Glenn Is Up to the Challenge

FOXBORO, Mass. — Drew Bledsoe challenged receiver Terry Glenn to come through. Breaking loose for a go-ahead 51-yard touchdown should take care of that.

Glenn caught a short pass from Bledsoe and turned it into a 51-yard touchdown--one of two touchdowns the New England Patriots scored in an 18-second span in the final five minutes of a 27-16 victory over the Tennessee Oilers on Sunday.

“Before the game, I went to him and told him, ‘It’s time for you to have a big game,’ ” Bledsoe said. “I knew he was going to be there.”

Glenn struggled through an injury-plagued 1997 season after catching 90 passes as a rookie first-round draft pick in 1996. With 4:25 left, Bledsoe caught Tennessee (1-2) in a blitz and connected with Glenn on a slant pattern at the Oiler 40-yard line. Seconds later, Glenn was in the end zone and New England (2-1) had its first lead at 20-16.

“Knowing him, when the game was on the line like that, I knew they’d go to him sooner or later.” said Oiler running back Eddie George, a teammate of Glenn’s at Ohio State. “And the nightmare happened.”

It got worse for the Oilers 18 seconds later when Lawyer Milloy broke Steve McNair’s streak of 100 passes without an interception by returning one 30 yards for a touchdown and a 27-16 Patriot lead with 4:07 left.

“This game hurts bad,” McNair said. “They shouldn’t have beat us. We had the game.”

Tennessee used a conservative offense to keep the ball 13 minutes longer than New England. George, after being held to a career-low 11 yards rushing last week, had 100 yards in 23 carries as well as a 22-yard touchdown reception.