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Colts hold off pesky Titans

Sep 16, 2007 - 10:45 PM By Chip Cirillo PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Ticker) -- Peyton Manning was relieved, but not surprised.Manning threw for 312 yards and a touchdown as the IndianapolisColts escaped with a 22-20 victory over the AFC South rivalTennessee Titans on Sunday."The teams are very familiar with each other and have similarcoaches as far as the same systems," Manning said. "There arenot a lot of secrets so there aren't going to be any great trickplays that confuse the other team. So, it's going to go down tothe wire."The game has gone down to the wire the last three times theseAFC South Division rivals have met.Indianapolis (2-0) rallied for a 14-13 win over Tennessee at theRCA Dome in 2006, and Rob Bironas kicked a 60-yard field withseven seconds left in the rematch, giving the Titans a 20-17win.Bironas almost got another chance to be the hero when VinceYoung found Brandon Jones at the Colts 37-yard line with 25seconds left, but the ball bounced out of his hands and fellincomplete.Jacob Bell fumbled a lateral from Young on the next play andIndianapolis' Darrell Reid recovered to seal the win."Tennessee is a very, very difficult team to play a toughteam," Colts coach Tony Dungy said. "And the thing I say aboutVince Young, he has given them the thought that they are goingto win every time they go on the field, every time, no matterwhat the circumstance."Manning completed 28-of-42 passes for 312 yards and onetouchdown as four receivers had at least five catches.Joseph Addai was the workhorse in the Colts backfield, rushingfor 81 yards and one touchdown on 20 carries.Young, the 2006 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, passed for 184yards and one touchdown and rushed for 53 yards for the Titans(1-1)."We just needed to get the first down, that's all we needed todo and I really feel like Rob would have finished it," Youngsaid of the Titans' final drive. "But we didn't get the firstdown, and we've got to move on and get ready for the next game.From an effort standpoint of the Tennessee Titans, I reallyloved how we played."Adam Vinatieri's 39-yard field goal with 9:41 left in the thirdquarter gave the Colts a 19-6 lead, but the Titans capitalizedon Cortland Finnegan's interception of a Manning pass deep inColts' territory.LenDale White scored on a 3-yard touchdown run with 4:48 left inthe third quarter to narrow the deficit to 19-13."I think all during the preseason and last week, the defensiveline has played great," said Finnegan, who benefited from astrong pass rush by Kyle Vanden Bosch before making theinterception. "You have to have that to put pressure to causebad routes or bad throws.Vinatieri's third field goal of the day, from 20 yards out,increased Indianapolis' lead to 22-13 as time expired in thethird quarter.Roydell Williams caught a 1-yard touchdown pass from VinceYoung, cutting the Colts' lead to 22-20 with 6:02 left.Titans coach Jeff Fisher expressed mixed feelings about havinganother close call with the Colts."It depends on the perspective in which you look at it,"Fishersaid. "That's what we talked about in the locker room. Youshould win this, and you didn't."