Tennessee Titans' best moments: When Steve McNair beat Giants in OT in 2002
For now, I'll submit the 'did Steve McNair practice this week' conversation.
During McNair's heyday, I was a grade school student in North Carolina. The way I remember it, he never once stepped foot on a practice field. The way it was portrayed on ESPN's 'SportsCenter,' McNair rolled directly out of bed every morning on to a gurney, upon which he was airlifted to the emergency room for hours upon hours of MRIs that found his ribs were held together by papier-mâché and there was nothing left of his hamstrings but tumbleweeds hot-glued to other tumbleweeds.
And then he'd show up to the stadium every Sunday and account for 280 yards and three touchdowns.
Dec. 1, 2002.
The Titans visit the New York Giants.
This is where The Tennessee Titans' 22nd best moment, as ranked by The Tennessean, occurred.
McNair, of course, hadn't practiced all week. McNair, of course, didn't need to practice. The star quarterback goes 30-for-43 passing with 334 yards and three touchdowns and runs four times for 38 yards. After the Giants took a 12-point lead early in the fourth quarter, McNair led a 14-play, 72-yard touchdown drive to cut the deficit to five. After the Titans' defense held steady with a goal-line stand and forced a Giants' field goal that extended the lead back to eight points, McNair led a 12-play, 81-yard drive in the final two minutes to send the game to overtime.
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Crucially, McNair changed the play at the line of scrimmage before the game-tying two-point conversion attempt. He switched from a pass play to a quarterback draw and took the ball in himself, visibly wincing as he held the ball above his head in celebration. Then, naturally, he threw for another 47 yards in overtime to set up the game-winning field goal.
Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at nsuss@gannett.com. Follow Nick on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @nicksuss.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Ranking Tennessee Titans best moments: When Steve McNair beat Giants in OT
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