Young finishes 99-yard drive with TD pass as time expires to win it. Associated Press
By TERESA M. WALKER, AP Sports Writer
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) Vince Young outdueled Matt Leinart again with yet another spectacular winning drive.
Young 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 Sunday for their fifth straight victory.
Young won his ninth straight start and improved to 23-11 in his career by driving the Titans 99 yards 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 a sore neck, looking ahead to an NFC matchup with Minnesota next week.
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 with Warner watching from the sideline wearing sweats.
Just as Young had the ball last in that memorable Rose Bowl game for Texas over Southern California, he did it again in style. Young found Britt on fourth-and-4 from the Titans 7 for a 10-yard completion, and he hit Lavelle Hawkins on fourth-and-4 at the Arizona 44 with a 13-yarder.
Young connected with rookie Jared Cook for 17 yards on third-and-5 to the Arizona 9 before needing all four plays to get into the end zone. But he did it when he found Britt to start the crowd celebrating at the stirring and surprising comeback win.
The Titans outgained Arizona 532-292, a season high for Tennessee. Darnell Dockett had three of Arizona's four sacks of Young.
The winning drive almost overshadowed the record-setting performance by Titans running back Chris Johnson.
He matched the NFL mark held by Earl Campbell (1980) and Eric Dickerson (1984) by running for at least 125 yards in his sixth straight game. Johnson topped 125 yards Sunday with an 85-yard touchdown gallop late in the third quarter, and he also turned in the most yards rushing in November, a mark previously held by Barry Sanders (1997).
Johnson finished with 18 carries for 154 yards.
Britt's touchdown catch helped make up for his turnover with 4:38 left. Young had just hit the rookie for a 51-yard completion to the Arizona 30 when Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, who played on this field in college at Tennessee State, poked the ball free. Bryant McFadden recovered.
The Titans forced Leinart and the Cardinals to punt. Stephens-Howling downed the ball at the 1, setting up Young's latest heroics.
Tennessee was up 6-3 at halftime before two huge plays in the third quarter.
Only one defender got an arm on Johnson as he broke through the line and ran 85 yards for a 13-3 lead with 3:37 left. Stephens-Howling took the ensuing kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown - the first allowed by the Titans since Dec. 26, 1999.
Leinart guided Arizona to its first lead of the game, driving the Cardinals 80 yards in nine plays. Hightower scored on a 6-yard run for a 17-13 edge with 12:20 left. It looked like it would be enough as Stephens-Howling downed two punts inside the Tennessee 2 in the final six minutes.
Young had other ideas.
Ms. Walker,
You are incorrect in stating that Vince Young has won his last 9 starts. He has not. VY had 5 fingers up and 4 fingers up as he headed to the tunnel at the conclusion of the game, so I guess he has selective memory too.
Has everyone forgotten that he played poorly in the 2007 playoff game against San Diego? Again, didn’t break 200 yards, turned the ball over with another pick, and didn’t produce a touchdown. That was 7 starts ago...why is that start excluded from this fantasy 9-0 list?
Has everyone forgotten that he QUIT ON HIS TEAM in the season opener just one year ago? Kerry Collins stepped in and got it done. Why on earth is everyone giving Vince Young credit for that win?
Why is he credited with wins that date back to the final 3 games in 2007? He threw 1 touchdown and 5 interceptions in those three regular season games….and failed to surpass 200 yards in those three games. They won because of defense and special teams.
Look, I’ve been as hard as Merrill Hoge on VY since 2006. I’m still not sold. Sunday was his most impressive performance in the NFL, and he played like an absolute stud. I sincerely tip my hat to him.
Let’s keep in mind how well the Titans D has played during this streak, and let’s also not forget that we are witnessing one of the all-time best rushing performances in what Chris Johnson is doing on the field. Chris Johnson is the MVP of that team. VY was great today, but that’s the only win this season for the Titans that can be hung on his shoulders.
Warren
Warren
23-11 as a starter in the NFL, 30-2 in college, the numbers don't lie. So its kinda like your just hating on him. To say that the only win they have because of him, was the Cardnals game, is stuipid....do you not remeber a week ago in houston where he rushed for just about every first down they had.(73 yrds rush) That is just one of many and every QB has a bad day, lets not focus on just that one day.
Mike
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Nov 29, 2009
10:30 PM
Tonight, in Nashville, I saw the ghost of Steve McNair. He was wearing #10. What a game!