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Young Makes Houston Pay

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By TERESA M. WALKER, The Associated Press

Published: December 3, 2007

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Vince Young nearly ran into the interview room to talk with reporters.

The quarterback who slumped on a bench a week ago, frustrated and unhappy at yet another loss, couldn't wait to talk Sunday. He finally made a team pay for daring him to win using his arm.

Young threw for 248 yards and two touchdowns in rallying the Titans to a 28-20 victory against his hometown Texans, snapping a three-game skid for a team that hadn't even held a lead in a month.

"They're bringing a bunch of guys in the box," Young said. "They are basically telling us, 'Vince you can't make that throw. And the receivers can't make that catch.' We took it upon ourselves to prove them wrong. That's just nothing but motivation."

Well, opponents had been doing that the past three games. Young had thrown for 808 yards but no wins. He had thrown two TDs in a game once before this season - Sept. 24 at New Orleans.

The Titans (7-5) had defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth back from an injured hamstring that kept him out three games. His return helped revive a defense coming off its worst performance of the season in a 35-6 loss at Cincinnati last week.

But it was Titans end Antwan Odom who knocked Matt Schaub out of the game for the second time this year, sacking him and dislocating his left shoulder in the first quarter.

By the time backup Sage Rosenfels settled in, it was too late for the Texans (5-7), who lost their second straight and seriously hurt their faint playoff hopes.

"We kind of got ourselves on the brink here the last couple weeks, but the bottom line is the teams we're playing made the plays in the crunch and we didn't," Texans coach Gary Kubiak said.

With his family in the stands, Young took over with perhaps the best quarter of his career, helping the Titans beat the team that replaced them in Houston for the 10th time in 12 games. Young, who missed a 38-36 win Oct. 21 in Houston with a strained right quadriceps, guided the Titans 63 yards and found Roydell Williams for a 43-yard TD, putting them up 14-10. It was the Titans' first lead since beating Carolina 20-7 on Nov. 4.

Then Young completed all six passes for 40 yards and ran twice for 16 more in an 87-yard drive he finished with an 11-yard toss to Justin Gage in the right corner. Young had a 147.2 passer rating in the quarter, helping the Titans hold onto the ball for 10 minutes.

"Just cause we're in the NFL doesn't mean we can't have fun beating somebody's butts," Young said.

Hou-Dayne 1 run (K.Brown kick), 10:23.

Ten-White 1 run (Bironas kick), 4:03.

Second Quarter

Hou-FG K.Brown 45, 1:04.

Third Quarter

Ten-R.Williams 43 pass from Young (Bironas kick), 11:15.

Ten-Gage 11 pass from Young (Bironas kick), :47.

Fourth Quarter

Hou-A.Johnson 28 pass from Rosenfels (K.Brown kick), 12:14.

Ten-C.Brown 7 run (Bironas kick), 9:49.

Hou-FG K.Brown 50, 4:54.

A-69,143

RUSHING-Houston, Dayne 18-86, Rosenfels 2-25, Echemandu 5-8. Tennessee, White 12-60, C.Brown 11-46, Young 5-44, Barclay 1-3.

PASSING-Houston, Rosenfels 17-30-1-185, Schaub 3-5-0-34. Tennessee, Young 21-31-1-248.

RECEIVING-Houston, A.Johnson 9-116, Daniels 3-42, Dayne 3-25, Leach 2-7, Walter 1-11, Davis 1-9, Dreessen 1-9. Tennessee, R.Williams 5-74, Gage 5-64, Scaife 4-57, Moulds 3-29, C.Brown 2-13, White 1-7, Troupe 1-4.

MISSED FIELD GOALS-Tennessee, Bironas 53 (SH).

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