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Collins leads Titans into the playoffs

Dec 31, 2007 - 7:08 AM INDIANAPOLIS (Ticker) -- With their playoff lives on the line against the Indianapolis Colts' "B" team, the Tennessee Titans turned to a backup quarterback to lead them to the postseason.

Kerry Collins filled in for an injured Vince Young and led three scoring drives as the Titans beat the Colts, 16-10, on Sunday night in the final regular-season game at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis.

Rob Bironas kicked three field goals and Collins completed 10-of-13 passes for 106 yards for Tennessee, which advanced to the playoffs and will face San Diego next Sunday in the Wild Card round.

"First of all, it is not about me," Young said. "I feel like our defense did a great job this year. Rob Bironas did a lot for us this year. Over all as a team, we finished this season like we should have last year."

With the Colts locked into the No. 2 seed in the AFC and ensured of a bye in the first round next weekend, coach Tony Dungy chose to rest most of his starters on both offense and defense beginning in the middle of the second quarter.

"We thought we were going to throw it more and we did and we wanted to have the lead," Dungy said. "We knew those guys (the starters) were not going to play the full game so we wanted to try to get the lead and see if we could hold it and that was the one thing we didn't do. We didn't score when we got down there in the red zone."

The Titans were forced to use their own backup quarterback when Vince Young suffered a quad injury in the third quarter and could not return.

Despite the injury, Tennessee coach Jeff Fisher said that Young could have returned if the situation dictated it.

"Vince was able to come back if we needed him," he said. "Kerry was managing the game well, so we decided not to push it any further and risk it. We're evaluating him, but I'm confident he'll be back to work this week."

Needing a win to reach the postseason, the Titans began the contest eating up a chunk of the opening quarter with a 79-yard, 11-play drive that ended with Chris Brown rushing through the right side for an eight-yard touchdown run with 8:41 remaining.

"That's what we had hoped for," Fisher said about scoring on their first possession. "We wanted to do it on the ground, and we wanted to do it with short passes. It was probably one of our bigger drives of the year."

The Colts responded with an aerial attack on their opening drive, as Peyton Manning completed 8-of-9 passes before Reggie Wayne fumbled at the Tennessee 26-yard line.

Former Indianapolis linebacker David Thornton recovered the loose ball, but the Titans could not convert the turnover into points and were forced to punt.

The Colts cut the deficit to 7-3 when Adam Vinatieri drilled a 37-yard field goal with 10:40 remaining in the first half.

Tennessee had an opportunity to add to its advantage when Indianapolis' cornerback Marlin Jackson committed a 25-yard pass interference penalty that left the visitors with a 1st-and-goal at the 9-yard line, but Brown fumbled the ball away at the 7-yard line.

Another fumble on the Titans' first drive of the second half - this time by LenDale White - allowed the Colts to drive down for a three-yard touchdown pass from backup quarterback Jim Sorgi to Craphonso Thorpe and grab a 10-7 lead with 9:09 left in the third quarter.

Young went down minutes later, but Collins ably stepped in and directed three field-goal drives. Bironas connected from 40, 54, and 33 yards to seal the win.

It proved to be a memorable performance for Collins, who was celebrating his birthday.

"I am 35 today," Collins said. "It was a great birthday present. I am proud of these guys, and proud of the whole team."

Manning threw for 95 yards on 14-of-16 attempts and Wayne finished with 12 catches for 87 yards for the Colts, who have a bye before hosting the AFC Divisional Playoff game against any of three teams, including the San Diego Chargers.

"We will prepare for our potential opponents," Manning said. "One of three teams. So we will try to use the time to get ready. That is the whole idea of having the bye week."