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Collins helps Titans remain undefeated

Nov 9, 2008 - 11:10 PM By Christopher Marquard and Bill Marquard PA SportsTicker Contributing Writers

CHICAGO (Ticker) -- For Tennessee Titans quarterback Kerry Collins, this was his weekend to hit the target.

Facing a Chicago Bears defense that stuffed rookie running back Chris Johnson for the entire game, Collins threw for a season-high 289 yards and two touchdowns Sunday, leading the undefeated Titans to a 21-14 victory.

On Friday, Collins bagged a six-point buck deer while hunting on a local farm.

Two days later, the 14-year veteran completed 30-of-41 passes - his highest completion total since the 2003 season - to help the Titans (9-0) remain unbeaten.

"Kerry made good decisions today," Titans head coach Jeff Fisher said. "If you give him time, he'll hit it."

"(The Bears) had their safeties in the box today," added Collins, who had a large gash across his nose. "We adjusted to get a lot of what we got."

When asked which play he sustained the cut on, Collins sheepishly admitted that it occurred on his hunting trip.

"When I shot that buck with a muzzle loader, the (gun) kicked back and popped me," he said.

Sunday's game had been billed as a battle between Johnson and Matt Forte, the top two rookie running backs in the NFL.

Johnson, the 24th overall selection in this year's draft, entered the contest with an AFC-leading 715 yards. But the Bears limited the speedy rookie to a season-low eight yards on 14 carries.

"The defense did well at stopping the run," Bears coach Lovie Smith said. "You want to make a team one-dimensional, but from there you have to make some plays in the passing game and we weren't able to do that."

"We had footing issues," Fisher said. "So we had to pick the ball up and throw it."

With Tennessee's vaunted running game nullified, Collins picked up the pace for the Titans, who are off to the best start in franchise history.

With Tennessee facing a 7-0 deficit in the second quarter, Chris Carr reeled off a 29-yard punt return to Chicago's 22-yard line.

Four plays later, Collins found tight end Bo Scaife for a 10-yard TD pass to forge a 7-7 tie with 8:39 remaining in the first half.

After Chicago went three-and-out to open the second half, Collins engineered a six-play, 54-yard drive capped by his 12-yard scoring strike to former Bear Justin Gage that gave Tennessee a 14-7 lead.

It was the 12th consecutive completion for Collins, who went 5-for-5 for 54 yards on the go-ahead drive.

The Titans' ground game finally awoke near the end of the third quarter, when they drove 52 yards in 11 plays for their third TD, LenDale White's 2-yard plunge that gave Tennessee a 21-7 lead with 12:06 remaining.

The Bears (5-4) awoke in the fourth quarter as Rex Grossman completed five consecutive attempts for 69 yards, capping a seven-play drive with his 1-yard TD plunge to make it 21-14 with 4:55 left.

Although the Bears got the ball back with 3:12 remaining, they were unable to advance the ball on four plays, and Tennesse ran out the clock to remain the only unbeaten team in the NFL.

Tennessee's outstanding defense limited Forte to 72 yards on 20 carries. A second-round draft selection, Forte entered with 641 rushing yards, the second-highest total among rookies.

The Bears started hot, as Grossman engineered an opening 14-play, 75-yard drive capped by his 5-yard TD pass to Forte.

But Chicago stalled for the rest of the first half, as Chris Hope intercepted Grossman and returned it to the Bears' 25-yard line. It was Hope's third consecutive game with a pick.

Collins then led the Titans to the goal line, until Ahmard Hall fumbled on 4th-and-inches. Bears cornerback Corey Graham recovered the fumble on Chicago's 2.

Collins finished 30-of-41 while Scaife had 10 catches for 78 yards.

Grossman completed 20-of-37 attempts for 173 yards. His favorite target was Forte, who had seven catches for 64 yards.

"Offensively, the field position game really hurt us the entire time," Smith said. "We just haven't gotten the type of production that we need from any phase."