Titans on a Roll;Lions on the Blink

The Tennessee Titans finally have a winning streak. The Detroit Lions would love just one victory.

Joe Nedney kicked four field goals, the last from 46 yards with five seconds left, as the Titans beat the winless Lions, 27-24, Sunday.

Quarterback Steve McNair’s 22-yard run set up the game-winning kick after Detroit (0-5) tied the score, 24-24, with 1:18 left. Tennessee has won two in a row after starting the season 0-3.

Detroit, meanwhile, is off to its worst start since 1989, and a loss to Cincinnati at home next week would drop the Lions to 0-6 for the first time since 1955.

“I’m not demoralized,” said Marty Mornhinweg, Detroit’s rookie coach. “I am quite upset about some of the things that have happened in the past few weeks. Good teams don’t do those things.”

The Lions at least have been more competitive. After dropping its first three games by an average score of 29-7, Detroit has lost its last two by a total of eight points.

On the fourth play of the game, Lion end Tracy Scroggins and Titan tackle Brad Hopkins were ejected for fighting. Midway through the second quarter, Detroit defensive tackle Luther Elliss was ejected for pushing an official.

Frank Wycheck caught seven passes for a career-high 100 yards, including a five-yard touchdown that gave the Titans a 24-17 lead with 4:41 remaining.

The Lions drove inside the Titan 30 on the ensuing drive, but Kevin Carter’s second sack of the game, and season, ended the threat.

But the Titans’ struggling offense gave Detroit another chance. Charlie Batch directed a 10-play, 79-yard drive to tie the score. On fourth-and-10 from the Titan 36, Batch threw a touchdown pass to Desmond Howard, who hadn’t caught a scoring pass since 1995.

McNair was 15 for 35 for 216 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Eddie George was held to 51 yards in 26 carries.

Batch was 25 for 42 for 338 yards with three touchdowns and an interception.