SCORING

	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	Final
Tennessee	3	6	8	10	27
Detroit	0	14	0	10	24

Scoring

1ST QUARTER

TEN - FG, JOE NEDNEY 39 YD, 13:48. Drive: 8 plays, 29 yards in 4:00. Key plays: McNair 9-yard run on 3rd-and-6 to Detroit 35; McNair 11-yard pass to Dyson to Detroit 24;. TENNESSEE 3-0

2ND QUARTER

TEN - FG, JOE NEDNEY 46 YD, 7:47. Drive: 14 plays, 69 yards in 6:56. Key plays: George 12-yard run on 3rd-and-8 to Tennessee 17; McNair 20-yard pass to Wycheck to Tennessee 37; McNair 8-yard pass to Mason on 3rd-and-4 to Detroit 49; McNair 24-yard pass to Wycheck on 3rd-and-12 to Detroit 27. TENNESSEE 6-0 DET - TD, JOHNNIE MORTON 18 YD PASS FROM CHARLIE BATCH (JASON HANSON KICK), 12:46. Drive: 3 plays, 26 yards in 1:24. Key plays: Claiborne 6-yard interception return to Tennessee 26. DETROIT 7-6 DET - TD, GERMANE CROWELL 46 YD PASS FROM CHARLIE BATCH (JASON HANSON KICK), 13:30. Drive: 1 play, 46 yards in 0:07. Key plays: Hentrich 38-yard punt to Detroit 46. DETROIT 14-6 TEN - FG, JOE NEDNEY 30 YD, 15:00. Drive: 11 plays, 62 yards in 1:30. Key plays: McNair 7-yard run on 3rd-and-4 to Tennessee 39; McNair 50-yard pass to Bennett to Detroit 11; 5-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Lions' Fair to Detroit 5. DETROIT 14-9

3RD QUARTER

TEN - TD, DONALD MITCHELL 69 YD RETURN OF BLOCKED FIELD GOAL (STEVE MCNAIR PASS TO DREW BENNETT FOR TWO-POINT CONVERSION), 2:46. TENNESSEE 17-14

4TH QUARTER

DET - FG, JASON HANSON 23 YD, 5:22. Drive: 14 plays, 76 yards in 7:04. Key plays: Batch 18-yard pass to Schlesinger to Detroit 38; Batch 15-yard pass to Morton on 3rd-and-5 to Tennessee 42; Warren 2-yard run on 3rd-and-1 to Tennessee 31; Batch 19-yard pass to Morton on 3rd-and-2 to Tennessee 4. TENNESSEE 17, DETROIT 17 TEN - TD, FRANK WYCHECK 6 YD PASS FROM STEVE MCNAIR (JOE NEDNEY KICK), 10:19. Drive: 8 plays, 75 yards in 4:57. Key plays: Wycheck 21-yard pass to Mason to Detroit 43; Mcnair 29-yard pass to Wycheck on 3rd-and-3 to Detroit 7;. TENNESSEE 24-17 DET - TD, DESMOND HOWARD 36 YD PASS FROM CHARLIE BATCH (JASON HANSON KICK), 13:42. Drive: 9 plays, 79 yards in 1:00. Key plays: Batch 11-yard pass to Warren to Tennessee 49; Batch 13-yard pass to Foster to Tennessee 36. TENNESSEE 24, DETROIT 24 TEN - FG, JOE NEDNEY 46 YD, 14:55. Drive: 4 plays, 40 yards in 1:13. Key plays: Mcnair 18-yard pass to Mason to midfield; Mcnair 22-yard run to Detroit 28;. TENNESSEE 27-24

PLAYER STATISTICS

PASSING
Tennessee	Att	Cmp	Yds	Td	Int		Detroit	Att	Cmp	Yds	Td	Int
Mcnair	15	35	216	1	2		Batch	25	42	338	3	1
Wycheck	1	1	21	0	0

RUSHING
Tennessee	Att	Yards		Detroit	Att	Yards
George	26	51		Warren	6	18
Mcnair	5	48		J Stewart	9	17
Hicks	1	2		Batch	2	3
Wycheck	1	1		Howard	1	3
				Jett	1	0

RECEIVING
Tennessee	Att	Yards		Detroit	Att	Yards
Wycheck	7	100		Morton	9	113
Mason	3	47		Crowell	4	65
K Dyson	2	17		Sloan	3	41
Kinney	2	14		C Schlesinge	3	32
Bennett	1	50		Warren	2	16
George	1	9		Howard	1	36
				Foster	1	13
				Mitchell	1	12
				J Stewart	1	10

TACKLES-ASSISTS-SACKS (UNOFFICIAL)
Tennessee	T	A	S		Detroit	T	A	S
A Dyson	8	1	0		S Rogers	5	6	0
Mitchell	5	1	0		Claiborne	2	6	0
Godfrey	3	3	0		Green	5	2	1
Favors	1	4	0		Rice	3	4	0
Carter	3	1	2		Aldridge	2	5	0
Kearse	3	0	1		Fair	5	0	0
Evans	2	1	0		Campbell	2	3	0
Bulluck	2	1	0		Pritchett	2	2	0
Morris	2	1	0		Lyght	3	0	0
Walker	0	3	0		Porcher	2	1	0
Smith	1	1	0		Kirschke	0	1	0
Ford	1	0	1
E Robinson	0	1	0

MISSED FIELD GOALS

Detroit (Hanson 37, 40, 37, 40).

INTERCEPTIONS

Tennessee (Godfrey 1 for 5 yards); Detroit (Claiborne 1 for minus 5 yards, Rice 1 for 0 yards).

FUMBLES LOST

Detroit (Banta).

OPPONENT'S FUMBLES RECOVERED

Tennessee (Walker).

A: 76,940; T: 3:41.

TEAM STATISTICS TEN DET

FIRST DOWNS                    18             18
Rushing                         5              1
Passing                        10             15
Penalty                         3              2
3RD-DOWN EFFICIENCY          7-18           6-16
4TH-DOWN EFFICIENCY           0-0            1-3
TOTAL NET YARDS               329            363
Total plays                    70             65
Average gain                  4.7            5.6
NET YARDS RUSHING             102             41
Rushes                         33             19
Average per rush              3.1            2.2
NET YARDS PASSING             227            322
Completed-attempted         16-36          25-42
Yards per pass                6.1            7.0
Sacked-yards lost            1-10           4-16
Had intercepted                 2              1
PUNTS-AVERAGE              6-42.0         5-41.8
RETURN YARDAGE                 92            178
Punts-returns                 3-1           2-11
Kickoffs-returns             4-86          5-172
Interceptions-returns         1-5      2-minus 5
PENALTIES-YARDS              5-45           8-77
FUMBLES-LOST                  1-0            2-1
TIME OF POSSESSION          31:24          28:36

News: 10/22/01

At one point in Sunday's Lions-Titans game, play was stopped because of a rip in the artificial turf. Eventually -- and we've had commando raids completed in less time -- someone from the Silverdome grounds crew showed up. Here is what he did:

He took duct tape, double-sided the problem, and stomped on it until it stayed put.

Oh, if we could only do that to the Lions!

Tennessee 27, Detroit 24. Some losses amuse. Some losses amaze. This one did both. And then, in the final seconds, it broke your heart -- assuming your heart is silly enough to still be involved with an 0-5 football team.

"There were a lot of strange things that happened today," coach Marty Mornhinweg said.

Gee, I don't know. Not if you live in Amityville.

Try this on for weirdness: Two Lions get thrown out of the game. One Lions field goal attempt gets blocked and returned for a touchdown. Another field goal attempt fizzles when the snap rolls off the snapper's hand. Charlie Batch sees a snap fly over his head and a sneaker fly over his head (from one of his linemen, who didn't want to tie it.) The Lions once again draw eight penalties, including roughing the passer, pass interference, taunting and leverage.

I am not making this up. They got penalized for "leverage."

What are they, junk bond traders?

Not so fast, Heisman dude

As if all this weren't enough, the Lions were, believe it or not, still in the game in the final minutes. They rallied above their errors -- which is like a lobster rising out of boiling water -- and stopped Tennessee, forced a punt, then drove 79 yards for a tying touchdown.

That touchdown -- sit down, folks, you won't believe this -- came on a long pass reception by Desmond Howard, who hasn't done that around here since he was studying for final exams in Ann Arbor.

"I was trying to catch my breath," said Howard, whose beautiful 36-yard catch made it 24-24. "I was sure we were going back out there for overtime."

Not so fast, Heisman dude. This was still the Lions, remember?

So in the final 78 seconds, the Detroit special teams gave up a 25-yard kickoff return. And Robert Bailey missed a tackle that turned a short pass into an 18-yard gain. And Tennessee quarterback Steve McNair escaped the Lions', uh, defense and rumbled for 22 yards.

That was all the Titans needed. They hailed their field goal unit, and one 46-yard kick later, the game was over.

The Lions, last of the winless teams, are now officially in the basement of the NFL.

"If you'd have told me at the start of the season we'd be sitting at 0-5, I'd never have believed you," Batch said.

Well, the record is only one stunner.

How about losing two of their best receivers in one week -- Herman Moore and Germane Crowell, both gone for the year?

How about Tracy Scroggins and Luther Elliss -- two of the most experienced Lions defenders -- getting tossed out of the game for bad behavior?

How about Terry Fair getting called for taunting Tennessee receiver Drew Bennett as the Titans were within spitting distance of the Lions' end zone? What on earth could Fair have been saying?

FAIR: Ha! Knocked you down!

BENNETT: Uh, we have another play.

FAIR: You do?

Explosions, bottle rockets, laughter

Now it's true with the Lions, there seems to be one of these games every season, when the house collapses and the roof caves in and there are explosions and bottle rockets and laughter and anger and dumb plays and penalties and blocked balls and tips and bounces. Some of these games they win. Most of them they lose.

But this one pretty much buried the season. At 0-5, Mornhinweg is already working on year two of the five-year plan, whether he wants to admit it or not.

And that's a shame, because this team has some talent. This week and last week, with last-minute losses, the Lions did enough to make you think: Gee, maybe with a tweak here, a tweak there. . . .

Forget it. The easiest thing to do is stay close and lose. The hardest thing is to make plays when you have to -- and avoid stupidity when you can least afford it. The Lions don't do this, which makes them about a million miles from victory, no matter how close the score.

"Eventually, something good is gonna happen," safety Ron Rice said. "We haven't done anything right all year."

If you can balance those two sentences, you should be the coach.

At the end of Sunday's downer, as the Lions walked off the field, whoever runs the stadium music actually played "Freefalling" over the loudspeakers.

Where's the duct tape when you need it?

RECAP:

PONTIAC, Michigan (Ticker) -- Jeff Fisher's decision to sign Joe Nedney may end up saving the season for the Tennessee Titans.

Nedney kicked a 46-yard field goal with five seconds left in the fourth quarter to lift the Titans to a 27-24 victory over the winless Detroit Lions.

After struggling most of the day, Steve McNair set up the winning field goal with an 18-yard pass to Derrick Mason and a 22-yard run up the middle to the Detroit 28.

Following McNair's scramble, the Titans let the clock run down before calling a timeout, despite the length of the field goal.

"I would have liked it closer, but it was a helluva gesture from him (Fisher) to have the confidence to keep it right there and let me kick it," Nedney said.

The Lions (0-5) had tied the game at 24-24 when Charlie Batch hit Desmond Howard with a 36-yard touchdown pass down the right sideline on a 4th-and-10 play with 1:18 left.

It was the second straight game-winning field goal for Nedney, who kicked a 49-yarder in overtime in last week's 31-28 victory over Tampa Bay.

Fisher signed Nedney to a five-year, $6 million contract in the offseason after waiving veteran kicker Al Del Greco, who struggled last season.

Playing for his sixth NFL team in a six-year career, Nedney kicked three field goals in a listless first half for the Titans (2-3), who trailed 14-9 at halftime.

"Playing in a dome is a beautiful thing, no wind or field conditions or anything like that," Nedney said.

Detroit appeared on its way to padding the lead early in the third quarter, but a 40-yard field goal attempt by Jason Hanson was blocked by Henry Ford and returned 69 yards for a touchdown by Donald Mitchell. McNair hit rookie Drew Bennett on a two-point conversion to give Tennessee a 17-14 advantage.

"There was a tackle coming in and there was a crease there," Ford said. "I got my hand on it. It kind of burned for a while, but I was just happy to make the play."

Detroit tied the game on a 23-yard field goal by Hanson with 9:38 left in the fourth quarter, capping a 14-play, 76-yard drive which lasted more than seven minutes.

But three-time Pro Bowl tight end Frank Wycheck starred on Tennessee's ensuing drive, catching passes of 21 and 29 yards before capping it with a six-yard touchdown, giving Tennessee a 24-17 lead with 4:41 remaining.

Wycheck finished with seven receptions for a career-best 100 yards.

"It was my turn today," Wycheck said. "He (McNair) made the throws up there to give you a chance. I just had to make the plays to help this team win."

The Titans have won nine straight against NFC teams.

"All I know is that wins are hard to come by for us this season, so we'll take it," Fisher said.

With Washington's overtime win over Carolina, Detroit is the lone winless team left in the NFL. The Lions are 0-5 for the first time since losing their first five games in 1989.

"For the most part I thought we contained McNair, but there at the end he popped out and made some big plays," Lions coach Marty Mornhinweg said. "There are a lot of great running quarterbacks and he's one of them."

McNair completed just 15-of-35 passes for 216 yards with two interceptions, but rushed for 48 yards on five carries.

Detroit stuffed Eddie George, who was held to 51 yards on 26 carries.

One week after throwing for a career-high 345 yards in a loss at Minnesota, Batch threw for 338 yards and three touchdowns.

Johnnie Morton recorded his third 100-yard game of the season with nine catches for 113 yards, including an 18-yard touchdown.

Batch also connected with Germane Crowell and Desmond Howard on scoring passes of 46 and 36 yards, respectively.

However, Crowell, who had four catches on Sunday and 22 receptions for 289 yards this season, tore the patella tendon in his left knee and will be sidelined indefinitely.

After Nedney kicked field goals of 39 and 46 yards, the Lions defense came through with a big play. Linebacker Chris Claiborne intercepted a pass by McNair and returned it six yards to the Tennessee 26. Three plays later, Batch rolled to his right and hit Morton, who got behind rookie cornerback Andre Dyson, for an 18-yard touchdown with 2:14 left in the half.

Following a three-and-out by Tennessee, Crowell beat Dyson down the right sideline and caught a 46-yard touchdown with 1:30 remaining, giving the Lions 14 points in 1:16.

But a 50-yard pass from McNair to Bennett set up a 30-yard field goal by Nedney on the final play of the half.

Titans tackle Brad Hopkins and Lions defensive end Tracy Scroggins were ejected in the first quarter for swinging at each other after a play. Lions defensive tackle Luther Elliss was also ejected in the first half.

Scott's Game Commentary:

Nothing is worse than being the only team left in the league without a victory...but that's what the Lions find themselves after blowing a lead, staging a great comeback to tie the game and then to watch the defense self destruct! The reason why the Lions lost to the Titans was the special teams! With Hanson setting up for a chip shot in the 1st quarter, the center botches the snap, thus costing the Lions three easy points. It only got worse when Hanson lined up again to kick a chip shot field goal, only to have it blocked and returned for a touchdown...instead of going up by 8, the Lions found themselves down three after the Titans made the 2 point conversion. That was a 14 point swing anyway you want to cut it...stuff like that should never happen, especially with one of the games best kickers...still Charlie Batch, who once again had another great day, nailed Desmond Howard on a 4th and 10 late in the game to tie the score after 90% of the Silverdome had left (I actually found out through my wireless Internet on my cell phone on the bus ride back)... After running to the bar, I was able to see McNair, who hadn't done anything the entire day setup the game winning field goal. Once again the Lions seemed to be cursed with the injury bug...Germane Crowell injured his knee and will most likely be out for the year. All in all, another entertaining performance by the honolulu blue and silver, but the bottom line is they are 0-5 and off to their worst start in 11 years.

Grades:

Offense: --- B. For the 2nd straight week, the Lions didn't lose because of the offense. Charlie Batch, although struggling at times, managed to have another solid week and was able to tie the game with about a minute to play. Charlie has thrown for six touchdowns and 683 yards in the past two games. For the 2nd straight week, the Lions lost a starting wide receiver for this year...this weeks unfortunate victim was Germane Crowell...that leaves the Lions with only Johnnie Morton and Larry Foster...expect Desmond Howard to step in as the 3rd reciver (who caught the game tying touchdown at the end). James Stewart hurt his ankle and was a non factor the entire game...the offensive line was crappy again...and there were just too many penalities...but that's the old stuff they've been doing for the past several years now. Still, its nice to see the offense finally clicking after so many games of not showing up.

Defense: --- C-. The defense is definitely the biggest disappointment this year; however, its not surprising since they have so many injuries...it didn't help that Luther Elliss (who didn't do anything) and Tracy Scroggins got ejected early in the game...the defense only gave up 19 points, but allowing the Titans to setup for the game winning field goal with less than a minute to play was horrid. Rookie Shaun Rogers continues to show that he was by far the steal of the draft and Chris Claiborne, returning to his college position, had an interception and played his best game of the year. On the flip side, Terry Fair was called for a taunting call that helped the Titans salvage a field goal! Until this unit gets healthy, they are going to struggle to stop teams the rest of the year.

Special Teams: --- F. Desmond Howard had some nice runs, but the special teams cost the Lions their first victory of the year. There are absolutely no excuses to mishandle a field goal snap and to have a field goal blocked for a touchdown...that was a 14 point turn around. Just like last week, a couple of boneheaded plays by the special teams can turn the entire game around.

Coaching: --- D. Penalities and stupid mistakes continue to haunt the Lions...it doesn't matter who the coach is. Morninweig is the only coach in the NFL without a victory.

Overall: --- F. The Lions finally got their first lead and 1st touchdown in the 1st half against the Titans, but it didn't matter...for the 2nd straight week, the Lions had a golden opportunity to win the game, but squandered it away. With the Bills and Redskins winning, the Lions are all by themselves in the win column at ZERO! Next up are the Bengals, a team that has been very unpredictable this year...still I think this is the Lions best shot a victory and expect them get their first victory of the season.

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