Offense: Kerry Collins
Picking an offensive MVP in this game was sort of like picking which cast member of Jackass you’d most prefer to perform open heart surgery on your child. No one looked particularly good on either offense, and as expected that is a credit to both team’s defenses. Collins’ line for the game (17/32 163 yards, 1TD 2 INTs) was virtually identical to Joe Flacco’s, who if you recall didn’t play all that well. The huge difference, other than the W, was Collins’ TD pass to Alge Crumpler that capped off a 80 yard drive with 1:56 to go in the game. The ensuing extra point gave Tennessee a 13-10 lead which was easily held on to with the help of the aforementioned Flacco (a certain writer said in his game preview that the lack of leg Ravens kicker Matt Stover has wouldn’t play a role one way or the other in the game. The Ravens lost by 3 in a game that Stover missed a 45-yard attempt. This writer was wrong). Either way, while it was far from pretty, Collins’ made the plays at the end of the game that he needed to against a very good Ravens D. I don’t think there was much doubt at all in the Titans locker room this season that Collins was capable to lead this team. If by chance there was, it’s all gone now.
Honorable Mention: Non-local residents of either the Nashville or Baltimore metro areas who sat through the entire game.
Defense: Nick Harper
The entire Titans secondary played pretty well, especially when they weren’t picking up dumb penalties. The Tennessee DBs probably did their best job of the season in overall team tackling, and were all over the field, limiting whatever big play might have occurred. Harper’s stats weren’t staggering- 6 tackles, 1 pick and 1 pass defended-but his 4th quarter interception marked the second straight week he put the proverbial nail in the coffin. Tennessee’s two picks on the day increased their season total to 10, which is still tops in the league.
Honorable Mention: I’m pretty sure that Joe Flacco’s “game ending” interception was the result of the terrible glare created by a mixture of our yellow sun, “goofy sun shades” and at least one of Michael Phelps eight gold medals. Give it a break, guys. Phelps did us all proud in Beijing; besides, it’s been almost a decade since his favorite team ripped out the collective heart of the Ti- well you know where I’m going with that, so I’m just going to stop. Let’s end the hate there. Every Titan should enjoy their well deserved bye week, sitting at 5-0 with the lowly Chiefs in their sights. Hopefully the Ravens can help the cause some more next week in Indy.