NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Think the people of Tennessee were stunned last year when they saw the Titans pull off Home Run Throwback to beat the Buffalo Bills in an American Football Conference playoff game?
Imagine what they thought yesterday when kicker Al Del Greco missed a 24-yard field goal in the third quarter.
"It's been a long time since I missed a kick in the 20s," Del Greco said. "I don't even think I can tell you when."
Del Greco hadn't missed a kick inside 30 yards since 1994, back when the Titans were the Houston Oilers. That means the people of Tennessee had never seen Del Greco miss a kick like he did with the Titans leading the Steelers, 3-0, when he pushed what everyone considered to be an automatic field goal wide right.
He had made 39 in a row from between 20 and 29 yards the past six years -- 46 in a row counting everything inside the 30 -- and it looked as if his rare miss might prove costly to the Titans. Especially when the Steelers took the lead, 7-6, late in the fourth quarter on Kordell Stewart's 30-yard touchdown pass to tight end Mark Bruener.
"It kind of ticked me off a little bit," Del Greco said. "Most of you know I pride myself on being accurate within 40 yards. I don't think it was a bad kick, but the wind was gusting down in that end ... No way would I think the wind would affect a 24-yarder. It started in toward the post and it just boomeranged out."
Del Greco, though, received a chance to atone for his miss, thanks to a big fourth-down conversion pass from Steve McNair to wide receiver Derrick Mason. And when he did, he didn't let the wind or even a charging Dewayne Washington affect his attempt.
Del Greco's 29-yard field goal with four seconds remaining gave the Titans a 9-7 victory that kept them unbeaten in Adelphia Coliseum (12-0) and padded their lead in the AFC Central Division to three games.
"It just kind of made me mad," Del Greco said of the miss. "So I knew my focus would be better on the last one."
The ending was reminiscent of the game two years ago when Del Greco kicked the winning 22-yard field goal with three seconds left to beat the Steelers in a game that was played across town at Vanderbilt University. The conclusion even included a botched attempt by the Steelers to keep lateralling the ball on the ensuing kickoff. The Titans ended up recovering the ball in the end zone with no time remaining for a 23-16 victory.
Yesterday, the Steelers staged another version of Home Run Throwback, only it looked more like Double-Play Tossup. The Titans ended up recovering another loose lateral again, this time at the Steelers' 4, to end the game.
"When I was walking out on the field, I heard the crowd just come to life and give me a big round of applause," Del Greco said. "I don't know if it was for me, but I took it that it was. I just said that we're playing at home, and I know I can make this. People in the stands deserve that. I'll make this for them.
"Thank God for second chances."
Between them, McNair and Del Greco rescued the Titans on a day when they committed so many penalties (14 for 115 yards) that even the polite Tennessee fans began booing. Among the more costly was a holding penalty by safety Aric Morris on the kickoff after Bruener's touchdown, negating Derrick Mason's 30-yard return to the Titans' 41 and starting the drive at the 17.
Then, six plays later, with the Titans facing third-and-11, McNair hit tight end Frank Wycheck for a 27-yard gain to the Steelers' 39. However, tackle Brad Hopkins was called for holding and the ball came back to the Titans' 24.
It appeared that the Titans had wasted good field position for perhaps the final time. But Tennessee has managed to find ways to win despite its spotty offense, and so it was again when McNair made the big fourth-down conversion and Del Greco delivered his third field goal of the day.
The Steelers even called a timeout, trying to give Del Greco something to think about. Turns out, it might have backfired."
"Craig [Hentrich, the holder] came up to me and said, 'Good, because there was a gust of wind that just came up,' " Del Greco said. "So we just settled down and did the same thing that we did before they called timeout."
Del Greco atones for third-quarter miss 
E-mail this story 
