| |  McNair continues to shine for Titans
By Len Pasquarelli
ESPN.com
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The last time the Pittsburgh Steelers played here, on Nov. 17, Tennessee Titans strength coach Steve Watterson allegedly tossed a cup of hot soup on visiting linebacker Joey Porter.
This time around, in a Saturday divisional-round playoff matchup, the referees threw a dubious flag on the Steelers, and the chicken feathers call according to the Pittsburgh players left them steaming a lot more than did the chicken broth of two months ago.
Depending upon the locker room one was in, and the perspective emanating from that dressing area, the controversial running into the kicker infraction -- a penalty that negated a miss by Titans kicker Joe Nedney and permitted him a second chance, which he nailed, was either bogus or beautiful.
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"For a game to end like that is ludicrous," said Steelers coach Bill Cowher after Nedney's 26-yard field goal just 2:15 into overtime lifted the Titans to a 34-31 victory and a berth in the AFC title game. Countered holder Craig Hentrich of the Titans: "I had a pretty good view and it was the right call."
That an officiating crew headed by referee Ron Blum called a game in which its performance was as up-and-down as that of the two combatants, and with commissioner Paul Tagliabue in attendance to witness a few atrocities, will be a matter of heated discussion for some time. It marks the second consecutive week a postseason game ended on a debatable officiating decision.
What cannot be argued, however, is the grittiness of Tennessee quarterback Steve McNair.
Playing with a badly swollen throwing hand, and with the skin ripped from his right thumb, McNair first rallied the Titans to the tying field goal. Then in the closing minutes of regulation, he got Tennessee close enough for a 48-yard attempt that Nedney knocked wide right.
Finally, in the overtime, McNair completed passes of 31 and 22 yards, both to wide receiver Justin McCareins, to move the ball into position for Nedney and the officials to finish a marathon contest that lasted nearly four hours. All of this while barely being able to grip the football because of a damaged joint in his thumb.
For all the rhetoric that was a part of this game between bitters rivals, and the residual discussion that will take place as a result of the controversy at the end of it, McNair managed to separate himself from the fray. On a day of dubious calls, he more often than not made the correct decisions, especially at crunch time.
He demonstrated again why he was a legitimate candidate for most valuable player honors in the league this season.
As usual, the laconic McNair had very little to offer when asked to assess his performance, one in which he threw for 338 yards. Per the norm, he left it to his teammates and coaches to rate his play, and to a man the Titans allowed they would not be headed to a second conference championship matchup in four years were it not for his heroics.
"He has matured so much," said tight end Frank Wycheck, who caught 10 passes for 123 yards and a touchdown. "Steve has grown into the complete quarterback. He left everything out there today. When you look back on this game, he was the difference, really."
Pittsburgh players might argue, and did, that the guys in the striped shirts had as much to do with the outcome as the men dressed in blue and white. But their admiration for McNair, a player they respect even if they detest the team for which he is employed, was unquestioned.
And that is not surprising, because McNair has never been more appreciated than at this juncture of his eight-year career, even by opponents.
Nedney, who laughed when he was asked if he had ever taken ballet lessons, given his pirouette when nudged by cornerback Dewayne Washington on the questionable penalty, suggested he would not be "king for a week." But for the most part, McNair has taken the crown of leadership for the Titans, and it is his team now, not the fiefdom of tailback Eddie George.
In a contest where momentum shifted more often than a 350-pounder sitting in an airline coach seat, and where brilliance and butchery were intertwined, McNair made most of the big plays. Like the pace of the game, he suffered through some tough periods, but never allowed errors to overwhelm him.
McNair completed 27 of 44 passes for 338 yards, with two touchdown passes, two interceptions and a quarterback rating of 81.1. He also rushed eight times for 29 yards and one score. Twice he led Tennessee back from deficits and once he identified the soft underbelly of the Steelers' defense, in the interior of the secondary, he attacked it mercilessly.
By unofficial count, 19 of his 27 completions came inside, as he picked on Pittsburgh safeties Lee Flowers and Brent Alexander. Much of the game for the Titans was spent in various "spread" formations and, while McNair was not as sharp in "empty" sets as he was in the regular-season meeting, he was excellent at locating second and third options.
The Titans star completed 15 passes that netted 10 yards or more, eight of 15-plus yards, five of 20 yards or longer. But more than just pure numbers, it was the presence and poise demonstrated by McNair that was most notable.
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We're allowing him now to do a lot of things no one ever thought that he could. He's a heck of a player in the pocket. Always has been. But he's got freedom now and he's playing with so much self-discipline, you know? ” |
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— Eddie George, Titans running back on Steve McNair |
"I think," McNair said, in one of his few self-complimentary moments, "that I've become a more patient passer. I'm more comfortable in the pocket than I have ever been in my career. There were times tonight where, in past years, I would have pulled the ball down and run with it. But I've always felt that I could make plays from the pocket and my confidence is really high now in those situations."
Certainly offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger is permitting McNair to do things now that his predecessor wouldn't dare even suggest. Part of the problems in past seasons was that McNair, at times overly timid and maybe too respectful of his coaches, never rankled when forced to subjugate some of his skills. He clearly has more latitude now.
Said George: "We're allowing him now to do a lot of things no one ever thought that he could. He's a heck of a player in the pocket. Always has been. But he's got freedom now and he's playing with so much self-discipline, you know?"
There were some stretches of the emotional contest, a game that had both teams woofing at the other sideline and players challenging the opposing coaches, when McNair indeed displayed that patience and confidence.
In the third quarter, he twice used his feet to buy time in the pocket, and the results were 39- and 21-yard completions to Wycheck. Then on the game-winning drive, he stood in against the Pittsburgh blitz and completed two big passes to McCareins to get the ball to the Steelers' 13-yard line.
McNair might not have had the opportunity to win the game had the Steelers not squandered a very late scoring chance. With the score tied at 31-31, the Steelers had a first-and-10 at the Tennessee 40-yard line and 2:02 left on the clock. Just 10 more yards and Pittsburgh kicker Jeff Reed would probably have been in position for a winning field goal try.
But quarterback Tommy Maddox threw three consecutive incompletions and, as he did, McNair decided that he was going to keep playing no matter how bad the pain in his throbbing thumb.
"I was frustrated and mad at the thoughts of maybe being unable to continue," McNair said. "I couldn't grip the ball very well. But I just bit the bullet. And I told (coach Jeff) Fisher that I was going in. Win or lose, this was going to be my game. And it was."
There is some question, although not much, about whether or not McNair will be physically prepared to play in the AFC championship game against the winner of the New York Jets-Oakland Raiders divisional contest. Asked if he thought he would be ready, McNair shrugged and smiled, and then he pointed his right thumb skyward.
It was, indeed, an appropriate gesture.
Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com.
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