True Titan
Vince Young and Matt Leinart showcased the skills that made them first-round draft picks after super college careers. Young even got a win — in record-setting fashion.
The third overall pick in this year's draft, Young rallied Tennessee (4-7) from a 21-point deficit in the final quarter Sunday for a 24-21 win over the New York Giants. It was the biggest fourth-quarter comeback by a rookie quarterback, topping John Elway's 19-point rally with Denver on Dec. 11, 1983, against Indianapolis.
"The legend of Vince Young began a long time ago," said Titans receiver Brandon Jones, who caught the TD pass that tied the game.
Young agreed.
"It's a sneak peek of what's to happen not just for me, but this team in general," Young said of a club that has won four of its last six in matching last year's victory total with five games left.
Leinart wasn't so successful for Arizona. He completed 31 of 52 passes for a career-high 405 yards, but had two interceptions and only one TD — a 9-yard pass to Anquan Boldin with 39 seconds to play — in a 31-26 loss at Minnesota.
Larry Fitzgerald Jr., had 11 catches for 172 yards. Boldin made nine receptions for 136 yards for the Cardinals (2-9).
"This is the first time we've played pretty well on the road and had a chance to win at the end," Leinart said. "I thought we showed a lot of fight. ... All around I thought it was a great effort, we just ran out of time."
At Nashville, Young ran for a touchdown and threw for two more in the final 9:35, finishing with a career-high 249 yards passing. Rob Bironas kicked a 49-yard field goal with 6 seconds left to win it.
At Minneapolis, Leinart wasn't the only effective QB. Brad Johnson threw for 271 yards and three touchdowns, while Chester Taylor added 136 yards rushing and a touchdown for the Vikings (5-6). Minnesota's defense forced five turnovers and allowed just 17 yards rushing to snap a four-game losing streak.
Benjamin Watson hung onto Tom Brady's 2-yard pass in the end zone to win a sloppy game. Patriots cornerback Asante Samuel had three interceptions.
At Indianapolis, Joseph Addai tied a franchise record with four touchdowns.Addai opened the game by sandwiching a 10-yard score around two 15-yard runs to give Indy a 21-0 lead. He added a late 4-yard run. The rookie running back finished with 171 yards.
At Cleveland, Cincinnati picked off Charlie Frye four times and Carson Palmer threw three touchdown passes. The shutout was the Bengals' first since Dec. 3, 1989, a span of 269 games.
At San Diego, LaDainian Tomlinson keyed yet another second-half rally to give the AFC West-leading Chargers (9-2) their fifth straight win.
At Atlanta, Drew Brees threw a 76-yard touchdown to Devery Henderson on the third play of the game, then lofted a 48-yarder to Terrance Copper on the final play of the first half. Brees completed 21-of-30 for 349 yards, his the fifth straight 300-yard game
Chris Cooley's 66-yard touchdown reception won it. Cooley broke several tackles with 4:26 to play to break a two-game losing streak for the Redskins (4-7) and give quarterback Jason Campbell his first win in his second NFL start.
J.P. Losman hit Roscoe Parrish for a 30-yard completion to set up Rian Lindell's 42-yard field goal as time ran out. The Bills (5-6) scored 28 seconds after the Jaguars tied it when David Garrard hit Matt Jones for a 3-yard touchdown.
Chad Pennington had his finest passing day in weeks, throwing for 286 yards and a touchdown. Pennington, who left briefly in the third quarter after an injury scare, finished 24-of-31. He connected with Laveranues Coles nine times for 111 yards, including a 12-yard touchdown in the third quarter.
At St. Louis, Marc Bulger threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Kevin Curtis with 27 seconds to go and the Rams (5-6) snapped a five-game skid. Stymied much of the game, Bulger was 9-for-9 for 66 yards during a 12-play, 80-yard drive.
