Tennessee kicker Rob Bironas hit a 21-yard field goal to put the Titans ahead with 15 seconds to go and Houston kicker Kris Brown missed a 31-yarder on the game’s final play as Tennessee escaped with a 13-10 come-from-behind victory Sunday afternoon at the Coliseum.

After the Bironas field goal, Houston receiver Jerome Mathis received the lateral from center Todd Washington, who recovered the squib kickoff, and scampered 50 yards to the Tennessee 26-yard line where he was taken down by his facemask by Titans cornerback Reynaldo Hill. The personal foul placed the ball at the Tennessee 13-yard line with no time on the clock to set up a Brown game-tying field goal attempt. The kick sailed wide left to give the Titans the win.

Tennessee, who did not score an offensive touchdown, used special teams to get the victory. Cornerback Pacman Jones scored his first career touchdown on a 52-yard punt return in the third quarter, and safety Tank Williams blocked a Brown 37-yard field goal attempt with 3:53 left in the game. Bironas also hit a 23-yard field goal in addition to his game-winner.

Tennessee Head Coach Jeff Fisher was happy to get a win regardless of how it happened.

‘’I don’t know if I have another way to describe that other than that was ugly,’’ Fisher said. ‘’We had a lot of chances to make a lot of plays today. We made the plays we needed to make at the end with the exception of the last tackle and the facemask penalty. We’ll take the win. The guys battled all day. That team we are playing over there is probably one of the best one-win teams I’ve played against in a long time.’’

The Titans had the ball longer than Houston (31:22 to 28:38), and finished with more total yardage (301 to 234). The Texans had over twice as many penalties as Tennessee (eight for 72 yards compared to 3 for 56 yards).

Tennessee running backs played well. Chris Brown ran 16 times for 53 yards and caught three passes for 49 yards. Travis Henry also hauled in three balls for 54 yards and added 19 yards on eight rushes. Quarterback Steve McNair went 18 of 30 for 208 yards.

Williams led the Titans with eight tackles. The Tennessee defense sacked Houston quarterback David Carr six times for 34 yards, led by defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch and linebacker Keith Bulluck who were credited with two each.

Tennessee kicked off to Houston to start the game Sunday.

The Texans would have to punt after Bulluck sacked Houston quarterback David Carr on third down.

Tennessee would only manage one first down on their first possession and would have to punt back to the Texans.

Houston would replicate their first possession when they would again punt after Tennessee linebackers Bulluck and Peter Sirmon sacked Carr on third down.

The Titans got the ball back at their own 40-yard line. McNair completed two passes on the drive for 21 yards as the Titans got to the Houston 25-yard line. After a three-yard loss, Bironas came on to attempt a 46-yard field goal but the kick sailed wide right and the game remained scoreless.

The Texans could not manage any offense on their next drive as they punted after Haynesworth sacked Carr on third down.

After Jones returned the punt 21 yards to the Houston 39-yard line, the Titans could not capitalize on their opportunities as they went for the touchdown on fourth and four from the Houston 33-yard line but could not convert.

Houston took over possession from there. The Texans offense got their first big play of the contest two plays later when running back Domanick Davis rumbled 44 yards to the Tennessee 16-yard line. The Texans would drive four more yards before settling for a Brown 30-yard field goal to give Houston a 3-0 lead with only three seconds remaining in the first quarter.

Jones returned the ensuing kickoff 16 yards to the Tennessee 26-yard line to end the quarter with Houston on top 3-0.

McNair would hit receiver Tyrone Calico for 17 yards on first down to start the second quarter. The Titans would drive 18 more yards to the Houston 39-yard line before punting away to the Texans.

The Texans would gain a first down at their own 40-yard line after a pass interference call on Hill. Houston would manage another first down before a penalty landed them at their own 43-yard line on third down. Vanden Bosch sacked Carr for a six-yard loss and Houston would punt.

Tennessee would get the ball back on their own 25-yard line. Tennessee would make big yardage two plays later as McNair hit tight end Ben Troupe for 25 yards to the Houston 48-yard line. The Titans appeared to score on the following play when Henry took a screen pass to the endzone. The officials said that Henry stepped out of bounds at the six-yard line, making the play a 42-yard gain. The Titans would only go one more yard before settling for a Bironas 23-yard field goal to even the score at 3-3 with 4:28 remaining in the second quarter.

The Texans would not generate much offense on the ensuing drive and they would kick back to Tennessee after going three-and-out.

After a Houston personal foul on first down, Tennessee would not generate a first down on four straight plays and the Texans would take over at their own 28-yard line.

The Texans, operating in a two-minute drill offense, would move down the field as Davis rushed three times for 29 yards and Carr completed four passes for 40 yards to get Houston to the Tennessee three-yard line. Those two would complete the process on second down as Carr rolled right on and hit Davis for the touchdown. Brown converted the point after to make the score 10-3 with only 19 seconds left in the half.

McNair would take a knee to end the half with Houston ahead 10-3.

The Texans kicked off to Tennessee to start the second half.

The Titans would manage two first downs in a row before the drive stalled and Craig Hentrich punted the ball away.

Houston would get nine yards before punting on fourth down and one.

Tennessee got the ball back on their own 11-yard line after a delay of game penalty. Henry rushed for a yard on first down and then left the game with an ankle injury. McNair hit Brown on a screen pass for 22 yards on the next play but that would be the only first down on the drive and Hentrich would punt.

Houston would be forced to punt back to Tennessee after not making a first down sparked by a Vanden Bosch sack on first down.

Tennessee fans finally got what they have waited all season to see when Jones fielded the Chad Stanley punt at the Tennessee 48-yard line, circled left, and scampered 52 yards untouched with the help of his blockers to the endzone for his first career touchdown. Bironas nailed the extra point to even the score at 10-10 with 3:07 left in the third quarter.

Both teams would exchange punts after going three-and-out. Houston would end the quarter driving from their own 39-yard line on first down with the score tied 10-10.

After starting the quarter on first down at their own 39-yard line, the Texans would manage one first down on the drive before punting to the Titans at the Tennessee 18-yard line.

After an offensive pass interference penalty pushed the Titans back to first and 19, Tennessee would gain only three yards before punting back to the Texans.

Houston regained possession at their own 41-yard line. The Texans drove to the Tennessee 30-yard line on fourth down and five and set up for a field goal. Rather than kick, Brown took the ball and rushed five yards for the first down to keep the drive alive. Houston would get to the 19-yard line on fourth down and again set up for a field goal. Williams charged in as the ball was snapped and blocked the go-ahead kick to give the Titans the ball at their own 27-yard line.

Tennessee would get to the 33-yard line, where they faced third down and four. McNair would run for 18 yards on the ensuing play and an illegal contact penalty on Houston added five yards to put the Titans at the Texans 44-yard line. Two plays later on second down, Brown rushed for 11 yards and then followed that by taking a screen pass 20 yards to the five-yard line with just over a minute to play. Tennessee would then run three plays to run the clock down and set up Bironas for a 23-yard field goal. A Houston offside penalty pushed it up to a 21-yard attempt on fourth down. Bironas nailed the kick to give the Titans a 13-10 lead with 10 seconds left.

Bironas squibbed the ensuing kickoff on the ground. Washington recovered the ball at the Texans 24-yard line and lateralled it two yards backwards to Mathis. Mathis got free and raced 50 yards to the Tennessee 26-yard line where he was brought down by his facemask by Hill. The personal foul gave Houston the ball at the 13-yard line with no time on the clock. Brown came on to attempt a 31-yard game-tying field goal to send the game into overtime but the kick sailed wide left to give Tennessee a 13-10 win.

In addition to Henry, Troupe (concussion), Haynesworth (knee sprain), and linebacker Rob Reynolds (ankle) left the game with injuries.

Houston falls to 1-12 and will return home to face the Cardinals next week. The Titans improve to 4-9 and will play at the Coliseum for the final time in 2005 against Seattle next week. Kickoff is scheduled for 12p (cst) with Titans Radio coverage slated to begin at 11a (cst).