EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - The Tennessee Titans had the perfect chance to sit atop their division alone for the first time all season.
Chad Pennington and the New York Jets took it away from them. Pennington threw two second-half touchdowns and the Jets beat Steve McNair and the Titans 24-17 Monday night.
The Jets (5-7) kept their slim playoff hopes alive and handed the Titans (9-3) their first loss in seven games.
"It was a playoff game for us," Jets coach Herman Edwards said. "If we can play like this against a good football team, it brings a lot of life back. I felt this week we were going to win this game. I felt this team was going to be ready to play."
McNair started despite a strained right calf, hoping to give the Titans sole possession of the AFC South after Indianapolis lost Sunday to New England. They now must wait until this weekend to see if that happens, with a home showdown Sunday against the Colts.
The NFL's top-rated passer heading into the game was mostly ineffective. McNair was 21-of-35 for 272 yards with two touchdown passes and two interceptions. He threw an 8-yard scoring pass to Derrick Mason with 1:52 remaining to get the Titans within a touchdown, but Chris Baker recovered the onside kick for the Jets to close out the win.
Mason finished with 11 receptions for 133 yards and one touchdown.
Pennington, meanwhile, finished 18-of-23 for 231 yards and also had two interceptions for his third win in five starts since returning from a broken left wrist.
Pennington was perfect in the second half, going 8-for-8 for 134 yards with the two scores.
After the Titans tied the score at 10 on a 35-yard field goal by Gary Anderson in the third quarter, Pennington engineered consecutive scoring drives to take control.
Pennington threw a 27-yard touchdown to Kevin Swayne for a 17-10 lead. It was Swayne's first catch of the season and his first career TD.
