Week 16 Game Recap: Tennessee Titans 30, Buffalo Bills 29

What you need to know

Tennessee Titans

Despite gusting wind and some careless penalties, Vince Young led the Titans to their sixth straight win and their fourth, fourth quarter comeback, to keep their playoff hopes alive. In notching his eighth victory as a starter, Young moved ahead of Dan Marino for most wins by a rookie QB. A key play in the Titans’ victory occurred with 14 seconds left in the first half, trailing 16–14. With fourth and two at the Buffalo 36 yard line, Young rolled out to his left, found no one open, and then ran back around to his right. He picked up blockers and streaked into the end zone, making the score 20–16 with just one second on the clock.

Young completed 13 of 20 passes for 183 yards and two touchdowns. He also scrambled eight times for 61 yards, and was sacked once. Travis Henry enjoyed his return to Buffalo for the first time since being traded. He rushed for 135 yards on 25 carries, putting him over 1,000 yards for the third time in his career. He also had a 57 yard run called back on a holding penalty. Henry can still run tough inside, and in the fourth quarter, carried the ball eight times for 41 yards on the Titans’ drive for the winning field goal, which ate up over seven minutes.

Brandon Jones led the Titan receivers with 101 yards on five catches, including a 29 yard touchdown in the fourth quarter which helped to overcome Buffalo’s nine point lead. Despite giving up 29 points, the defense made two key, three and out stops in the fourth quarter, and thwarted the Bills’ final drive with an interception as time ran out to preserve the victory.

Buffalo Bills

The Bills carried a nine point lead into the fourth quarter of a game they had to win to keep their playoff chances alive, but could not overcome Vince Young. Buffalo took advantage of sloppy play by Tennessee, and was able to kick a field goal after Vince Young’s TD run with one second left in the first half. Buffalo took over at their own 40 when Bironas drove the ensuing kick off out of bounds. Still one second on the clock. Losman threw a ‘Hail Mary’ pass downfield that was caught by Josh Reed at the Titan eight yard line. Time expired, but DT Tony Brown was flagged for a facemask penalty on Losman, which gave the Bills an untimed down at the Titan four. Lindell kicked a field goal with 0:00 left, cutting the halftime lead to 20–19. The Titans were penalized 11 times for 81 yards.

J.P. Losman was 19 of 33 for 266 yards and one touchdown. He completed key passes throughout the game and shows maturity over last season. He was intercepted twice, but one came on the last desperate play of the game, fourth and four from the Titans’ 28. The Bills decided to go for it instead of letting Lindell try a 45 yard field goal into a 30 mile an hour wind.

Willis McGahee rushed for 95 yards on 22 carries and caught two passes for 20 yards. Peerless Price led the Bills’ receivers, as they went after CB Pacman Jones all day. Price caught seven balls for 73 yards, and Jones showed his frustration when he was flagged for a 15 yard personal foul penalty when he slammed Price to the ground well out of bounds.

The defense was unable to stop Vince Young at crucial times in the game, and Travis Henry was able to pick up critical yardage in the fourth quarter when Tennessee drove the ball downfield for the go ahead field goal.

What you ought to know

QB Vince Young, Pass: 13 - 20 - 183 - 2 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 8 - 61 - 1

The legend continues as Young rallied the Titans in the fourth quarter, again, for a victory. He completed 13 of 20, zero interceptions and two huge touchdowns. What does not appear on the stat sheet is his uncanny ability to get out of the pocket when the pass rush closes in. At this point, his potential seems unlimited, as he keeps finding new ways to win ballgames. Young has now rushed for 523 yards this season, breaking the old record for a rookie QB set by Bobby Douglas in 1969.

RB Travis Henry, Rush: 25 - 135 - 0 (1 targets)

Henry rushed for 135 yards on 25 carries, and had a 57 yard run called back on a holding penalty. He still runs hard, breaks tackles, and forces defenses to respect the run.

This past week, according to published accounts, the Titans held preliminary talks with Henry’s agent about a long term contract with the team.

RB LenDale White, Rush: 6 - 16 - 0, Rec: 3 - 17 - 0 (3 targets)

The rookie from USC carried six times 16 yards and caught three passes for another 17 as Henry’s backup.

RB Ahmard Hall, Rec: 2 - 28 - 0 (3 targets)

The undrafted free agent, and Young’s teammate at Texas, had no carries, but caught two passes for 28 yards.

RB Chris Brown

Brown was inactive.

WR Brandon Jones, Rec: 5 - 101 - 1 (5 targets)

Jones led all Tennessee receivers with five catches for 101 yards and a vital fourth quarter touchdown.

Jones was recently named by his teammates as the winner of the 2006 Ed Block Courage Award, presented to one player from every team who exemplifies a commitment to the principles of sportsmanship and courage. He received the award for his determined effort to return from a devastating knee injury suffered last year.

WR Courtney Roby, Rush: 1 - 3 - 0

Roby was not targeted in the passing game, but carried once for three yards on a reverse.

WR Bobby Wade, Rec: 1 - 22 - 1 (1 targets)

Wade made the most of his limited opportunity, catching the only pass thrown to him for a 22 yard touchdown.

WR Drew Bennett (1 targets)

Bennett did not record a reception.

TE Ben Hartsock, Rec: 2 - 15 - 0 (7 targets)

Hartsock caught two passes for 15 yards, and was flagged for holding on Travis Henry’s 57 yard run.

TE Bo Scaife

Scaife was inactive.

PK Rob Bironas 3 - 3 FG, 3 - 3 XP, 12 points

Bironas hit field goals from 42, 20, and 30 yards on a field with swirling, gusty winds. He also converted all three PATs.

TEN Rush Defense

McGahee rushed for 95 yards and a touchdown, but late in the game, the Titans were able force the Bills into two three and outs, and held them in the fourth quarter with the game on the line.

TEN Pass Defense

Losman passed for 266 yards but the Titans only surrendered one touchdown pass. Chris Hope and Reynaldo Hill each intercepted a pass, and Losman was sacked three times. In last week’s game, Pacman Jones, Cortland Finnegan, and Chris Hope all scored defensive TDs off turnovers.

QB J.P. Losman, Pass: 19 - 33 - 266 - 1 TD / 2 INT

Losman completed some key passes throughout the game as he spread the ball around to six different receivers. He went 19 of 33 for 266 yards and one touchdown, but he was intercepted twice. One came on the last play of the game, fourth and four from the Titan 28. The Bills decided to go for it instead of letting Lindell try a 45 yard filed goal into a 30 mile an hour wind.

Losman continues to show vast improvement over last season. OC Steve Fairchild, who served in the same capacity under Mike Martz in St. Louis, is given much of the credit, along with QB coach Turk Schonert. He has completed 63 percent of his passes compared to just under 50 percent last season. Since the bye week, Losman led the NFL in TD percentage with 6.7, based on 11 TD passes in 164 attempts.

RB Willis McGahee, Rush: 22 - 95 - 1, Rec: 2 - 20 - 0 (3 targets)

McGahee ran for 95 yards on 22 carries and caught two screen passes for an additional 20 yards. Along with the rest of the team, McGahee has played better the second half of this season. He is finding more room to run behind the new offensive line, he is demonstrating the ability to make sharp cuts and explode through a hole, but he is developing patience. He is also playing with broken ribs and a sore ankle, but If McGahee can gain 33 yards in the final game, he will top 1,000 yards for the third year in a row.

RB Anthony Thomas, Rush: 1 - 7 - 0

Thomas continues to spell McGahee, and picked up seven yards on his only carry.

RB Daimon Shelton

The bruising fullback suffered a concussion last week playing special teams and was inactive for this game.

WR Peerless Price, Rec: 7 - 73 - 0 (10 targets)

Price led the Bills with seven catches for 73 yards, as Pacman Jones tried to cover him man to man. Whenever Losman went to Price he seemed to be open, and Jones became so frustrated that he was flagged for a personal foul.

WR Lee Evans, Pass: 0 - 1 - 0 - 0 TD / 0 INT, Rec: 5 - 64 - 1 (7 targets)

Evans caught five passes for 64 yards and a touchdown, and was involved in a play that may have won the game. Late in the third quarter, Evans caught a lateral in the flat from Losman, and then threw a strike to Royal who was behind the secondary in the end zone. Royal had room to get both feet down but for some reason just stepped out of bounds. The Bills had to settle for a field goal and lost the game by one point.

WR Josh Reed, Rush: 1 - 15 - 0, Rec: 2 - 70 - 0 (2 targets)

Reed caught two passes for 70 yards, including the 52 yard Hail Mary pass at the end of the first half which led to a field goal with no time on the clock. Reed also ran once out of the backfield for 15 yards, showing that he was originally recruited to LSU as a running back.

WR Andre Davis (1 targets)

Davis did not record a reception, but covered two squibbed kickoffs for minimal yardage.

WR Roscoe Parrish (2 targets)

Parrish did not record a reception, but returned one punt for zero net yards.

TE Robert Royal, Rec: 2 - 30 - 0 (4 targets)

Royal caught two passes for 30 yards. His role in the offense has increased, and he had caught TDs in each of the past three games. Royal almost made it four in a row when Lee Evans found him in the end zone on a WR option pass. Evans caught a lateral in the flat, and then threw to Royal in the end zone behind the secondary. Royal had room to get both feet down, but he just stepped out of bounds.

TE Brad Cieslak, Rec: 1 - 9 - 0 (2 targets)

While listed as a tight end, Ciesak actually lined up in the backfield as a blocking back, or H back, due to FB Daimon Shelton being inactive.

PK Rian Lindell 5 - 5 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 17 points

On a day with swirling winds and gusts up to 30 miles an hour, Lindell connected on field goals of 21, 36, 45, 21, and 24 yards, but on fourth down with the game on the line at the Titan 28 yard line late in the fourth quarter, the Bills decided to go for it instead. He was perfect on both extra points, giving him 223 consecutive extra points. It is the ninth longest streak in history, and he is within 11 of Tommy Davis’ NFL record of 234 consecutive PATs to start a career.

BUF Rush Defense

The Bills have not been stellar against the rush all season, and Travis Henry gashed them for 135 yards. More importantly, Henry carried eight times for 41 yards in the fourth quarter when Tennessee drove for the winning field goal. Vince Young scrambled for a touchdown with one second left in the first half, but there may not be a defense in the league that can stop him.

BUF Pass Defense

The Bills are the only team to start two rookies at safety, Donte Whitner and Ko Simpson, and rookie Keith Ellison started at linebacker due to injury. While Young only attempted 20 passes, two went for touchdowns. DE Aaron Schobel, just elected to his first Pro Bowl, had the only sack, making it six games in a row. His 14.5 sacks this season is second best in Bills’ history to Bruce Smith’s 19 in 1990.