Titans triumph, McNabb denies Vick

TENNESSEE'S Joe Nedney made the most of his third chance Saturday, kicking the game-winner on his second overtime try as the Titans downed Pittsburgh 34-31 and left the Steelers crying foul in the NFLeague playoffs.

The Titans won the coin toss in overtime and moved to the Steelers' 16 yard line as Steve McNair found Justin McCareins with passes of 31 and 22 yards to the Pittsburgh 16.

After Robert Holcombe ran for three yards, Titans coach Jeff Fisher called on Nedney to kick a 31-yard field goal on second down.

Nedney missed, but was clipped by Pittsburgh's Dewayne Washington, and the running-into-the-kicker penalty gave Nedney a second chance from 26 yards.

He drilled it to send the Titans into a meeting with either Oakland or the New York Jets in the AFC championship game. Nedney had also missed from 48 yards on the final play of regulation.

"The dream that I had wasn't exactly what took place on the field, but it ended right," Nedney said. "It kind of sums up our season, a lot of highs and lows, but the bottom line is we got it when we needed it."

Pittsburgh coach Bill Cowher, whose signal for time out before Nedney's winning kick either went unnoticed or came too late, sprinted angrily toward officials as the Titans celebrated.

Later, Cowher was still steaming over the running-into-the-kicker call.

"For a game to be decided on that call is ludicrous," Cowher said. "A game can't be decided because a kicker takes two steps and we have someone slide into him. We had some chances to win, but we had some taken away from us, too."

Last Sunday's NFC wild card game between the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers also ended in controversy. The Giants botched a last-second field goal but later received an apology from the NFL as officials missed a pass interference penalty while calling New York for having an ineligible receiver downfield.

"Are these guys being held accountable?" asked Steelers linebacker Jason Gildon. "You tell me ... The guy clearly missed the field goal and then they made the late roughing-the-kicker call. Then after that, he won't give me a timeout."

Tommy Maddox passed for 266 yards and two touchdowns for Pittsburgh, who fell to 0-3 all-time under Cowher on the road in the postseason.

McNair threw for 338 yards and two touchdowns and ran for one more. He missed two plays having his bruised thumb taped. He also had to adjust to the absence of star running back Eddie George, who suffered a concussion in the second half.

There was less drama in Philadelphia, where Donovan McNabb made a triumphant return from a broken ankle and led the Eagles to a 20-6 victory over Atlanta.

The Eagles defense contained the Falcons' electrifying quarterback, Michael Vick, as Philadelphia booked a return trip to the NFC championship game.

McNabb missed the final six games of the regular season, and there were plenty of questions surrounding how rusty he would be in his first action since November 17.

But the Eagles' top offensive threat played within himself all night, doing much of his work in the pocket rather than with his feet.

"I just wanted to calm myself down and play football again," said McNabb, whose 35-yard touchdown pass to James Thrash in the fourth quarter was decisive.

McNabb made the biggest play of the night with his arm in the fourth quarter while the Eagles were clinging to a 13-6 lead with 6:34 remaining.

On 4th-and-1 from the Atlanta 35, McNabb picked up a key block from running back Duce Staley, moved right and found Thrash with a short pass. Thrash raced untouched to the end zone for a touchdown.

"I ran a hitch and Donovan allowed them to over-pursue," Thrash said. "I was wide open. I was very surprised."

McNabb completed 20-of-30 passes for 247 yards and a touchdown. He rushed three times for 25 yards.

"He looked like the same old Donovan to me," said Philadelphia's Corey Simon.

Bobby Taylor returned an interception 39 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter for the Eagles, who will host San Francisco or Tampa Bay next week for a Super Bowl berth. Last season, the Eagles lost at St. Louis in the NFC title game.

While McNabb made the biggest play, Vick was held in check by the NFL's second-ranked defense, which used a variety of blitzes to contain the league's fastest quarterback.

Vick was 21-for-37 for 261 yards with two interceptions. He was sacked three times and was a non-factor scrambling, rushing for 30 yards on six attempts.

The Falcons, who last weekend became the first team in NFL history to hand Green Bay a home playoff loss, hurt themselves with nine penalties for 95 yards.