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Collins, Titans roll to 3-0 start

Sep 21, 2008 - 10:46 PM By Chip Cirillo PA SportsTicker Corresponding Writer

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Ticker) -- Quarterback Kerry Collins got off to a bad start, but he finished strongly for the Tennessee Titans.

Collins threw an interception on the Titans' first play from scrimmage before leading Tennessee on three long touchdown drives in the first half during a 31-12 rout of the Houston Texans on Sunday.

"It wasn't exactly the way I wanted to start the game, but I felt like I came back well from it and settled down a little bit," Collins said. "I tried to come back and make good reads and good throws. Hey, acknowledge it, kick yourself in the butt a little bit and move on."

Collins won his second straight start as a replacement for the injured Vince Young as the Titans improved to 3-0 for the first time since 1999. He completed 14-of-26 passes for 189 yards and one touchdown.

The 14-year veteran led touchdown drives of 77, 68 and 74 yards as the Titans took a 21-12 halftime lead and became the 15th quarterback in NFL history to pass for more than 35,000 career yards.

Houston (0-2) was playing its first game since last week's contest against Baltimore was postponed due to the damage that Hurricane Ike caused to Reliant Stadium.

"It's football and things can change," Texans free safety Will Demps said. "Weren't the (2007) Giants 0-2? Yes, they were. Did they panic? No. Yes, we have distractions, there was a hurricane and there was no power, but we can't worry about that. We have to worry about us in this locker room."

Tennessee's defense stopped four Houston possessions in Tennessee territory on fourth-down plays in the second half.

The last came with 1:03 left when cornerback Cortland Finnegan made a 99-yard interception return for a touchdown - the longest in franchise history - to clinch the Titans' seventh consecutive victory over their AFC South Division rival.

"No question about it that I wanted to get to the (end) zone and make a play for my team," Finnegan said. "You know, I wanted to score. Like I said before, the defensive line contributes a lot to what we do on the outside."

Texans running back Steve Slaton rushed for 116 yards and one touchdown on 18 carries in his first NFL start, but the rookie from West Virginia was held to 12 yards on nine carries in the second half. He started in place of Ahman Green, who was out with a foot injury.

"I thought he was special in the game," Houston coach Gary Kubiak said. "We were going to rotate him, but he played so well we kept going with him. We probably got away from the run game too quickly in the second half in all honesty."

Texans quarterback Matt Schaub completed 17-of-38 passes for 188 yards, but he threw three interceptions. Houston scored only one touchdown on six drives inside the Titans 20-yard line.

"You've got to be able to find a way to get into the end zone," Schaub said. "We're there on fourth down inside the 5-yard line, inside the 10 twice and we weren't able to convert. We can't put ourselves in a fourth-down situation. We just have to convert on third down. That starts with me. I have to play better."

Free safety Michael Griffin made two interceptions for the Titans, who stopped the Texans 12 out of 15 times on third down.