Green Bay, WI (My Sportsbook) -
Tennessee Titans quarterback Steve McNair returned to action after a one-week layoff and guided his club to a decisive 48-27 victory over Green Bay Monday night at Lambeau Field.
McNair, who was hospitalized for two days after suffering a bruised sternum on September 26, missed last week's game against San Diego. He completed 15-of-26 passes for 206 yards with two touchdowns in Monday's rout of the Packers.
Chris Brown rushed for 148 yards and two touchdowns in the victory. Derrick Mason caught four passes for 63 yards and a touchdown for Tennessee (2-3), which won for the first time since beating Miami in Week 1.
Green Bay Packers signal-caller Brett Favre, who suffered a concussion last Sunday against the Giants, extended his NFL quarterbacks record to 213 straight starts Monday.
Favre, who had to leave the team during the week to attend a funeral for his brother-in-law, completed 24-of-44 passes for 338 yards with two touchdowns, but was picked off three times.
Favre has now thrown a touchdown pass in 30 straight games to tie Dan Marino for second on the all-time list. Johnny Unitas is the all-time leader with a scoring pass in 47 consecutive games.
Donald Driver caught 10 passes for 150 yards and a touchdown for the Packers (1-4), who have lost four straight after beating the defending NFC champion Carolina Panthers in Week 1. Javon Walker also surpassed the 100-yard mark in receiving yards with seven catches for 159 yards and a late touchdown. Bubba Franks caught a pair of passes for touchdowns in the loss.
The Titans scored 17 points in the opening quarter, the most allowed by Green Bay at Lambeau in 22 years, to take control of the game early. McNair completed 7-of-11 passes for 91 yards and Brown ran for a pair of touchdowns and finished with 90 yards rushing, as Tennessee dominated the opening 15 minutes.
The Packers had just five yards of offense in the quarter before Favre completed a pass to Driver for 47 yards to set up a Green Bay field goal.
The Titans needed just 1 1/2 minutes to open the scoring on the game's first possession. On third-and-five, McNair completed a pass to Mason for a 24-yard gain to the Packers' 37. After an incompletion, Brown got loose, broke a tackle and scampered to the end zone to give Tennessee a quick 7-0 lead.
Beginning at their own 37 after the Packers went three-and-out on their first possession, the Titans needed just four plays to move 63 yards for another score. Brown had a reception for seven yards then rushed for seven more on the first two plays of the drive. McNair completed a pass to Drew Bennett for 20 yards to the Green Bay 29, and Brown found a hole on the left side of the line and raced in for a touchdown to increase the Titans' lead to 14-0 just over five minutes into the game.
Tennessee took advantage of a turnover to open a 17-0 lead on a 36-yard field goal by Gary Anderson with 6:05 to play in the first quarter. Kevin Carter recovered a fumble by Ahman Green at the Packers' 34 to set up the score.
Favre completed a pass to Driver for a 47-yard gain on the first play of a drive late in the opening frame to set up a 39-yard field goal by Ryan Longwell. Samari Rolle appeared to intercept a Favre pass in the end zone after the completion to Driver, but the Packers challenged the call and it was reversed. After two unsuccessful plays, Green Bay settled for the field goal to get on the board.
McNair capped a 10-play, 80-yard drive with a 14-yard toss to Troy Fleming for a score early in the second quarter to give the Titans a 24-3 cushion.
On the ensuing possession, Favre completed all five of his pass attempts for 70 yards, including a one-yard completion to Franks in the end zone to cut the Tennessee lead to 24-10 midway through the second quarter.
Anderson booted a 38-yard field goal with 1:46 left in the opening half to give the Titans a 27-10 advantage.
Lamont Thompson intercepted Favre on the first play of the ensuing drive, but Na'il Diggs blocked a field goal attempt to keep the Packers' deficit at 17.
Longwell drilled a 53-yard field goal with two seconds left in the second quarter to cut the Titans' lead to 27-13 at halftime.
Thompson's second interception of the game set up an 11-yard touchdown pass from McNair to Eddie Berlin to give Tennessee a 34-13 cushion with eight minutes left in the third quarter.
Darrell Hill recovered a muffed punt by Green Bay's Antonio Chapman and two plays later the Titans used a trick play to score again. McNair tossed the ball to Bennett, who hit Mason with a 26-yard pass in the end zone to give Tennessee a 41-13 lead early in the final quarter.
Favre capped a 13-play, 98-yard drive with an 11-yard pass to Franks for a score, but Antowain Smith crashed through the line and scored to give Tennessee a 48-20 advantage with 2:34 remaining.
Craig Nall replaced Favre and threw a TD pass to Walker with 1:01 left.