Rob Bironas kicked a 53-yard field goal with less than a minute remaining and the Tennessee Titans beat the Houston Texans 20-17 Monday night for their fourth straight victory after an 0-6 start.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - This was the history-making Tom Brady everyone remembers. And those were the hapless Tennessee Titans fans are beginning to expect. Brady threw six touchdown passes - five in one quarter, an NFL mark - and the Patriots sent the Titans plummeting to a new low in their winless season with a 59-0 win on a snowy Sunday.

UTHERFORD, N.J.—After looking vulnerable for the first time this season, the New York Jets’ top-ranked defense came up big in the end. David Harris had an interception and a big sack on consecutive drives, and Mark Sanchez threw two touchdown passes and ran for another as the Jets stayed undefeated by holding on for a 24-17 victory over the Tennessee Titans yesterday

NASHVILLE, Tenn.—Former NFL star Steve McNair was shot dead in his sleep last week by a 20-year-old girlfriend distraught about mounting financial problems and her belief that he was seeing someone else, police said yesterday. Sahel Kazemi “was spinning out of control” when she shot McNair four times as he dozed on a sofa early Saturday, then turned the gun on herself, Police Chief Ronal Serpas said.

Charles Barkley is right. Sadly. Barkley, a former NBA star and current TNT basketball analyst, long has insisted athletes should not be viewed as role models. Still, we cling to the idea, the hope, that these men who are capable of such amazing performances on the field are equally amazing off the field. Yet off the field, they are just like the rest of us, imperfect and prone to bad decisions.