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Monday, November 26, 2001

By Dejan Kovacevic, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Steve McNair had the Steelers guessing all afternoon.

When they thought he would pass, he would run.

When they thought he would go left, he would go right.

	Steve McNair burns the Steelers for 334 yards passing. (Peter Diana, Post-Gazette)

He was so vibrant and versatile, it turned out, that he ended up confusing himself and costing his Tennessee Titans a painful, 34-24 defeat at Adelphia Coliseum yesterday.

“I take the blame for it,” he said, shaking his head afterward. “It was all me.”

Less than five minutes remained, and the Titans trailed, 27-24, with the ball at their 28. They had been marching up and down the field all game, thanks in large part to McNair, and it seemed all but academic they would tie the score or retake the lead.

“I thought we were moving the ball very, very well,” McNair said. “A lot of our young receivers stepped up and made some plays, and Eddie George was starting to run the ball.”

But four plays into the series, McNair stunned and silenced the crowd of 68,801 with the first real hint of his mortality on this day.

He dropped back three steps and, forced to face right by the Steelers’ aggressive pass rush, threw toward tight end Frank Wycheck near the right sideline. Trouble is, the play was designed to go to the left side of the field, a 180-degree miscalculation on McNair’s part.

“Steve should have gone the other way,” Coach Jeff Fisher said. “You get caught up in the heat of the game like that. He saw the pressure and went hot to Frank, and he shouldn’t have. He should have come back to the back side.”

Wycheck, McNair’s most reliable target yesterday, did his job and went to block Steelers cornerback Chad Scott. As a result, he never turned around to see McNair’s pass heading his way. Scott did, and he easily scooped it up and returned it 45 yards into the end zone.

Wycheck chose to credit the Steelers -- “They came in and trapped us. They had the right defense called for that play” -- rather than point out McNair’s gaffe. Many of his teammates also deflected the blame by praising Scott.

McNair did no such thing.

“It was just a mistake on my part. You practice stuff all week. ... I was being stubborn, and that was a mistake. You play well until that point, and that mistake hurts you and costs you the ballgame. I can’t do that as a quarterback.”

Fisher was far less critical of McNair, if only because he knew McNair was primarily responsible for Tennessee staying in the game. He completed 23 of 37 passes for 334 yards and two touchdowns, and he ran six times for 18 yards and another touchdown.

McNair strutted his stuff on the Titans’ first play, nailing wide receiver Kevin Dyson in stride for a 68-yard touchdown. He showed terrific poise in waiting for Wycheck to get open for a 4-yard touchdown in the second quarter. He scored on a 1-yard keeper in the fourth. And throughout the game, he held firm in the pocket to absorb hard hits from Steelers linebackers Joey Porter and Jason Gildon but still found a way to make plays.

“This is not Steve McNair’s fault,” Fisher said. “He had one heck of a game against the No. 1 defense in the league. The throws, the poise, the decisions he made show what kind of quarterback he is. ... I mean, he did a marvelous job all day long, and that kind of sums up the game. He’s right every single snap except for that one.”

Fisher chose instead to focus nearly all of his wrath on his defense which allowed the Steelers 27 points after surrendering 34 in a loss Oct. 29.

“Our quarterback needs help. Today, he needed help from our defense and didn’t get it. We didn’t get off the field on third down, and we didn’t tackle very well. ... I would have thought that if we put up 400 yards of total offense against a team like this, we would have had a chance to win.”

The Titans’ final count was 405 yards, highlighted by McNair’s third career 300-yard game, his first since Sept. 12, 1999.

But it’s a safe bet that if McNair keeps a tape of this one for the archives, he’ll end it a few minutes early.

“It’s just the little things. ... You’ve got a chance to win the ballgame, and you go out and have an interception run back for a touchdown. That hurts.”