Baltimore ? With one gritty victory, the Tennessee Titans ended a run of misery against Baltimore and kept alive their hope of returning to the Super Bowl.

NFL career scoring leader Gary Anderson kicked a 46-yard field goal with 29 seconds left after a courageous effort by Steve McNair, giving the Titans a 20-17 victory Saturday in a first-round playoff game.

McNair, the league’s co-MVP, engineered an eight-play, 35-yard drive to set up the winning kick, and Eddie George finished with 88 yards on 25 carries playing despite a dislocated shoulder.

In the process, Tennessee snapped a five-game losing streak against the Ravens.

“A lot of people said, ‘They beat you five times, you cannot beat them,'” Titans receiver Derrick Mason said. “Well, we did.”

The Titans (13-4) received an outstanding performance from their defense, which held 2003 NFL rushing champion Jamal Lewis to a season-low 35 yards on 14 carries.

“You can’t discredit him for what he did, but when the playoffs come, it’s a new season,” linebacker Keith Bulluck said. “We don’t have the league’s No. 1 rush defense for no reason.”

Lewis ran for 2,066 yards during the regular season, the second-best total in league history. But he was ineffective against the determined Titans.

“I knew they were going to soften up sooner or later, but we just didn’t stick with it,” Lewis said. “I think they did soften up in the fourth quarter, but we didn’t pound it like we should.”

The Titans will next play either Kansas City or New England for a spot in the AFC championship game. Tennessee has not been to the Super Bowl since after the 1999 season, when it lost to St. Louis.

McNair missed two of the Titans’ last three games because of injuries to both legs, and he was limping noticeably because of ankle and calf problems. He refused to come out, however, perhaps because of all the frustration he’s endured at the hands of Baltimore (10-7).

44-year-old tennessee kicker Gary Anderson (1) celebrates his game-winning field goal. The Titans won, 20-17, Saturday in Baltimore.

“I felt good. I got it tweaked early in the game and couldn’t push off,” McNair said. “But if we’re going to go a long way, I’ve got to do better than I did today.”

McNair threw three interceptions, but he came up huge when it counted.

The same applies to George, who missed much of the first half because of a dislocated shoulder after tackling Pro Bowl safety Ed Reed on an interception return.

George started the second half, and his punishing runs helped Tennessee control the clock. During the Titans’ five-game losing streak to Baltimore, George scored one touchdown and averaged 55.4 yards rushing.

“It means we move on to the next round,” George said. “Our goal was to be in the championship game, and it starts here.”

The Titans got the better of Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis, the AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year, who had 17 tackles in a losing cause.

“One guy’s not going to beat you,” Mason said.