Tennessee Titans' best moments: Remembering Vince Young's long TD run vs Texans
It’s the closest thing I’ve ever seen to a real-life “Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner” cartoon. That’s truly the only way I know how to describe it. Slap an “ACME” logo on the Houston Texans’ helmets and play the “Looney Tunes” theme over the celebration and what we have is a romp indistinguishable from the very best farces conceived in the golden age of American animation.
Here we have our protagonist, Tennessee Titans QB Vince Young, our would-be Road Runner, playing in his hometown of Houston for the first time since the Texans snubbed him in the 2006 NFL Draft.
It’s third-and-14. Overtime. The Titans are on the fringes of field goal range, but it’s hardly a sure thing.
Here is No. 5 among The Tennessean's list of Tennessee Titans' best moments.
Young drains the play clock down to three seconds, fields a shotgun snap and stares down an oncoming blitz. Like the Road Runner dodging an anvil, Young ducks underneath an over-eager, over-pursuant free release from linebacker DeMeco Ryans and bursts into the open field.
At this point, Young might as well have said “Meep meep” and winked at the camera. Defensive end Jason Babin gave chase, but gave up after about 20 yards. Defensive backs Dexter McLeon, C.C. Brown and Glenn Earl all got close, but Young sped past one, receiver Courtney Roby knocked two over.
In all, Young only took 20 strides to cover 39 yards. By the time he reached top speed inside the 10-yard line, it looked as if the only thing that could slow Young down was his own top wind; his head was tilted so far back and his chest so high upward that a hearty gust could’ve toppled Young onto his behind.
Young’s reign as the NFL’s most exciting player didn’t last long. But in this moment, just two weeks after he led a borderline-miraculous comeback against the New York Giants and one week after he led a gutsy game-winning drive against Indianapolis, Young was the ascendant face of the NFL. He was the Road Runner, and the rest of the league couldn’t quite figure out how to catch him.
Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at nsuss@gannett.com. Follow Nick on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @nicksuss.