Titans 24, Giants 21

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) Vince Young and Adam "Pacman" Jones never gave up, leading a stunning Tennessee 4th-quarter comeback.<br/><br/>The Titans cornerback intercepted 2 passes and had a 23-yard punt return

Sunday, November 26th 2006, 7:38 pm

By: News On 6

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) Vince Young and Adam "Pacman" Jones never gave up, leading a stunning Tennessee 4th-quarter comeback.

The Titans cornerback intercepted 2 passes and had a 23-yard punt return that revived his teammates in the 4th quarter. Then rookie quarterback Young finished off an improbable rally from a 21-point deficit to a 24-21 win over the New York Giants Sunday.

Young ran for a touchdown and threw for 2 more in the final 9:35 and finished with a career-high 249 yards passing. Rob Bironas kicked a 49-yard field goal with 6 seconds left to win it.

The Giants (6-5) lost their third straight in a titanic collapse. They fell a game behind the Dallas Cowboys (7-4) in the NFC East going into next week's game in the Meadowlands.

It was the biggest 4th quarter comeback in Titans history, topping the 15-point rally on November 1, 1987 against Cincinnati.

New York led 21-0 with in the 2nd quarter. But the Giants didn't score again, and Jones got the Titans (4-7) into the game when he intercepted an Eli Manning pass with 12:55 left.

Young tossed a 4-yard TD pass to Bo Scaife 9 plays later. Earlier in the drive, Giants cornerback Frank Walker drew a personal foul for a high hit on Young as the quarterback ran out of bounds short of a 1st down on 4th & 9 in Giants territory.

The Titans forced the Giants to punt, and Jones almost dared New York to kick toward him. Jeff Feagles did, and Jones returned it 23 yards. Young himself scored on a 1-yard run, throwing the ball into the stands.

Tennessee forced New York to punt once more, this time out of bounds and away from Jones.

Young then drove the Titans 76 yards in 8 plays, but the big play came on 4th & 10, when Giants rookie Mathias Kiwanuka had Young wrapped up for a sack, but let him go, only to see him scramble upfield 19 yards for a 1st down.

Manning, whose shaky play in the past two losses had people questioning his confidence, had his chance to stop Tennessee's comeback. But Jones jumped up and grabbed a pass intended for David Tyree at midfield.

With 23 seconds left, Young looked like a seasoned veteran as he completed 2 short passes and set up Bironas for the winning field goal. Bironas already had missed a 48-yarder wide right, and this time he had to kick off a bad snap.

But the ball went through.

The Giants had 3 seconds to try and lateral a short kickoff around the field before James Butler was tackled.

Young also ran 10 times for a team-high 69 yards, and the Titans outgained New York 343-287 even though the Giants held the ball for more than 33 minutes.

This loss will only increase the pressure on the defending NFC East champs. Manning was 18-28 for 143 yards. Tiki Barber, who had called for more touches after getting only 10 carries in last Monday night's loss at Jacksonville, had 25 carries for 82 yards. He now has topped 1,000 yards in five straight seasons and six of the last seven.

The Giants seemingly had this game won after forcing 2 fumbles and turning them into 14 points. Manning threw for a TD, and Brandon Jacobs ran for 2 himself.

But then came the 4th-quarter collapse.