Do-over turns a Titan victory into agonizing loss to Ravens

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Tennessee Titans celebrated what they believed was a last-second victory against the defending Super Bowl champions.

Instead, the Titans were done in by a do-over.

"I guess it wasn't meant to be," Tennessee center Bruce Matthews said Tuesday.

In one of the wackiest NFL finishes of the year, the Titans trailed 16-10 as they drove down the field in the closing seconds against the Baltimore Ravens on Monday night.

After the Titans got to the 1-yard line, both teams scrambled back to the line of scrimmage and quarterback Steve McNair dived into the end zone as time expired.

But wait, an official had thrown a flag, ruling that Ravens linebacker Peter Boulware was offsides and making the Titans run one last play. This time, McNair was stuffed before he could get into the end zone.

Game over.

"When I woke up this morning, it was still 16-10," Titans coach Jeff Fisher said.

Even after looking at the replays, Fisher still thinks the Titans (3-5) needed only an extra point to end a three-game losing streak to the Ravens (6-3).

"It was taken away from us because of the defense's inability to get lined up," Fisher said.

The final, confusing sequence was reminiscent of the Titans' Super Bowl loss in January 2000 when they came up less than a yard short of scoring a game-tying touchdown against the St. Louis Rams as time expired.

Kevin Dyson, the receiver stopped inches from the goal line in the Super Bowl, had a chance to win the game with a 5-yard pass from McNair with about 10 seconds left. But linebacker Jamie Sharper and cornerback Duane Starks smothered him at the 1.

Things turn weird

Umpire Bill Schuster picked up the football and spotted it as the Titans frantically scrambled for a final play.

Ravens tackle Sam Adams got back across the line of scrimmage, but Boulware, not moving too quickly, touched McNair as he squeezed between center Bruce Matthews and right guard Benji Olson. He had barely passed McNair when Matthews snapped the ball and bulled a path into the end zone for his quarterback.

The Titans celebrated, and McNair was already at midfield when the officials decided to talk about the penalty flag.

Minutes ticked by as they agreed Boulware had been offsides. The NFL said Tuesday that was the right call.

"Once the defensive contact was made with the offense, the play was dead," NFL director of officiating Mike Pereira said.

But the officials didn't stop the play, even signaling a touchdown. McNair doesn't think they handled it properly.

"They did not blow the whistle dead so the play should go on. If they committed contact before the play, then they should stop the play," he said.

Kukar brought the teams back for one last play and set the ball a foot from the goal line.

When McNair went under center again, he faced a Ravens defense that was ready and waiting. He tried to score the same way and found Ravens tackles Tony Siragusa (340 pounds) and Adams (330 pounds) in the middle.

He bounced back and tried to dive around the right end. Sharper and safety Corey Harris stopped him short.