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NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Ticker) -- Two touchdown runs by quarterback Steve McNair were enough for the Tennessee Titans to extend their winning streak in the AFC Central Division to 12 games. McNair scored on runs of two and three yards in the first quarter to lead the Titans to a 16-10 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. The win moved the Titans (8-2) within one-half game of the first-place Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC Central. Tennessee is off to its best start since the franchise was located in Houston and opened 9-2 in 1991. "We're getting closer," said Titans coach Jeff Fisher. "We talked about playing in different phases and I saw improvement out of this team today on all three phases. The offense, the defense, the special teams. We beat a good football team today." After a 27-22 loss to Jacksonville in September 1998, the Titans won six straight division games last year and the first six this season. Included in the streak are three wins over the Steelers (5-5). Kordell Stewart hit Troy Edwards with a 15-yard touchdown in the first quarter, but the Steelers would not reach the end zone again. Stewart also was called for intentional grounding in the end zone as he attempted to throw a pass while in the grasp of Josh Evans, resulting in a safety in the third quarter. Rookie Kris Brown kicked a 24-yard field goal in the fourth for Pittsburgh, but missed a 44-yard attempt in the first half. McNair completed 14-of-26 passes for 149 yards with an interception and Eddie George rushed for 83 yards on 21 carries for the Titans. George has 315 rushing yards in his last three games against the Steelers. Stewart, who was sacked five times, completed 18-of-30 for 177 yards with an interception. Jerome Bettis, who was held to 55 yards in two games against Tennessee last season, had 88 yards on 14 carries. "It's frustrating," Bettis said. "We didn't make the big plays when we needed to. We've got to go out there and keep playing. We have to keep scratching and get some wins." Tennessee opened the game with a seven-play, 74-yard scoring drive. The key play was a 45-yard bomb from McNair to Chris Sanders to the Pittsburgh 4. Two plays later, McNair rolled right and scored on a two-yard run. "These were plays we just put in the last couple of weeks," McNair said. "On the first one, it was so wide open I probably could have walked in." The Steelers marched 75 yards in eight plays, capped by Stewart's TD pass to Edwards, on their opening drive. Bettis broke off a 35-yard run to the Tennessee 31 and Stewart kept the drive alive with a nine-yard pass to Edwards on a 3rd-and-6 to the Tennessee 18. Tennessee responded with a 10-play, 82-yard drive which ended with McNair scoring again on the final play of the quarter. The key plays were a 25-yard pass to Joey Kent and a 17-yard pass interference penalty on cornerback Deshea Townsend, who was starting for the injured Chad Scott. McNair capped the drive by diving around left end for a three-yard touchdown. The Titans increased their lead to 16-7 on a third-quarter safety. On a first-down play at their own 6, Stewart faded back in his own end zone. As he was wrapped up by Evans, Stewart desperately threw the ball away and was flagged for grounding in the end zone, an automatic safety. Brown kicked a 24-yard field goal with 6:55 left in the fourth quarter to cap a 15-play, 68-yard drive which lasted more than seven minutes.
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