Tennessee Titans Focused on Winning

By TERESA M. WALKER AP Sports Writer

NASHVILLE, TN (AP) -- Correcting mistakes after a victory is much nicer than after a loss. Just ask the Tennessee Titans.

Sure, their record-setting scoring binge is over, but the Titans kept pace with the Indianapolis Colts atop the AFC South despite their ugliest game since late September.

The only style point that mattered in their 10-3 victory over Jacksonville was the win, which improved them to 8-2.

"It's nice to be able to sit here and be very critical of some of the negative things associated with this ballgame in light of the fact that we still won," coach Jeff Fisher said Monday.

"We'll take the win. We can't be satisfied, not that we were satisfied last week or the week before. We talked about the importance of continuing to get better. We didn't play particularly well, but still won." The victory was the Titans' fifth straight and seventh in their last eight games. The dropped passes and missed tackles hadn't been seen much over the past month as they became only the third team since 1970 to score 30 or more points in six straight games.

Fisher said he doesn't believe his Titans were due for a letdown after their recent high-flying performances. He thinks they can keep playing at a high level.

"We have to protect the football. That was under our control. We control the fact we turned the ball over. If we can correct that, we'll be OK. We're still getting our turnovers," he said.

Rookie receiver Tyrone Calico was the biggest culprit. He made a mistake on his route on the first offensive play and didn't knock the ball away when it was intercepted in the end zone. He also dropped another pass in the opposite end zone after the Titans came up with a turnover.

"It's not a new issue," Fisher said. "He needs to concentrate. He needs to catch the ball first, then run."

The Titans had their worst offensive performance since beating Pittsburgh on Sept. 28 despite only 198 total yards. Steve McNair remained the NFL's top-rated passer despite his lowest passing total (166) since throwing for 161 against the Steelers.

Linebacker Keith Bulluck said there was no reason to dwell on the ugly game.

"Whatever mistakes we made the last game, we're of course going to correct them so we don't make them again. But you can't dwell on yesterday's game. We won. We won. We didn't lose, so there's really nothing to be upset about."

The Titans' biggest concern is keeping pace with the Colts (8-2) until Indianapolis visits on Dec. 7.

Tennessee visits Atlanta (2-8) on Sunday and the New York Jets (3-7) on Dec. 1 in their only appearance on Monday Night Football this season. Kansas City's loss to Cincinnati gives the Chiefs a one-game lead in the AFC for home-field advantage in the playoffs, but none of the Titans want to look ahead.

"We've got to worry about one thing, and that's Atlanta," receiver Derrick Mason said. "We can't worry about what Kansas City's doing. If we don't do what we're supposed to do, it don't make no difference."

Related article: - Titans 10, Jaguars 3

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