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Roundup

Titans 27, Texans 24

HOUSTON - It's December and Steve McNair is ailing.

Look out.

The Titans quarterback, playing with a cracked bone spur in his left ankle and a sore right calf, hit Drew Bennett for a 23-yard touchdown on fourth down with 17 seconds left to lead Tennessee to victory and into the playoffs.

Titans coach Jeff Fisher waited until after warmups to choose McNair over veteran Neil O'Donnell, signed Thursday after backup Billy Volek went down with a lacerated spleen.

"(McNair) was the difference," Titans defensive end Jevon Kearse said. "If he hadn't been out there, I don't think the result would have been the same."

Tennessee fell behind with 1:48 left when Domanick Davis capped a four-play drive with a 5-yard touchdown around the left end.

That put the ball back in the hands of McNair, who was 17-of-36 for 268 yards and two touchdowns despite a noticeable limp. He drove the Titans 75 yards, completing passes to Bennett for 20 and 24 yards before the score.

Samari Rolle clinched it with four seconds left by intercepting David Carr, back after missing four starts with a sprained right shoulder.

"I didn't feel that I needed to play, but I felt I wanted to go out there and get something started even if I didn't finish," said McNair, adding it was "50-50" on which leg hurt worse.

CLEVELAND - Just 48 yards shy of making history, Jamal Lewis was finally brought down - by his own coach.

The Browns certainly didn't lay a hand on him.

Baltimore's bruising back closed in on the elusive 2,000-yard club to help the Ravens zero in on the AFC playoffs.

Lewis rushed for 205 yards and two touchdowns - one for 72 yards in the third quarter - as the Ravens moved back into first place in the AFC North by one game over Cincinnati. A win Sunday over Pittsburgh would clinch the division for Baltimore.

The only one who stopped Lewis was Baltimore coach Brian Billick, who benched him for the final 8:23. That denied him a chance to close in on O.J. Simpson (1973), Eric Dickerson (1984), Barry Sanders (1997) and Terrell Davis (1998) as the only backs to rush for 2,000 yards in a season.

"We had to call you off 'em, Jamal," Ravens cornerback Corey Fuller yelled in the locker room to Lewis.

"Yep," Lewis said. "Y'all set the horse down."

By then, Lewis had demoralized the Browns, who yielded a single-game record 295 yards to him on Sept. 14. In two games against Cleveland this season, Lewis had 500 yards on 52 carries and four scores.

Lewis has 1,952 yards and needs 153 to tie Dickerson's mark of 2,105.

CHICAGO - Paul Edinger ignored the gusting winds and the memories of the two makable field goals he'd already missed as he walked onto the field, thinking of nothing but his target.

With the winds howling again, Edinger focused on the left upright and kicked - hard. The ball curved right just as he knew it would, skimming over the bar for a 45-yard field goal with five seconds left that gave Chicago the win.

"After those last two kicks, I said in my mind I was going to aim it there and I'm not going to second-guess myself," Edinger said. "It ended up right down the middle."

Rex Grossman improved to 2-0 as a starter. Facing Steve Spurrier, his coach at Florida, he was 19-of-32 for 249 yards and two touchdowns. His first career scoring pass was perfect, a 59-yard strike to Marty Booker over Champ Bailey. As Booker jumped into the stands behind the end zone, Grossman grabbed the ball and trotted back to the sideline.

"It was ironic looking over at the sidelines during the game," Grossman said of Spurrier. "It's just kind of weird that we're in this position because two years ago this time we were getting ready to play the Orange Bowl. It was a little weird, but it was fun to play him."

Edinger, who began the season 14-for-14 on field goals, had missed five of 12 coming in and had another blocked. This time he missed two more, one from 30 yards and another from 33.

PHILADELPHIA - Forget homefield advantage. Philadelphia must win its division first.

Tony Parrish's interception set up a 22-yard field goal by Todd Peterson in overtime, helping the 49ers end the Eagles' nine-game win streak.

The Eagles still can clinch the East and a bye by beating Washington on Saturday. But if they lose and Dallas wins, the Cowboys win the East. To get the No. 1 seed, Philadelphia must win and the Rams lose.

"It's very disappointing, but we have to focus on the next game," Philadelphia quarterback Donovan McNabb said.

Parrish, who intercepted McNabb on the first play of regulation, stepped in front of a pass intended for Freddie Mitchell on the first play of overtime. He bobbled it, caught it while on the ground and returned it to the Eagles 4. Two plays later, Peterson won it.

Parrish, who also forced a fumble, said he initially was upset about not being chosen for the Pro Bowl.

"I'm over it," he said. "I just go out and play hard." Kevan Barlow ran for two touchdowns and 154 yards, the sixth time in seven games Philadelphia has allowed a 100-yard rusher.

McNabb threw a 19-yard touchdown to Todd Pinkston with 1:02 left to tie it at 28. But he had his least-productive game in several weeks, throwing two interceptions and getting sacked five times.

"I have to be more secure with the ball," McNabb said.

SEATTLE - Shaun Alexander and Matt Hasselbeck got off to a fast start, and Seattle's defense took over from there.

Alexander ran for two touchdowns, including a 44-yarder. Hasselbeck threw for a score, and the defense recorded eight sacks as the Seahawks kept their playoff hopes alive.

"We have a two-game season," Hasselbeck said. "Everyone is talking about this game and the next game. It would have been easy to look past this one."

Arizona lost its seventh in a row and 13th in a row on the road. Seattle finished 8-0 at home for the first time in its 27-year history.

Alexander had 135 rushing yards on 21 carries, 109 during the first 18 minutes, and Seattle led 21-3 four minutes into the second quarter.

"We had to go make something happen right away," Alexander said. "We had to get everything going in the right direction, and everything worked."

Arizona cut it to 21-10 on a touchdown from Josh McCown to Anquan Boldin early in the fourth. It threatened again on its next possession. But McCown was denied on sneaks on third and 1 and fourth and 1.

"It was just a matter of the big guys jamming up the middle and the linebackers keeping him from bouncing out," linebacker Anthony Simmons said.

Seattle sealed it on the ensuing possession, capped by Trent Dilfer's touchdown to Bobby Engram.

PITTSBURGH - The Steelers might be wondering where all these big plays on offense and defense were all season.

Tommy Maddox threw three touchdowns and Jerome Bettis passed Marcus Allen to become the seventh-leading rusher in history.

It was the kind of performance the Steelers expected but rarely got in perhaps the most disappointing of Bill Cowher's 12 seasons as coach. They can decide the AFC North champion Sunday at Baltimore, but only by keeping the Ravens at home.

"That will be our playoffs," Steelers linebacker Joey Porter said. "If we had played like this all year, we'd have a chance to (win it)."

San Diego quarterback Drew Brees had three costly turnovers for the second straight week, with Deshea Townsend intercepting him twice and recovering a fumble. Townsend returned the second pick 25 yards for a touchdown.

After that play, coach Marty Schottenheimer yanked Brees in favor of veteran Doug Flutie.

Bettis ran for 115 yards, his second 100-yard game in three weeks. He has 12,299 yards rushing and needs 14 yards at Baltimore to overtake Jim Brown (12,312) for sixth place.

"To be there with the legendary Jim Brown is amazing," Bettis said.

Plaxico Burress' scoring catches of 25 and 16 yards helped the Steelers open a 21-0 lead before San Diego had a first down.