NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- The Houston Texans aren't sure how many

more ways they can find to lose games at the end. The Tennessee

Titans know enough not to be picky.

Kris Brown hooked a 31-yard field goal short and wide left on an

untimed play with no time left even as Tennessee coach Jeff Fisher

was trying to call a timeout, and the Titans held on for a 13-10

victory Sunday over the hapless Texans.

Brown also had a 37-yard field goal attempt blocked by Tank

Williams with 3:48 left.

"Obviously, we have done something to offend the football gods

because these last three weeks have been just unbelievable the way

that they have ended," Texans center Steve McKinney said.

Rob Bironas kicked a 21-yard field goal with 10 seconds left

that gave Tennessee (4-9) the sweep of its AFC South rival, the

Titans' third sweep in the four seasons since the Texans replaced

them in Houston.

Tennessee tried to keep the ball out of Jerome Mathis' hands by

squibbing the kickoff, but Todd Washington pitched it to the rookie

returner. Mathis took off, and only Reynaldo Hill grabbing him by

the face mask on the right sideline kept him from scoring. The

penalty put the ball at the Tennessee 13 -- except the kicker jerked

the ball left.

Fisher was grateful the officials didn't see him asking for the

timeout.

"I don't know if I have another way to describe that other than

that was ugly," Fisher said.

The Texans (1-12) lost their sixth straight in yet another game

they had plenty of chances to win, especially at the end. After

blowing a 24-3 lead against St. Louis and a late lead last week

against Baltimore, Houston had not one, but two chances in this

game -- the blocked kick and then the final one.

"In 20 years, I have never been through three weeks like we

have been through here," Houston coach Dom Capers said.

Steve McNair set up Bironas' first career game-winning field

goal by driving the Titans 70 yards in 10 plays with his

second-longest run this season, an 18-yarder on third-and-4.

Brown said he had hoped Mathis would give him another chance

after being low on his blocked kick, and he had been warming up on

the sideline

"I didn't pull my end of the bargain today," Brown said.

Rookie Adam "Pacman" Jones also scored the first touchdown of

his NFL career on a 52-yard punt return after rejoining the Titans

late Saturday night following a funeral for a close friend and the

death of an aunt.

The Titans also sacked David Carr six times, including two by

Kyle Vanden Bosch for a career-high 12½ sacks this season. They

held the Texans to 234 yards offense, and Vanden Bosch called the

ending crazy.

"I thought we won, then I thought they brought it back. Then I

thought the game was over, then I thought we were going to

overtime. Then we ended up winning. It was crazy," Vanden Bosch

said.

The emotions were very different for the Texans.

"Why can't we just find a way to make one more play?" Carr

asked. "It's offense, defense, special teams, myself included. We

all have to find a way to make one more play, and we won't be in

that situation."

The Titans had to overcome their own ineptness in a sloppy game

that featured a 21-yard punt by the Texans and a kickoff that would

have gone out of bounds if not touched by Jarrett Payton at the

Tennessee 15.

Tennessee turned the ball over on downs three times, missed a

field goal wide right in the first quarter and had passes dropped

in the end zone on two possessions.

The Titans were lucky all tickets for this game were sold in

July because the stadium was half full on a cold, windy day.

Domanick Davis ran for 139 yards and caught seven passes for 50

more, and he gave the Texans a 10-3 lead with a 3-yard reception

just before halftime.

Capers certainly tried to give his Texans every chance to win.

He had Brown fake a field goal attempt in the fourth quarter on

fourth-and-5, and the kicker ran for the first down only to see his

field goal attempt blocked four plays later.

The Texans had been protecting Carr a little better since

matching their season-high by allowing seven sacks to Tennessee on

Oct. 9. Not this Sunday as the Titans sacked Carr once on each of

the Texans' first three possessions.

The Titans couldn't take advantage with two receivers and a

tight end missing the game with injuries, bogging down every time

they got near the end zone. They finally scored on a Bironas field

goal with 4:28 left in the second.Game notes
McNair finally passed John Elway for fourth among NFL

quarterbacks in yards rushing with his 18-yard run. ... Jones'

return for a TD was the Titans' first since Justin McCareins

returned a punt 58 yards for a touchdown at Atlanta on Nov. 23,

2003. ... Titans running back Travis Henry had a 42-yard reception

in the second quarter that was his career-long. ... Brown, who was

a perfect 5-of-5 for field goals last week, was 1-of-3 against the

Titans.