 39-yard field goal to bring the Steelers within one, 14-13.

On the Titans first possession of the second half, George fumbled for the second time in the game. Steelers defensive end Aaron Smith recovered the fumble at the Titans 31-yard line.

The play was reviewed because after the fumble, George fell on the ball. However, the call was upheld because George did not have possession of the ball.

George left the game with a concussion and did not return.

The Steelers took advantage of the Titans third turnover of the game by finding the endzone on their first offensive play of the half.

Running back Amos Zereoue sprinted 31 yards for the score, giving the Steelers their first lead of the game, 20-14.

Titans tight end Frank Wycheck, however, came up big in the third quarter, catching critical passes and keeping the Titans in the game. Wycheck caught 10 passes for a career high 123 yards. It is only the second time he has gone over 100 yards in his career.

Wycheck had caught only one pass in the last three games of the season.

''We just found some new weapons on our offense, spread the ball around a little bit more,'' Wycheck said. ''I was just happy to do my thing today. It’s been a while, but I knew I still had the confidence in myself to make the plays.''

The Titans used a 39-yard reception on third-and-1 to set themselves up for a score. McNair hit Wycheck to move the ball to the Steelers 4-yard line.

Two plays later McNair hit Wycheck again for the tying touchdown. Nedney's extra point gave the Titans a 21-20 lead.

The touchdown capped off an 8-play, 63-yard drive that took 9:37 off the clock.

The Titans forced a Steelers punt and again made the most of a scoring opportunity.

McNair hit Wycheck for another crucial gain, a 21-yard reception on third-and-4.

Later in the possession, McNair faked a hand-off to running back Robert Holcombe and connected with tight end Erron Kinney for a touchdown, extending the Titans lead to 28-20.

The Titans began the fourth quarter with a 28-20 lead, but a 21-yard touchdown pass from Tommy Maddox to Hines Ward brought the Steelers within two.

On the two-point conversion, Maddox threw a backward pass to Ward who found Plexico Burress in the corner of the endzone to tie the game, 28-28.

Maddox finished the game 21 of 41 for 266 yards and two touchdowns.

''That’s one of the best offensive lines in the National Football League, and they did a good job protecting up our blitzes,'' Titans defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz said. ''When you hold the quarterback to 50 percent completions and you let them rush for about 60 yards, some good things are going to happen.''

On the Titans next possession, Steelers cornerback Deshea Townsend intercepted McNair.

McNair finished with a career postseason high 338 yards behind 27 of 44 passing with two touchdowns and two interceptions.

Maddox again found Ward for a big play that was made bigger by a controversial helmet-to-helmet call against Titans safety Lance Schulters.

That play set up a 40-yard field goal for Jeff Reed. Reed connected to give the Steelers a 31-28 lead with 8:30 remaining.

The Titans charged back, setting up Nedney for a 42-yard field goal that tied the game 31-31 with 5:40 left in the game.

Later in the quarter on a Titans punt, Antwaan Randle El appeared to fumble the ball. Rich Coady recovered the fumble and ran it back for a Titans touchdown, but the officials ruled that Randle El's knee was down before the ball came loose.

Titans defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth was flagged on a controversial personal foul penalty. The penalty resulted in 15 yards, but the Steelers were forced to punt.

''It was disappointing to get those penalties,'' Schwartz said. ''I thought we got hosed on a couple of penalties. We just had to find a way to fight through them.''