The Associated Press

The Titans (15-3) upset the Colts 19-16 Sunday, going ahead for good on George’s 68-yard touchdown run on the third play of the second half and shutting down Peyton Manning, Edgerrin James and Marvin Harrison, one of the NFL’s most explosive offensive trios.

Monday, January 17, 2000

The Titans (15-3) upset the Colts 19-16 Sunday, going ahead for good on George’s 68-yard touchdown run on the third play of the second half and shutting down Peyton Manning, Edgerrin James and Marvin Harrison, one of the NFL’s most explosive offensive trios.

George finished with 162 yards on 26 carries after being told by coach Jeff Fisher that these kinds of games were the reason the Titans – then the Oilers – maneuvered up and down in the first round of the 1996 draft to get him.

”He asked me to relive draft day back in 1996,” George said. ”He told me to remember that he drafted me because he felt I could lead this team to where we are now. He challenged me to live up to expectations.”

He did.

So did Kearse, the Defensive Rookie of the Year. He had just a half-tackle and deflected a couple of late passes but the attention the Colts paid him allowed teammates like Kenny Holmes to roam free.

Some results:

– Manning, a 62 percent passer in the regular season, was just 19-of-43 for 227 yards. He wasn’t sacked, but he was under pressure for much of the game.

– James, the Offensive Rookie of the Year, gained just 56 yards in 20 rushing attempts and caught just one pass for 8 yards.

– Harrison, who led the AFC with 115 receptions for 1,663 yards, caught five passes for just 65 yards.

”We got outplayed today by a better team,” Colts coach Jim Mora said. ”We have a very, very young offense that is not near what it is going to be at some point."

One reason the Colts were outplayed is that the Titans played at their own pace, not like the run-and-gun Colts.

Indianapolis, which finished 13-4, led at the half but it was just 9-6 – three field goals by Mike Vanderjagt to two by Al Del Greco.

Then, on the third play of the second half, George split a blitz by the Colts, broke into the clear 10 yards beyond the line of scrimmage and took it all the way. He slowed down only to look at the video screen in the end zone to see how close his pursuers with – a pause that allowed on to reach him just as he reached the end zone.

That made it 13-9 Titans.

They needed the ”Music City Miracle” to beat Buffalo last week – Kevin Dyson’s 75-yard kickoff return on a lateral from Frank Wycheck in the final seconds.

But they needed none Sunday.

The closest the Colts came to getting back in the game came five minutes into the fourth quarter trailing 16-9. Terrence Wilkins took a punt and appeared to take it down the right sideline 87 yards to the Titans 3.

Replays in the press box showed Wilkins stepped on the sideline and the view was relayed quickly to Fisher. With the crowd roaring, the Tennessee coach tried frantically to push the buzzer to call for a replay but the noise prevented referee Johnny Grier from hearing it.

So the Titans called a time out, Fisher challenged the play and Grier reversed it, moving the ball all the way back to the Indianapolis 33, where Wilkins had stepped out.

”It was the right call. If you’re out of bounds, you’re out of bounds,” Mora said.

”I feared the worst,” Manning said. ”You figure if they’re challenging something like that that, he must have been out of bounds.”

The Titans made it 19-9, but after Manning’s 15-yard TD run with 1:51 left cut the deficit to three, their onside kick was recovered by Tennessee’s Yancey Thigpen.

Game over, and on to Jacksonville to play a team the Titans beat 20-19 and 41-14 in the regular season.

”We’re confident that we know Jacksonville,” Tennessee safety Blaine Bishop said. ”If you’ve got a chance to beat a team three times, you must be pretty good.”

The Colts won’t argue.