Tennessee
Titans

For the most part, Johnson has been doing the rest as he now leads the NFL in rushing with 959 yards, more than 100 yards better than his next closest challenger, Cincinnati's Cedric Benson with 837 yards.

Johnson was the cornerstone of the Titans offense again Sunday, going for 135 yards on 25 carries and scoring two touchdowns in a 34-27 victory over the San Francisco 49ers, giving Tennessee two straight wins after an 0-6 start.

Johnson's workload has increased steadily since the Titans came back from their bye week. In the six losses, Johnson averaged just under 16 carries per game and topped 20 carries just once.

The past two games, however, Johnson got 24 attempts against Jacksonville and 25 more Sunday in San Francisco.

The second-year back, who is averaging 6.7 yards per carry, welcomes the extra work, and says it's something he planned for in the offseason.

"I talked to (running backs) coach (Earnest) Byner in the offseason and that was the whole thing of me not being in Nashville and working out and stuff," Johnson said. "I told them that some of the goals I wanted to accomplish and how many times I wanted the ball, and I let them know I was down there in Florida working hard, and they saw by the way I worked in the offseason, that made me able to carry the ball 25 times."

Johnson split carries with LenDale White last year, getting just 251 attempts in rushing for 1,228 yards as a rookie.

This time, however, he is getting the lion's share, as White has been relegated to purely backup status with only 56 carries, compared to Johnson's 144.

Titans coach Jeff Fisher said it was the need to use Johnson's speed against opponents like Jacksonville and San Francisco. But the truth of the matter is, a desperate team like the Titans can't afford to have its best offensive weapon on the sidelines for too long.

"I think it's the nature of the teams we've played. I'd like to see LenDale get more carries, but it's just the nature of the teams we've played," Fisher said Monday. "We felt like we need our run game to beat them (49ers) with the speed. And nobody else has done that this year to them."

The 49ers entered the game with the second-best run defense in the league, but dropped to fifth after Johnson's efforts Sunday.

Look for more of the same this week, as Buffalo visits this Sunday and has the league's worst-ranked run defense.

"I don't know if we'll ever know the answer to that. The shot I believe that the referee got, I believe shows the heel over the white, but it doesn't show it on the white," Fisher said. "So the assumption is that he's out of bounds. The coaching tape is similar to that shot from the truck."

--There was good news and bad news for the Titans defensive line Sunday. The good news was that they harassed 49ers quarterback Alex Smith with three of the four sacks recorded, plus forced a pair of fumbles recovering one. Also, the pressure had a hand in three interceptions by the Tennessee secondary.

The bad news: Tennessee has seven neutral zone and/or encroachment penalties in the game. Jacob Ford, who had the sack and forced fumble the Titans recovered, was guilty of three of the infractions.

"We have to get that cleaned up. We had a third-and-1 and a fourth-and-1 neutral zone violations where we could have gotten the ball back, and we allowed drives to continue," Fisher said. "We've got to get that straight. Alex did a nice job with the hard count, but we have to stay focused."

--RB Chris Johnson leads the NFL with 959 yards and his 6.7 yards per carry average is the highest in league history since the merger through nine weeks.

--G/C Leroy Harris turned in a fine effort filling in at right tackle for David Stewart (hamstring). Stewart's progress will determine if Harris' adventure on the outside is more than a one-week foray.

--CB Rod Hood has two interceptions in two starts with the Titans. Though he signed only a prorated one-year deal, the Titans might want to consider keeping Hood around beyond 2009 with the way he has helped solidify the secondary.

--K Rob Bironas has made 12 straight field goals since missing his first two, and has done so with three different holders this year.

--LB Gerald McRath started in place of injured David Thornton (hip) and had six tackles against the 49ers. He also recovered an onside kick, ending San Francisco's hopes of a comeback.

REPORT CARD VS. 49ERS

PASSING OFFENSE: B-plus -- Not flashy, but very timely and mistake free. That's been the M.O. of Vince Young since he regained the starting job from Kerry Collins. Young did have completions to Justin Gage of 33 and 49 yards.

RUSHING OFFENSE: A-minus -- Chris Johnson might be emerging as the best running back in the NFL. Certainly, few are in the conversation, as Johnson ran for 135 yards and two scores for the Titans on Sunday.

PASS DEFENSE: A-minus -- Alex Smith passed for 286 yards against them, but the Titans intercepted him three times and also forced a pair of fumbles on sacks. A solid all-around effort from a much-maligned group.

RUSH DEFENSE: B -- The Titans held Frank Gore to 83 yards on Sunday, something that had to be a concern coming in, given Maurice Jones-Drew's 177-yard performance the week before.

SPECIAL TEAMS: B -- Rob Bironas kicked two more field goals on Sunday and new punter Brett Kern was again solid. The return game continues to be an issue, as Alvin Pearman took his turn on kickoffs and punts without incident, but without much flash either.

COACHING: A -- The Titans have done well adjusting on offense from Kerry Collins to Vince Young. Offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger has put in option and rollout plays to help accentuate Young's strengths. And most important, the Titans are feeding the ball to Chris Johnson more and more.