Titans Can't Kick Aside Ravens

The Tennessee Titans couldn't pull off another miracle at Adelphia Coliseum.

The Titans, who found nearly every way to win at their new stadium, discovered a new way to lose when Al Del Greco missed an extra point with 2 1/2 minutes left and a 43-yard field goal on the game's final play in Baltimore's 24-23 victory Sunday.

"We thought it was some more of the magic we have here," Titans tackle Jason Fisk said. "It looked like we were going to do it again."

Trent Dilfer passed to Patrick Johnson for a 2-yard touchdown with 19 seconds left, and Matt Stover's extra point lifted the Ravens into the lead. The defeat ended Tennessee's NFL record of 12 regular-season games without a loss at a new stadium.

The Titans pulled ahead for the first time at 23-17 on an 87-yard interception return for a touchdown by Perry Phenix with 2:30 left, but Del Greco missed his first extra point in 229 tries, a streak that started in 1993.

But the man nicknamed Automatic Al pushed his kick wide right, ending the Titans' eight-game winning streak overall and the 12-game streak at Adelphia since it opened. The home streak did not include the Music City Miracle in the playoffs last season when the Titans scored on a kickoff return on the final play.

"I've said before I get watoo much credit and way too much blame sometimes, but I don't think that's the case right here," Del Greco said.

The missed field goal wouldn't have mattered if only Del Greco hadn't bounced his extra-point attempt off the upright after Phenix's TD.

"We should not have let it get to where an extra point would be the difference," Titans cornerback Samari Rolle said. "Al's a pro. There's not another kicker in the league I'd like to have on my team."

The victory pulled Baltimore (7-4) within 1 1/2 games of the Titans in the AFC Central Division in a game that seesawed in the final minutes.

With the score 17-17, the Ravens were on the verge of taking the lead when Phenix picked the ball off at the Tennessee 13. He returned the first interception of his career 87 yards for the Titans' first lead of the game, 23-17 with 2:30 remaining.

"I've been a sucker on that play a couple of times in my career," Dilfer said.

Dilfer redeemed himself by moving the Ravens who snapped a 21-quarter touchdown drought only last week to the winning points. He hit Shannon Sharpe with a 36-yarder on third-and-5, and Dilfer was trying to find Qadry Ismail in the end zone when Titans cornerback Dainon Sidney was flagged for interference.

That gave the Ravens the ball at the 2, and they scored three plays later with 25 seconds remaining when Dilfer found Johnson in the end zone. Johnson barely kept his second foot inbounds.

Stover, the AFC's leading scorer, didn't miss on his extra point, putting the Ravens ahead.

"I'm getting too old for all these highs and lows," Ravens tackle Tony Siragusa said. "It's like a roller coaster, and I don't even go on roller coasters with my kids anymore because of my heart."

For Baltimore coach Brian Billick, Del Greco's misses offered an ironic payback for the Ravens.

"The old saying is that breaks will even themselves out if you can last long enough," Billick said.

Dilfer was 23-of-36 for 281 yards and two touchdowns as the Ravens rolled up 361 yards against the NFL's fourth-stingiest defense.

Baltimore, featuring the league's best defense, held Eddie George and the Titans to just 286 yards total offense. The Titans managed only 62 yards rushing, their second-lowest total this season.

Dilfer put the Ravens up 7-0 when he found Ismail for a 46-yard touchdown in the fist quarter. Baltimore then had its longest scoring drive this season, going 96 yards in 10 minutes, 11 seconds before Jamal Lewis ran in 2 yards for a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter.

McNair tossed two touchdown passes in the second quarter to get the Titans back in the game. He was 21-of-34 for 228 yards.

Notes