Titans outlast Texans but will miss playoffs

HOUSTON - The Tennessee Titans' regular-season finale came down to a two-point conversion. Their playoff hopes officially ended a few hours later.

Matt Hasselbeck threw two touchdown passes, and Tennessee staved off Houston's last-minute rally in a 23-22 victory Sunday.

Tennessee (9-7) earned its first winning record since 2008 in Mike Munchak's first season, but its postseason fate depended on the outcome of later games in Cincinnati, Oakland, and Denver.

When the Broncos lost to Kansas City, the Titans were knocked out of contention.

The Titans had to sweat out the final two minutes when Ahmard Hall fumbled, and Jake Delhomme drove Houston (10-6) for a touchdown with 14 seconds left.

With their No. 3 seeding secured and nothing to lose but more players to injury, Houston coach Gary Kubiak called for a two-point conversion to avoid overtime and win the game in regulation.

"You would never go for two there in any other situation," Kubiak said. "But where we were physically, at the end of the game, I had a tight end [Garrett Graham] playing linebacker. Our team, I had to get them to next week."

But tight end Joel Dreessen was flagged for illegal motion, and then backup center Thomas Austin flipped the snap over Delhomme's head, and the game was over.