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Almost there McNair's comeback falls short at final gun
Posted: Monday February 07, 2000 01:09 PM
ATLANTA (CNNSI.com) -- For Steve McNair, winning is the only thing that matters. He doesn't pay attention to critics of his numbers. But he came up one yard short in the Super Bowl. McNair, trying to become the second black quarterback to lead his team to an NFL championship, sparked a remarkable comeback that led the Tennessee Titans to the brink of forcing the first overtime Super Bowl. The St. Louis Rams won 23-16 on Kurt Warner's 73-yard pass to Isaac Bruce with 1:54 remaining, but not before McNair led his team back from a 16-0 deficit and took the Titans 88 yards on their final drive. The season ended with Kevin Dyson taking a quick pass from McNair and sprawling toward the end zone, only to be stopped at the 1-yard line as time ran out. "We did what we wanted to do," McNair said. "We wanted to have a chance to win in the fourth quarter. We just came up short." McNair's numbers looked rather feeble when placed alongside Warner's. The St. Louis quarterback was selected as MVP after setting a Super Bowl record with 414 yards passing, while McNair threw for just 214 yards. But his performance on four critical drives earned him praise from teammates and opponents alike. With his team trailing 16-0, McNair led the Titans to a pair of touchdowns, then a game-tying field goal with 2:12 remaining. "The people who didn't know Steve McNair before will know him now," Titans tight end Frank Wycheck said. "Did you see that desire? Did you see that heart?" McNair's heart was epitomized on the heart-stopping final drive, when he scrambled right and kept going deeper and deeper, chased by Kevin Carter -- the league's sack leader -- and Jay Williams. Just when he seemed certain to go down, McNair slipped away from both St. Louis players and threw a 16-yard pass to Dyson to the Rams 10. The Titans used their final timeout with six second left. "At the end, when he had nothing left, Steve made a phenomenal play to get the ball to Dyson and give us a chance to win," Wycheck said. Afterward, Carter still couldn't believe that McNair got away. "He's a warrior. He's a battler," Carter said. "He's got such a big heart. He battled back and tried to win the game for his team." After consecutive 8-8 seasons as the Titans starter, many people wondered if McNair was capable of making his team a big winner. No one questioned his toughness, but his passing numbers were mediocre. He was unable to make the deep throws with consistency, had trouble picking up his secondary receivers and seemed too apt to take off and run when the pressure was on. "I'm not trying to prove anything," McNair said. "Regardless of how I perform or what I do out on the field, I'm just trying to go out and help my teammates get the job done." He did that Sunday. McNair set a Super Bowl record for quarterbacks by rushing for 64 yards, including a 23-yard scramble that set up the Titans' first touchdown. On the final drive, he completed six passes for 48 yards and ran twice for 14 yards. His final pass to Dyson was a quick slant over the middle, dubbed 'Sliver Right' in the Tennessee playbook. McNair delivered the ball perfectly. But Dyson cut inside a little too quickly, and Rams linebacker Mike Jones made a great one-on-one tackle to end the game. "It's sad to come that close and come up short after playing such a great game," said McNair, who had a 12-3 record this season as the Titans starter, missing five games with a back injury. "That's the bad part of this game. Someone has got to lose, but why couldn't it be a tie?" McNair pondered the remarkable season and the one thing he will take away from Atlanta. "I don't ever want to feel like this again," McNair said. "We were able to get some Super Bowl experience. When we come back the next time, we'll feel more comfortable. We're only going to get better."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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