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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Monday, November 17, 2008

Titans improve to 10-0

Associated Press

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Jacksonville's Maurice Jones-Drew is sandwiched by the Titans' Albert Haynesworth and Stephen Tulloch.

PHIL COALE | Associated Press

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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jack Del Rio was pumping his fist and screaming kudos to his players as the Jacksonville Jaguars jogged toward the locker room with a 14-3 lead.

It was a premature celebration, especially against the league's only unbeaten team.

Behind, ahead. Home, away. Run, pass. Backups, starters. No matter the situation, the Tennessee Titans keep finding ways to win — and staying undefeated.

Kerry Collins threw three touchdown passes, Albert Haynesworth dominated defensively again and the Titans improved to 10-0 with a 24-14 victory over the Jaguars yesterday.

Tennessee overcame a 14-3 halftime deficit, got solid play from third-string cornerback Chris Carr and extended its franchise-record winning streak in the regular season to 13.

"It's great," said Haynesworth, who finished with seven tackles, a sack and a forced fumble. "People keep counting us out and we like proving the world wrong, I guess."

The Titans swept the season series against AFC South rival Jacksonville for the third time in seven years and won their seventh consecutive regular-season road game. This one may have been more impressive than any of the others.

"It's very frustrating," Jaguars safety Gerald Sensabaugh said. "We pretty much shut them out the whole first half, came in and felt like we had a lot of momentum going our way and then went back out and gave up a few big plays. That sums it up pretty much. That was horrible."

The Jaguars (4-6) lost for the fourth time in six games, fell six games behind the Titans and probably ended any chance they had of returning to the postseason.

Collins directed consecutive touchdown drives to open the third quarter, turning an 11-point deficit into a three-point lead.

He sealed the victory with a perfect 38-yard TD pass to Justin Gage with 3:57 remaining. Collins and Gage also hooked up for a 56-yard score in the third period — the only third-down conversion for the Titans. They were 1 of 12 on third down.

Collins finished 13 of 23 for 230 yards. Gage caught four passes for 147 yards.

STEELERS 11, CHARGERS 10

PITTSBURGH — The only thing perfect on a snowy, frigid day when the weather and the offenses were equally awful was San Diego's regular-season record in Pittsburgh.

Make it 0-13, losing the first 11-10 final in NFL history.

Ben Roethlisberger was 31 of 41 for 308 yards for the Steelers (7-3), Willie Parker ran for 115 yards and Jeff Reed's third field goal won it — a 32-yarder with 11 seconds remaining.

The unusual final score was in jeopardy when the Steelers' Troy Polamalu returned an errant lateral 12 yards for an apparent touchdown on the final play. But it was overturned on replay — called an illegal forward pass — and the 11-10 score was restored.

The Chargers fell to 4-6.

A snow squall about 45 minutes before the late-afternoon kickoff left Heinz's grass surface snowy white at the start and snow splotches remained the rest of the game.

DOLPHINS 17, RAIDERS 15

MIAMI — Dan Carpenter nailed a 38-yard field goal with 38 seconds left to cap a 61-yard drive, and the Dolphins (6-4) earned their fourth consecutive victory.

Johnnie Lee Higgins scored on a 93-yard punt with 4:30 left to give the Raiders (2-8) their first lead, but Miami shook off the stunning score. Chad Pennington moved the Dolphins downfield in 10 plays, completing a 7-yard pass on fourth-and-5 to Ted Ginn Jr. to keep the drive alive.

Oakland lost its fourth in a row, and Tom Cable fell to 1-5 as interim coach.

COLTS 33, TEXANS 27

INDIANAPOLIS — Peyton Manning spent one half deciphering the Houston defense. He spent the final two quarters cutting it up.

The two-time league MVP led Indianapolis on four straight scoring drives in the second half, wiping out two Houston leads. The Colts (6-4) won their season-best third straight.

Manning finished 30 of 46 for 320 yards with two touchdowns, and magnificently mixed the run and pass in the second half when the Texans (3-7) couldn't keep up with the Colts.