Young rallies Titans
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Titans coach Jeff Fisher summed up what everyone just saw.
“You guys don’t mind if I sit down and do this do you? OK. Wow! What a great finish!” Fisher said. “We’ve had some finishes around here, but I can’t remember one like that. Just a tremendous finish.”
Vince Young outdueled Matt Leinart again with yet another spectacular winning drive. He hit a leaping Kenny Britt for a 10-yard touchdown as time expired, and the Tennessee Titans rallied to beat the Arizona Cardinals 20-17 on Sunday for their fifth straight victory.
Arizona coach Ken Whisenhunt compared the disappointment to losing the Super Bowl in February.
“It’s as close to that as possible because we knew today that it would be difficult against this team, and our team rallied and pulled together. When you’re six seconds away from winning it, it makes it even tougher,” Whisenhunt said.
Young won his ninth straight start and improved to 23-11 in his career by driving the Titans 99 yards on 18 plays in the final 2:37. He converted three fourth downs on the drive, two to Britt. He threw for a career-high 387 yards in beating Leinart in their first meeting as professionals and first overall since the BCS national championship in January 2006.
The Titans (5-6) have not lost since Young replaced Kerry Collins as the starter. They are the first team to win five in a row after starting 0-6.
Arizona (7-4) snapped a three-game winning streak. Leinart made his first start since Oct. 7, 2007, as the Cardinals sat Kurt Warner with what Whisenhunt called sensitivity in the quarterback’s eyes.
Leinart threw for 220 yards, LaRod Stephens-Howling returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown and Tim Hightower also ran for a TD for Arizona. But the Cardinals lost for the first time this season away from home.
Titans 20, Cards 17
| Arizona | 0 | 3 | 7 | 7 | — | 17 |
| Tennessee | 3 | 3 | 7 | 7 | — | 20 |
Ten—FG Bironas 52
Ten—FG Bironas 24
Ari—FG Rackers 41
Ten—Johnson 85 run (Bironas kick)
Ari—Stephens-Howling 99 kickoff return (Rackers kick)
Ari—Hightower 6 run (Rackers kick)
Ten—Britt 10 pass from Young (Bironas kick)
| Ari | Ten | |
| First downs | 15 | 20 |
| Total Net Yards | 292 | 532 |
| Rushes-yards | 20-75 | 23-163 |
| Passing | 217 | 369 |
| Punt Returns | 1-(-1) | 2-10 |
| Kickoff Returns | 4-167 | 3-78 |
| Interceptions Ret. | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Comp-Att-Int | 21-31-0 | 27-43-0 |
| Sacked-Yards Lost | 1-3 | 4-18 |
| Punts | 6-49.7 | 4-46.0 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 1-0 | 1-1 |
| Penalties-Yards | 4-25 | 6-38 |
| Time of Possession | 28:53 | 31:07 |
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Arizona, Hightower 11-55, B.Wells 8-20, Leinart 1-0. Tennessee, Johnson 18-154, Young 4-8, Ringer 1-1.
PASSING—Arizona, Leinart 21-31-0-220. Tennessee, Young 27-43-0-387.
RECEIVING—Arizona, Boldin 5-53, Fitzgerald 4-34, Breaston 4-26, Hightower 3-23, Doucet 1-28, Patrick 1-23, B.Wells 1-21, Wright 1-10, Kreider 1-2. Tennessee, Britt 7-128, Scaife 5-68, Hawkins 4-44, Washington 3-68, Johnson 3-32, Cook 2-29, Hall 2-10, Crumpler 1-8.
MISSED FIELD GOALS—None.