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Championship Games Recap
Rams, Titans to close out season in Super Bowl XXXIV
Posted: Monday January 24, 2000 01:41 AM
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Ricky Proehl's first TD reception of the season was an important one, giving the Rams an 11-6 second-half lead. Brian Bahr/Allsport |
By Jon A. Dolezar, CNNSI.com
ATLANTA -- The Super matchup is set, but it's not one that many would've anticipated before the season. The 15-3 St. Louis Rams will meet the 16-3 Tennessee Titans in Super Bowl XXXIV at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta next Sunday.
The Titans completed a three-game sweep of the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday by winning 33-14 at Alltel Stadium in the AFC Championship Game to advance. Steve McNair ran wild on a gimpy toe to push the Titans into the title game for the first time in the team's NFL history, and Tennessee's defense forced six turnovers, holding the Jacksonville's normally potent offense in check.
St. Louis needed a late touchdown pass from Kurt Warner to Ricky Proehl to fend off the dominating defense of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in their 11-6 victory in the NFC Championship Game. Warner and the Rams had their worst offensive showing of the season, being held to only 11 points. Their previous season low was 21 points against the Titans in a Week 8 loss in Nashville. Here is a capsule look both of the Conference title games:
| Conference Championship Game NFL Recap |
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| Titans 33, Jaguars 14 |
| Review | Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap | 6: Turnovers by the Jaguars against the Titans on Sunday, giving them 13 in their three losses against Tennessee this season. |
| Player of the Game |
| Steve McNair, QB, Tennessee: Beat the Jaguars more with his legs than with his arm, rushing for 91 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries. |
| Breakdown |
| The Tennessee Titans certainly had the Jacksonville Jaguars' number this season, knocking them off for the third time. The Jaguars went 15-0 against everyone else in the league, but the Titans outscored Jacksonville 94-47 in the three games. Eddie George continued to run well in the playoffs, gaining 86 yards on 28 carries to boost his playoff total to 357 yards rushing in the Titans' three games. |
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| Rams 11, Buccaneers 6 |
| Review | Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap | 44.8: Completion percentage for Buccaneers rookie quarterback Shaun King (on 13-of-29 passing), giving him only 28 completions in 61 passing attempts in Tampa Bay's two playoff games. |
| Player of the Game |
| Ricky Proehl, WR, St. Louis: Rams fourth receiver caught six passes for 100 yards and a touchdown, which proved to be the game-winner for St. Louis in the tight game. |
| Breakdown |
| Tampa Bay's defense lived up to its billing, while St. Louis' offense may have finally met its match on the other side of the ball. But the Rams had the last laugh when Kurt Warner connected with Proehl on a 30-yard touchdown pass with 4:44 to play. St. Louis limited the Buccaneers to 203 yards of total offense, but the Rams managed only 309 yards themselves, well below their season average of 400.8 yards per game. The Rams will now play in their first Super Bowl in 20 years, and will get a chance to avenge their Week 8 24-21 road loss to the Titans. |
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