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NFL

Titans clinch; Jags still reeling

JACKSONVILLE -- One moment, the Titans made the playoffs. The next, they won the division.

At this rate, there's no telling how far Tennessee might go in a season that seems to get better by the minute.

Eddie George ran for two scores and Steve McNair threw for another Sunday to help the Titans embarrass Jacksonville 28-10, a loss that could push coach Tom Coughlin one step closer to unemployment.

With their ninth win in 10 games, the Titans became the first team in the jumbled AFC to wrap up a playoff spot. A few minutes later, the Colts lost to the Giants, which made Tennessee the first champion of the new AFC South. (The Raiders joined the Titans in the playoffs as AFC West champs later in the afternoon.)

There was a muted celebration, the sign of a team that knows it could be playing for much more than just a division title.

The Jaguars were guaranteed their third straight losing season and Coughlin was booed frequently before 51,033 in the last home game of the season.

Only a touchdown with eight seconds left prevented Jacksonville's most lopsided loss at home. A biplane that flew over the stadium summed up the mood of the city with the message it carried that read, simply, "Coughlin?"

"It doesn't matter if he's the head coach or someone else is the head coach," Jaguars cornerback Fernando Bryant said. "Tennessee is Tennessee. They beat us, and it wasn't because the stands were half full or anything else."

Indeed, coaching and crowd noise weren't nearly enough for Jacksonville to overcome an obvious talent disparity.

Of course Coughlin, who doubles as a personnel man, is responsible for his team's talent shortcomings, too.

"It's frustrating to have a team playing its best football of the year come in here and not be able to compete with them," Coughlin said.

The Titans pushed the Jaguars around on both sides of the ball. George ran for 89 yards on 21 carries. Playing with sore ribs and lower back, McNair ran for a season-high 58 yards, threw for 115 more and hit Derrick Mason for a 5-yard score early in the fourth quarter for a 28-3 lead.

Tennessee outgained Jacksonville 298-214, held the ball for 11 more minutes and recorded four sacks, two by Jevon Kearse.

In all, it was hard to believe this team isn't sending a single player to the Pro Bowl.

"I think we've been playing with a chip on our shoulder the whole year," linebacker Keith Bulluck said. "For this team to be one of the hottest teams in the NFL, and for no one to go to represent Tennessee in Honolulu is absurd. People are just going to have to feel the wrath."

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