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Titans sink Texans, snap three-game skid

Dec 3, 2007 - 1:21 AM By Chip Cirillo PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Ticker) - At a team meeting Saturday night, Tennessee Titans coach Jeff Fisher told his players he wanted touchdowns, not field goals. The team responded.

Vince Young threw a pair of touchdown passes and running backs LenDale White and Chris Brown ran for one each as the Titans posted a 28-20 victory over the injury-riddled Houston Texans at LP Field on Sunday.

Fisher told the Titans he only wanted to see placekicker Rob Bironas take the field if Tennessee (7-5) was kicking extra points or kicking off.

"Obviously, that's the difference in the ballgame: the offensive scoring," Fisher said. "We kind of put an end to a drought. It's been difficult getting into the end zone for us."

The win ended a three-game losing streak for the Titans, who were held to a pair of field goals in a 35-6 loss at Cincinnati last week.

Young completed 21-of-31 passes for 248 yards and two touchdowns. His scoring passes to Roydell Williams and Justin Gage in the third quarter provided a 21-10 lead for the Titans, who had trailed by three at halftime.

"I really feel like Roydell and Gage did a great job of catching the ball," Young said. "All the receivers did. Guys are going to bring (players) in the box to try to stop the run and they're basically telling us, 'Vince, you can't make that throw and the receivers can't make that catch.'

"So we took it upon ourselves to show these guys on the edge you're going to have to cover the receivers and I can make the throw down the field."

It was a costly loss for the Texans (5-7), who lost three offensive players to injuries: quarterback Matt Schaub (dislocated left shoulder), right guard Fred Weary (fractured right tibia) and center Chris White (MCL in left knee).

"I think there is a little bit of hope for our quarterback," Texans coach Gary Kubiak said. "This may not be a season-ending injury, but it is for Fred and I think it is for Chris White. So we will go from there."

Schaub was injured after being sacked by Antwan Odom with 3:03 left in the first quarter.

"We will run some more tests and everything," Schaub said. "I need to get a MRI on it. It is very frustrating. I was seeing the field real well and felt good at the beginning of the game."

Schaub also was injured during a 38-36 loss to the Titans on October 21. Backup Sage Rosenfels completed 17-of-30 passes for 185 yards and one touchdown.

"You never want to see a teammate, much less a fellow quarterback, go down," Rosenfels said. "It wasn't a good feeling the last time we played them and it wasn't a good feeling this time. We tried to get back to our brand of football. That's running the football and some play-action off that. We did some good things, but it wasn't enough."

Houston narrowed the deficit to 21-17 when Rosenfels hit Andre Johnson with a 28-yard touchdown pass with 12:20 left. Johnson had a big day with nine receptions for 116 yards and one TD.

Tennessee got a big break when rookie Jacoby Jones fumbled a punt and Donnie Nickey recovered it at the Texans 29-yard line with 10:40 left. Two plays later, Brown scored on a 7-yard run to boost the Titans' lead to 28-17 with 9:49 left.

"I was trying to make a play and I made a mistake," said Jones, who muffed the catch. "I should have made a fair catch, but I tried to make a move and took my eye off the ball. We took a loss and the burden is on my shoulders."

The Titans' defense got a boost from the return of defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth, who missed the previous three games with a hamstring injury.

"It was good to be back out there," Haynesworth said. "We've just got to get back to work and keep grinding and I've got to get back to my normal self. I just want to get out there and get healthy and be 100 percent."

Houston's Ron Dayne led all rushers with 86 yards and one TD on 18 carries.

White, who rushed for 60 yards on 12 carries, dislocated his finger in the third quarter, but should return next week.