1 of 2. Buffalo Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick (14) is dejected as he leaves the field after losing to the Tennessee Titans after the fourth quarter of their NFL football game in Orchard Park, New York December 4, 2011.
Credit: Reuters/Doug BenzBy Steve Keating
ORCHARD PARK, New York | Sun Dec 4, 2011 8:22pm EST
ORCHARD PARK, New York (Reuters) - Chris Johnson ran for a pair of touchdowns to help power the Tennessee Titans into the National Football League (NFL) playoff hunt with a 23-17 win over the fading Buffalo Bills on Sunday.
With the win, the Titans (7-5) remained in the mix for the AFC's final wild card while the Bills' (5-7) postseason hopes all but disappeared with a fifth straight loss.
After a slow start to the season, Johnson seems to have hit his stride as the NFL's rushing leader in 2009 followed last week's 190-yard performance by rushing for 153 yards on 23 carries, including a 48-yard burst in the first quarter to give the Titans a 10-7 lead they would not surrender.
"We've been saying for a long time, if we can run the ball that well, we become a tough team to stop," Tennessee first-year coach Mike Munchak told reporters. "The last few weeks, we've run the ball much better.
"I don't think anything has changed with (Johnson), I just think the blocking is better, I think he is getting more clean looks, more clean opportunities."
The impact of Buffalo's recent skid has not only been felt in the standings but also at the gate with thousands of empty seats sprinkled across Ralph Wilson Stadium as the Bills failed to sell enough tickets to lift the local television blackout for the first time this season.
While the Bills, Detroit Lions, San Francisco 49ers and Cincinnati Bengals have taken turns hogging the spotlight for turnaround of the year, the Titans have quietly put together a comeback campaign of their own and are closing in on their first playoff berth in three years.
After losing eight of the final nine games last season, the Titans rebounded behind the solid play of veteran quarterback Matt Hasselbeck and an improving defense.
Hasselbeck, who signed with the Titans earlier this year after 10 seasons with the Seattle Seahawks, turned in another efficient performance Sunday by completing 16 of 25 pass attempts for 140-yards.
The Titans opened the scoring on a 48-yard Rob Bironas field goal but the first half featured some dazzling running from both teams with Johnson rumbling for 106 yards and two touchdowns while Buffalo counterpart C.J. Spiller rushed for 80 of his 83 yards and a score as Tennessee grabbed a 17-10 first-half lead.
Bironas would extend Tennessee's lead with field goals in the third and fourth quarters before the Bills offence came back to life, Ryan Fitzpatrick hitting Stevie Johnson with a two-yard touchdown strike to trim the Titans lead to 23-17.
But the Bills could not complete the comeback and fell four games back of the AFC East-leading New England Patriots with four games left in the regular season.
"You can say you're playing for pride, you can say you're playing for jobs, you can say you're playing for the future, all those are partially true," Buffalo coach Chan Gailey said about his team's fading playoff hopes.
"It's going to be very hard now. I don't want to say impossible, nothing is impossible we all know that."
(Editing by Frank Pingue)
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