JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) – Vince Young threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Kenny Britt before leaving the game with a left knee injury, and the Tennessee Titans took a 7-0 lead over the Jacksonville Jaguars after the first quarter.
At stake for the winner Monday night was joining Indianapolis and Houston, both 4-2, atop the AFC South.
Young sprained his left knee on the second series when he fumbled a snap deep in Titans’ territory and Terrance Knighton fell on his leg. The Jaguars recovered, although it was overturned by replay and Tennessee kept the ball.
Young was helped off the field, and his return was questionable. He was replaced by Kerry Collins.
Young found little resistance from the Jaguars’ secondary, especially cornerback David Jones, who lost his starting job two weeks ago but was filling in for the injured Derek Cox.
Young found Britt for a first down on third-and-10 on the opening drive, then followed with a 28-yard completion to Bo Scaife, with no Jaguars within 3 yards of him. After a 15-yard penalty when Rashean Mathis was called for grabbing the earhole of Chris Johnson’s helmet, Young threw his TD pass to Britt.
Jones was beaten badly on the play, and Britt easily broke two tackles as he ran into the end zone.
The Jaguars came into the game ranked 29th in the league in pass defense, which did not go unnoticed by Britt. He was quoted earlier in the week as saying, “It makes everybody smile. Especially the wide receivers room.”
About the only thing the Jaguars had going for them was winning the coin toss – in six previous Monday night games, that team has gone on to win.
On the field, it was a struggle.
Quarterback David Garrard was off target early on, and after picking up two first downs on its second drive, Tiquan Underwood was called for offensive pass interference on a deep throw near the goal line. That led to another Jaguars’ punt.
The last time these teams played, Johnson and Maurice Jones-Drew combined for 405 yards rushing and two touchdowns, and the teams set an NFL record with four touchdown plays of at least 50 yards. The Titans won, 30-13.
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