RECAP: Neil O'Donnell, replacing the injured Steve McNair, made his first start in more than two years but didn't look rusty, completing three passes for 41 yards to set up Gary Anderson's 37-yard field goal on the opening drive. ... The Bucs countered with a 46-yard drive, leading to a 27-yard field goal by Martin Gramatica to tie the score at 3. Brad Johnson threw back-to-back completions of 14 and 13 yards to Michael Pittman on the march.
KEY PLAY: The Bucs threw short passes underneath the Titans coverage, completing six to running backs Pittman, Thomas Jones and Jameel Cook for 47 of their 80 passing yards.
DID YOU NOTICE: John Lynch left Titans receiver Justin McCareins dazed after a helmet-to-helmet collision near the Titans goal line, drawing the ire of Tennessee teammates and fans. ... Offsetting personal fouls (face mask on Keith Bulluck, unnecessary roughness on Keenan McCardell) wiped out a 5-yard pass to Cook. ... Jones fumbled inside the Titans 10, but Cornell Green recovered for the Bucs at the 6. ... Anthony McFarland left with six minutes remaining in the quarter because of a sprained ankle. ... Tampa Bay's Edell Shepherd had his first NFL reception, a 12-yard gain for a first down.
SECOND QUARTER
RECAP: Tampa Bay's goal-line defense held after Jevon Kearse tipped then intercepted a Brad Johnson pass at the Bucs 7. Two Eddie George runs set up third and goal at the 1, but George was stopped for no gain on third down, and Neil O'Donnell's bootleg pass on fourth down was knocked away. ... The Titans weren't denied on their ensuing possession, marching 38 yards in three plays for a 10-3 lead. The touchdown came on a 23-yard pass from O'Donnell to Derrick Mason. ... Another Johnson interception, by Tank Williams at the Bucs 33, set up a Gary Anderson field goal (33 yards) for a 13-3 lead. ... Despite getting the ball at their 25 with 1:16 left in the half, the Titans extended their lead with a 43-yard Anderson field goal as time expired. O'Donnell completed five consecutive passes for 43 yards on the drive.
KEY PLAY: Dwight Smith grabbed his fifth interception of the season, wresting the ball from Titans receiver Drew Bennett at the Tennessee goal line and falling into the end zone for the touchback. The Titans had driven to the Bucs 40 before Smith's INT.
DID YOU NOTICE: Jameel Cook was penalized 10 yards for offensive pass interference one play before Johnson's first interception. ... Justin McCareins set up Tennessee's touchdown drive with a 17-yard punt return to the Bucs 38. ... Samari Rolle was penalized 15 yards for unnecessary roughness after repeatedly grabbing Edell Shepherd's face mask and punching him in the helmet. ... Johnson almost had his third INT of the half, but linebacker Peter Sirmon dropped the pass. ... John Lynch left with 56 seconds left after reinjuring his right shoulder.
THIRD QUARTER
RECAP: The Titans picked up in the second half where they left off in the first: with Tank Williams intercepting Brad Johnson to set up another Tennessee field goal. The interception came at the Bucs 32 and the Titans moved as close as the 6 before Gary Anderson's 23-yarder for a 19-3 lead. ... Shaun King replaced the struggling Johnson and drove the Bucs 49 yards in six plays to set up a 33-yard field goal by Martin Gramatica. Key plays included a 20-yard pass from King to Charles Lee and an 18-yard run by Thomas Jones. ... The Titans put together their fifth consecutive scoring drive, 64 yards in five plays. The touchdown came on a 34-yard pass from Neil O'Donnell to Derrick Mason, who got behind Bucs cornerback Ronde Barber.
KEY PLAY: Snuffing out any thoughts of a comeback, the Titans forced another turnover on Tampa Bay's first possession of the half. Defensive end Kevin Carter pressured Johnson into throwing a high, short lob down the middle and Williams grabbed the jump ball for his second interception of the day.
DID YOU NOTICE: Jones returned the second-half kickoff to the Titans 45, but the play was wiped out on an illegal block by Dewayne White. ... Johnson's interception was his third of the game and seventh in the past two weeks.
FOURTH QUARTER
RECAP: For a while, Shaun King looked impressive, leading the Bucs on a 71-yard touchdown drive. The march included a 14-yard run by Thomas Jones, 9-yard reception by Rickey Dudley and 15-yard face-mask call against Titan Brad Kassell and culminated with King's 14-yard TD to Aaron Stecker. The TD cut Tennessee's lead to 26-13 with 13:21 left. ... Another Bucs interception led to Tennessee's final touchdown. King's overthrown pass was picked off by Keith Bulluck at the Tampa Bay 26. The unusual score came when tight end Erron Kinney recovered a fumble in the Tennessee end zone after running back Chris Brown fumbled at the 2. The score extended Tennessee's lead to 33-13.
KEY PLAY: After several Bucs had a chance to grab Brown's fumble, Kinney's recovery sealed the victory.
DID YOU NOTICE: Jugua Thomas recorded the game's first sack, an 8-yard drop of King with 10:01 left. ... Eddie George became the 17th NFL player to rush for more than 10,000 yards in a career, eclipsing the milestone with a 4-yard run in the fourth. ... King was sacked a second time for a 9-yard loss by Rien Long with less than two minutes left.
