(My Sportsbook) - LenDale White is no shy character and rookie Chris Johnson enjoys some of the spotlight, too. The two Tennessee Titans backs, nicknamed "Smash and Dash", even have T-shirts bearing their likeness and deservedly so, since they are main ingredients to the team's recipe for success this year.

Nobody is arguing that White and Johnson have been the best 1-2 punch in the NFL this season for the 12-1 Titans, who clinched their first AFC South title since 2002 and a playoff berth with last Sunday's 28-9 rout of Cleveland. After the New York Jets lost at San Francisco later in the day, Tennessee earned a first-round bye for the upcoming postseason and moved closer to home- field advantage in the AFC.

Johnson ran for 136 yards and a touchdown against the Browns and White chipped in 99 yards and a score, but the duo failed to become the first tandem of running backs since 1976 to each rush for 100 yards in the same game three times in a season. Pittsburgh Steelers running backs Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier accomplished the feat in 1976. Johnson and White both topped the century mark in earlier wins over Kansas City and Detroit.

Head coach Jeff Fisher credits a good rotation and a share of the workload has helped Tennessee's backfield this season.

"Chris is doing what he's doing because LenDale is doing what he's doing, and vice versa," Fisher said. "We're keeping them fresh and they're not taking the pounding with a 30-plus (carry) game."

Johnson became the third rookie in franchise history to eclipse the 1,000-yard rushing barrier, joining Hall of Famer Earl Campbell and Eddie George. Johnson has 1,094 yards and eight touchdowns on 222 carries this season for the Titans, who have won 15 of their last regular-season 16 games and became the first team this year to secure a playoff spot. Tennessee also holds a two-game lead over Pittsburgh for home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs.

Tennessee, which will host a playoff game in Nashville for the first time since January 11, 2003, will play two of its remaining three regular-season games on the road, with a matchup at Houston set for this Sunday. Pittsburgh will then come to town with the AFC's No. 1 seed possibly at stake before the Titans pay a visit to five-time AFC South champion Indianapolis. The Titans should be able to run with ease against the division-rival Texans.

Expect Tennessee's regulars to rest, and maybe a possible start by quarterback Vince Young, in the final game of the year against the Colts.

NOTES: Johnson is tops among rookie running backs in yards and touchdowns, while Chicago's Matt Forte is second with 1,081 rushing yards...White is tied for the NFL lead with 14 touchdowns this season...Titans defensive lineman Kevin Vickerson was placed on the reserve-suspended list after he was penalized Friday for four games for violating the NFL's policy on anabolic steroids and related substances...Sunday's victory gave the Titans a 12-1 record for the first time in franchise history...Titans quarterback Kerry Collins threw two touchdown passes and was intercepted twice on Sunday...Safety Michael Griffin intercepted his fifth pass of the season and the eighth of his career in the Cleveland game...Linebacker Keith Bulluck started his 110th consecutive game.

INJURIES: Defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch left the game after aggravating a nagging groin injury. He will be evaluated during the week.

WEEK 15: Tennessee posted a 31-12 victory over Houston on September 21 and has won seven straight and 11 of the 13 all-time meetings between the teams.

COLTS PEAKING AT RIGHT TIME

I have been a fan of Philadelphia sports since I was born, and it always irked me when outsiders criticized any one of the four major teams. A few years ago, The My Sportsbook's managing editor, Jim Gillis, stated that the NHL's Flyers were "peaking too early" before the playoffs were even in sight.

Gillis was, of course, making an observation that the Flyers may lose focus from their winning formula and that could ultimately keep them from postseason contention. He could ruffle some fans' feathers right now in the city of Indianapolis by strumming to his same Flyers' tune, but the recent surge by the Colts may be for real and, for the aforementioned editor's sake, at the right time.

The Colts have ripped off six straight wins since opening the 2008 campaign with an uncharacteristic 3-4 start, and currently hold the fifth seed in the AFC playoffs behind the four division leaders. Winners of the AFC South from 2003-2007, the Colts were eliminated from division title contention this past Sunday, when Tennessee pounded overmatched Cleveland at home.

"Right now, we're sitting in good position in terms of getting that fifth slot," Colts head coach Tony Dungy said. "That's why we want to continue to win, so we can stay there. Fifth is better than sixth. That's what we're going to sell. If we keep winning, we'll be fifth. That's our incentive right now."

What's even more of an incentive is that Indy will play two of the remaining three regular-season games at home. Detroit is on the docket next, with Jacksonville and Tennessee on the horizon. The Colts will be heavy favorites against the Lions and Jags the next two weeks, but the Titans pose a big threat in Week 17. Tennessee, though, may want to rest its starters for that one if it locks up home-field advantage.

"You know that you're there, and you've put yourself in position where if you keep winning, you're going to be in," Dungy added. "We have at least two games we have to win. If we win the next two, we'll be in and that's the way we're looking at it."

The Indianapolis defense has been stellar the past few weeks and held its second straight opponent without a touchdown on Sunday. Cleveland failed to reach the end zone against the Colts in a 10-6 loss on November 30 before the Cincinnati Bengals managed just a field goal in its Week 14 35-3 beating by the Colts. Indianapolis is now rated 13th in the league in total defense.

In a more interesting note, the Colts gave up 23 or more points five times in the first seven games of the season, but have permitted that much only one time over the last six weeks.

NOTES: Colts defensive back Kelvin Hayden had two interceptions and returned one 85 yards for a score against the Bengals...Defensive end Robert Mathis had 2 1/2 sacks and Dwight Freeney registered 1 1/2 on Sunday...Quarterback Peyton Manning passed Drew Bledsoe for seventh place on the NFL's career list for yards passing during Sunday's win. Manning now has 44,851 career yards, while Bledsoe had 44,611...Manning passed for 277 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions on Sunday.

INJURIES: Colts Pro Bowl safety Bob Sanders returned to action against the Bengals after missing three straight games with a knee injury. He recorded eight stops in the win. Middle linebacker Gary Brackett missed the game because of an ankle injury suffered at Cleveland.

WEEK 15: Indianapolis will welcome winless Detroit to Lucas Oil Stadium this weekend as it wraps up a three-game sprint against inferior teams (Cleveland, Cincinnati, Detroit). The Colts lead the all-time series with the Lions by a 19-18-2 mark, and have won two straight and four of the previous six matchups between the clubs.

JAGS CONTINUE FALL FROM GRACE

The 2008 season for the Jacksonville Jaguars has been as disappointing as the latest Guns-N-Roses album, "Chinese Democracy". It didn't take more than a decade to hit record stores much like the new album, but the Jaguars' fall from grace came about quicker than the critical reviews for the beloved rock band.

Jacksonville finished with an 11-5 mark last season and reached the second round of the AFC Playoffs before losing at New England. The team entered the 2008 campaign with a lot of hype, and that may have affected the mentality in the locker room. It's unfair to say the players were too cocky because of the early nod as a Super Bowl contender, but it may be true at this point.

Quarterback David Garrard earned a big extension in the offseason for protecting the football and making safe passes. This season has been the complete opposite for the former East Carolina product.

Garrard has 10 interceptions and just six touchdown passes over his last 10 games and threw for 178 yards with a touchdown and a pick in this past Sunday's 23-10 loss to the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. It was the fourth straight loss and sixth in seven weeks for Garrard and the Jaguars, who are just 4-9 on the season.

Garrard passed for 2,509 yards and 18 touchdowns with only three picks in 2007, the year Jacksonville was supposed to build off of.

Head coach Jack Del Rio may have lost a few players' trust this season for disciplinary reasons and a poor approach to the 2008 campaign. Del Rio's job is certainly in doubt now that the Jaguars are slated to finish with the worst record since the 2003 squad went 5-11, Del Rio's first season at the helm.

"Offensively, we just have to get our passing game going. It was inept (Sunday). It's clearly lagging," Del Rio said on Monday. "We're just not functioning at a level that gives us a chance as a football team."

The passing game received a blow on Tuesday, when the NFL announced that top wideout Matt Jones will be suspended for Jacksonville's last three games of the season. Jones was suspended for violating the NFL's substance-abuse policy after his appeal was denied last week. The former first-round pick, who was busted for cocaine possession in the offseason, had 65 catches for 761 yards and two touchdowns this year.

Jacksonville's defense has also been a point of concern. It seems that trading run-stuffing tackle Marcus Stroud, benching starting middle linebacker Mike Peterson and an unproductive campaign by defensive end Paul Spicer has taken its toll on the once-formidable stop unit. The defense does have at least two of the three remaining games to play at home, with the Green Bay Packers headed for Jacksonville Municipal Stadium this Sunday.

The Jaguars will then host Indianapolis before traveling to Baltimore for the season finale on December 28. The Jags are looking at a 4-12 finish to the year if they can't find a way to complement running back Maurice Jones-Drew. He and Fred Taylor were the hottest 1-2 punch in 2007, but have failed to instill fear to opposing defenses this time around.

NOTES: Taylor ran for 53 yards on Sunday to pass O.J. Simpson and Corey Dillon and move into 16th place on the NFL's career list. Jones-Drew had 55 yards on 12 carries and 47 yards and a touchdown on seven receptions...Big defensive tackle John Henderson recorded a sack against the Bears.

INJURIES: There were no significant injuries for Jacksonville, but reserve safety Chad Nkang left the game with a shoulder injury in the second quarter.

WEEK 15: The Green Bay Packers come to town to face Jacksonville on Sunday, and lead the all-time series, 2-1. The Jags won the last meeting, 28-25, on December 19, 2004. Green Bay fell to 5-8 this season after Sunday's loss to the Houston Texans at Lambeau Field.

TEXANS AIM FOR RARE FEAT

If the Houston Texans could've avoided an 0-4 start to the season, the playoffs would be more of a reality. The Texans have won three in a row and six of their last nine games, including Sunday's 24-21 victory over the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field to improve to 6-7 this season.

The Texans posted their third straight victory thanks to Kris Brown's 40-yard field goal as time expired. They also got another exceptional performance from rookie running back Steve Slaton, who posted 120 yards on 26 carries.

Slaton has collected 100 yards or more rushing in back-to-back weeks and four times this season to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark for the year.

In even bigger news for the team, starting quarterback Matt Schaub returned from a four-game absence to throw for a career-high 414 yards with a pair of touchdown passes and an interception. It was a breath of fresh air for the Texans, who will try for a franchise-record fourth straight win this Sunday versus the AFC South-rival and 12-1 Tennessee Titans at Reliant Stadium.

"We are becoming a very well-balanced team," Schaub said. "Our offensive line is really coming together. They are playing extremely well, so we are getting the running game going and the passing game going. We are really starting to come together and come into our own."

It's too bad Schaub is a day late and a dollar short on that last quote, but at least the Texans have something to build on for the future. After hosting the Titans, Houston will visit Oakland before returning home to face Chicago in the season finale on December 28.

It's quite apparent Houston wide receiver Andre Johnson is one of the top players in the NFL, but fellow wideout Kevin Walter is starting to emerge as a nice weapon for Schaub. Walter finished with a season-high 146 yards and a touchdown on six receptions against Green Bay, pushing his 2008 totals to a career-high 851 yards and eight touchdowns on 55 receptions.

Tennessee has a tough secondary, so it'll be a nice test for Schaub and his receivers on Sunday.

NOTES: Johnson had 55 yards and a score on four catches against the Packers, while Tight end Owen Daniels continued to impress with 65 yards on six catches...Defensive end Tim Bulman and linebacker DeMeco Ryans both registered sacks at Green Bay, while cornerback Dunta Robinson ended with an interception...Brown posted his 11th career game-winning field goal.

INJURIES: There were no significant injuries on Sunday, but the return of Schaub was big news for the Texans.

WEEK 15: The Texans will try for a measure of revenge this week against Tennessee, which posted a 31-12 victory in the first 2008 meeting between the teams back on September 21. Houston has dropped seven in a row to Tennessee and 11 of 13 all-time meetings with the Titans.