Jets keep their slim hopes alive

Chad Pennington and the New York Jets took it away from them. Pennington threw two second-half touchdown passes and the Jets beat Steve McNair and the Titans, 24-17, last night.

The Jets (5-7) kept their slim playoff hopes alive and handed the Titans (9-3) their first loss in seven games.

"It was a playoff game for us," Jets coach Herman Edwards said. "If we can play like this against a good football team, it brings a lot of life back. I felt this week we were going to win this game. I felt this team was going to be ready to play."

McNair started the game despite a strained right calf, hoping to give the Titans sole possession of the AFC South after Indianapolis lost Sunday to the Patriots.

The NFL's top-rated passer heading into the game was mostly ineffective. McNair finished 21 of 35 for 272 yards with two touchdown passes and two interceptions. He threw an 8-yard scoring pass to Derrick Mason with 1:52 remaining to get the Titans within a touchdown, but Chris Baker recovered the onside kick for the Jets to close out the win.

Mason finished with 11 receptions for 133 yards and one touchdown.

Pennington finished 18 of 23 for 231 yards and also had two interceptions for his third win in five starts since returning from a broken left wrist. His play in the second half was nearly perfect.

"A lot of people think when you're 4-7, you're trying to get the season over with but it's not about next year," Edwards said. "It's about every time you play the game you try to win."

After the Titans tied the game at 10 on a 35-yard field goal by Gary Anderson, Pennington engineered two straight scoring drives to take control of the game.

The first featured a little trickery. A reverse to Santana Moss gained 6 yards, and a flea flicker that Pennington threw to Curtis Conway got them 27 yards to the Titans 27.

On the next play, Pennington threw a beautiful 27-yard touchdown pass to Kevin Swayne for a 17-10 lead.

After forcing the Titans to punt, Pennington put the Jets up by two touchdowns -- thanks to Moss. On second and 5 from the 42, Pennington threw a pass to tight end Baker. But the ball deflected off his hands and up, and Moss was there to catch the ball and make a 32-yard completion.

Conway then caught an 8-yard touchdown pass, barely keeping his toes inbounds, to cap the drive.

McNair tried to rally the Titans, but Sam Garnes broke up a pass in the end zone intended for Erron Kinney on fourth-and-goal with 5:21 remaining.

McNair started off well, throwing a 59-yard touchdown pass to Justin McCareins on the opening drive for a quick 7-0 lead. It was the longest completion for the Titans this season.

The Jets tied it up on the following possession. After converting a fourth-and-1 from the Titans 14 when Pennington completed a 4-yard pass to Jerald Sowell, the Jets faced second-and-goal from the 12.

Pennington threw a fade to Moss in the right corner of the end zone, but Samari Rolle got his hands on the ball. Officials initially ruled it an interception, and Rolle did a throat slash gesture that earned him an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

But the Jets challenged the call, and the official ruled that Rolle did not have possession. The Jets got an automatic first down at the 6, and Curtis Martin ran in for the score on the following play for his first touchdown of the season.