Top rookie finally scores for Titans
The rookie defensive back and returner took a punt from Chad Stanley in the third quarter and ran it back 52 yards for his first career touchdown in the Titans’ 13-10 victory over Houston on Sunday. The touchdown tied the game at 10-10, a nice difference from penalties that wiped out two previous TDs.
“Oh, it felt real good, finally getting in there and to see no flags,” Jones said.
“It felt good to know that I’m getting better every game and I finally got to show it. You don’t really get to show it when it gets called back, so it felt pretty good to get a touchdown that didn’t get called back.”
After Jones came to the sideline, he gave the ball to coach Jeff Fisher for sticking with him while he was being booed.
“He is not the average coach. I have played with a lot of coaches, some of the best and I haven’t seen a guy that takes the time with a player like Coach Fisher. Coach Fisher and I have a great bond, so I think he deserved it, because more of the pressure goes on him than on me,” Jones said.
Fisher was happy to see Jones get results for his hard work, especially after personally trying times. Jones was excused Friday to attend the funeral of a close friend who was shot and killed, and Jones’ aunt died of an aneurysm.
“He was very tired, and for him to play the way he did today, and to make the decisions he made and to get the ball in the end zone shows me a lot of heart and a lot of character,” Fisher said.
Jones said this week has been the toughest other than when he lost his grandmother.
“I’ve been through it and I have a great group of support behind me, so I’ll be all right,” Jones said.
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GROUND MCNAIR:@ Sunday was a historic day for Steve McNair. The former co-MVP passed Hall-of-Famer John Elway on the career rushing list for quarterbacks.
McNair dropped back to pass on the Titans’ final drive of the game when he saw an opening in the Texans’ defense. He tucked the ball and ran for 18 yards on a crucial third-and-four play. The drive ended with a game-winning kick from Rob Bironas.
“It’s good to be mentioned in passing the great John Elway,” McNair said. “It’s a great deal for me just to be mentioned just in the same breath of his name. At the same time we’ve got to continue to get better.”
McNair now has 3,418 yards rushing on 611 attempts. Elway gained 3,407 on 774 carries.
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GAME WINNER:@ Titans kicker Rob Bironas kicked a 21-yard field goal with 10 seconds left to seal Tennessee’s win over Houston and give him his first game-winning kick in his NFL career.
“Every team needs a win,” Bironas said. “We definitely needed this one, and we did what we had to do to get it.”
The former Arena League player hadn’t had a chance to win a game in a while.
“It was probably Arena season, last year, or preseason, to put us in overtime,” said Bironas. “Those are probably the only two.”
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SACK TIME:@ Titans defensive lineman Kyle Vanden Bosch continued his phenomenal season by recording two sacks of Houston quarterback David Carr to raise his season total to 12.5.
“He got two sacks taken away last week and he got two (Sunday),” said coach Jeff Fisher of Vanden Bosch’s game last week against the Indianapolis Colts in which his two sacks of Peyton Manning were erased by penalties.
“He does not come off the field and plays hard every play. He is deserving of all the recognition he can get. He’s having a great year for us.”
Vanden Bosch and the rest of the Titans defense gave up 152 rushing yards to the Texans, including 139 to running back Domanick Davis on 22 carries.
“We didn’t plan on giving up that many rushing yards,” Vanden Bosch said. “We came out fast and I think that was the key to the game. We just set the tempo on defense and just kept fighting at the end of the game.”
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QUOTABLE:@ Tank Williams blocked Kris Brown’s 37-yard field goal and had wanted a chance to block the Texans’ kicker’s final attempt. “I would have blocked the second one at the end, if he didn’t shank it. My hands were up, but it went all around us.”