NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Ticker) -- Craig Hentrich helped the Tenneseee Titans exact a measure of revenge against the Oakland Raiders in unlikely fashion.
Replacing the injured Joe Nedney as kicker, Hentrich booted three field goals to lift the Titans to a 25-20 victory over the Raiders in a rematch of last season's AFC championship game.
"We have waited 7 1/2 months for this game," Titans coach Jeff Fisher said. "This is a game that we have been looking forward to all season. The defensive staff did a great job of putting the defensive game plan together for this game tonight."
In a game that featured reigning Most Valuable Player Rich Gannon and stars such as Jerry Rice and Steve McNair, it was Hentrich - the Titans punter - who wound up having the biggest impact.
Hentrich was forced into the kicking role when Nedney suffered a sprained right knee in the second quarter while making a tackle on a kickoff.
But Hentrich, who had not made a field goal since the 1995 season, made sure the Titans did not miss Nedney. He booted a 49-yard field goal as time expired in the first half, connected from 34 yards in the third quarter and was good from 33 yards with 32 seconds left in the contest, giving the Titans the final margin.
"I didn't feel any pressure after I hit the first one," Hentrich said. "It seemed like the goalpost got a little wider."
Nedney also suffered a knee injury in last season's 41-24 loss in the championship game, although Hentrich did not attempt a field goal.
Hentrich indicated that he practiced kicking field goals last week just in case he was needed.
"We practiced for this on Thursday," he said. "The special teams coach (Alan Lowry) wanted to practice this for just in case something was to happen."
The Titans' defense also did a solid job of containing Gannon, who completed 58-of-80 passes for 667 yards and seven touchdowns in two victories over Tennessee last season. The Raiders produced 93 points in those contests.
"This is a tough loss for us," Raiders coach Bill Callahan said. "Disappointing in a lot of respects. I thought our defense did a very good account of themselves. Unfortunately, offensively we couldn't get anything going consistently enough or in rhythm enough to basically get in rhythm and try to sustain."
Gannon completed 24-of-38 passes for 264 yards and two touchdowns but was sacked four times. He missed one play with just over seven minutes left in the game with an apparent left knee injury after getting sacked by defensive end Jevon Kearse.
McNair did make his share of big plays, going 25-of-38 for 269 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. He also came up with the necessary big plays down the stretch.
After Gannon found Tim Brown with a 25-yard touchdown pass with 3:34 remaining to pull the Raiders within 22-20, McNair went to work.
McNair had completions of 16 yards to Derrick Mason and 15 yards to running back Eddie George on the first two plays.
On 2nd-and-19 from his own 47, McNair received a break when he lofted a pass for second-round pick Tyrone Calico, who drew a pass interference penalty on cornerback Charles Woodson, giving the ball to the Titans at the Oakland 20.
It was a penalty-filled contest. Oakland committed 17 penalties for 173 yards and Tennessee was flagged 11 times for 111 yards. The Raiders had six false start penalties in the first quarter.
"The ball was five to ten yards out of bounds," Woodson said. "If their guy can jump and make that catch, I'll retire today. I don't understand, it's not a catchable ball. They called it as they saw it."
"We tried to work in the noise quite a bit this week but evidently it didn't work out very well," Callahan said. "We tried to function in the noise. We tried to do a lot of things to combat the noise element, but unfortunately we didn't overcome it tonight."
Then on 3rd-and-15 from the 30, McNair provided better field position for Hentrich after scrambling to his right for 10 yards. Hentrich converted on the next play for the final margin.
McNair opened the scoring with 6:47 left in the first quarter, capping a seven-play, 90-yard drive by using a play-fake to freeze the defense before finding Calico with an 11-yard TD pass. But Nedney missed the extra point.
With 4 1/2 minutes left in the first quarter, McNair lost a fumble that defensive tackle Dana Stubblefield recovered at the Titans 33.
But the Titans' defense held the Raiders to a three-and-out and Sebastian Janikowski came on to drill a 47-yard field goal, pulling the Raiders within 6-3.
Before Nedney's night ended, he drilled a 50-yard field goal with 8:37 left in the second quarter. But he was hurt tackling Ronney Jenkins on the ensuing kickoff.
Gannon finally got the Raiders' offense in gear later in the second quarter, when he moved his club 76 yards in seven plays. He capped the march by finding running back Charlie Garner with a quick slant over the middle that the speedy running back turned into a 46-yard touchdown to give the Raiders a 10-9 lead with 66 seconds left in the half.
The drive was aided by an unsportsmanslike penalty on Titans tackle Robaire Smith on a 3rd-and-18 play. Smith was ejected for bumping an official.
Garner rushed for just 22 yards, but he had eight catches for 112 yards.
But on the ensuing drive, McNair had completions of 12 yards to tight end Frank Wychek and 18 yards to Justin McCareins to the Oakland 42. He also found tight end Erron Kinney for 11 yards, setting up Hentrich's 49-yard field goal that gave the Titans a 12-10 lead at intermission.
Janikowski connected from 47 yards 1:09 in the fourth quarter, pulling the Raiders within 15-13.
But McNair and the Titans answered by going 54 yards in seven plays. McNair had completions of 19 yards to Derrick Mason, 18 yards to tight end Shad Meier and 12-yard connection with Meier to the Oakland 16.
McNair capped the march by finding Mason in the back of the end zone for a three-yard TD, giving the Titans a 22-13 lead with 7:51 remaining. Mason's catch was a questionable one as he was pushed out of bounds in mid-air by former Titan Anthony Dorsett. But officials ruled that Mason would have come down in bounds.
"It was a judgment call," Dorsett said. "The referee or whoever made the call thought he would have caught it and ruled it a touchdown. I don't think he (Mason) would have come down inbounds under his own power."
Mason had a big night with 10 receptions for 99 yards. It was rough night for Titans running back Eddie George, who was held to 42 yards on 20 attempts.
