Tennessee quarterback Vince Young, right, greets San Francisco QB Alex Smith at the end of of the Titans' 34-27 victory over the 49ers in a matchup between quarterbacks trying to re-establish themselves with their teams. (The Associated Press)

San Francisco » Alex Smith is a quarterback trying to jump-start his career after struggling over the past couple years. So is Vince Young.

On Sunday, Young led his team to victory. Smith didn't.

Young came through in the clutch, helping the Tennessee Titans defeat the San Francisco 49ers 34-27.

Smith, the former University of Utah star, threw two interceptions in the final 6:24 and three in all, fumbled twice and was sacked four times -- not the kind of day he had hoped for in his first home start in more than two years.

Tennessee scored 24 points after 49ers turnovers in a game pitting two rebuilding quarterbacks who have resurrected their careers with improved play of late. But this was a big step back for Smith, the No. 1 overall pick in 2005 who was booed in the waning moments by those fans who stuck around for the finish.

"It's probably too early to tell if I think it's a regression," Smith said.

Young's gritty play at quarterback has given the Tennessee Titans a much-needed morale boost after an 0-6 start -- not to mention back-to-back victories.

Six plays after his 81-yard touchdown run was overturned, Chris Johnson took a pitch from Young and scurried 2 yards for a go-ahead score.

Young has been clutch twice in as many weeks, getting the Titans in the end zone when it mattered.

"It's how we believe in each other. The excitement that

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everybody has, the confidence we have in each other is tremendous right now," Young said. "It feels real good to come to the sideline and hear your defense chatting you on, and vice versa. Everybody's together right now. ... I want to go out there and show them what's been going on, what I've been doing behind the scenes."

Titans 34, 49ers 27
Tennessee37717--34
San Francisco314010--27

First Quarter

SF » FG Nedney 40, 8:35.

Ten » FG Bironas 21, 5:56.

Second Quarter

Ten » Young 7 run (Bironas kick), 13:08.

SF » Gore 3 run (Nedney kick), 9:31.

SF » J.Hill 12 pass from A.Smith (Nedney kick), :20.

Third Quarter

Ten » Johnson 1 run (Bironas kick), 5:40.

Fourth Quarter

SF » FG Nedney 25, 10:55.

Ten » Johnson 2 run (Bironas kick), 7:11.

Ten » FG Bironas 28, 3:06.

Ten » Finnegan 39 interception return (Bironas kick), 2:51.

SF » J.Hill 3 pass from A.Smith (Nedney kick), :39.

Attendance » 69,732.

Ten SF

First downs1425
Total Net Yards315358
Rushes-yards34-15220-108
Passing163250
Punt Returns1-103-(-3)
Kickoff Returns4-937-171
Interceptions Ret.3-820-0
Comp-Att-Int12-20-029-45-3
Sacked-Yards Lost1-94-36
Punts5-43.43-56.7
Fumbles-Lost0-02-1
Penalties-yards8-585-25
Time of Possession26:1033:50

Individual Statistics

Rushing » Tennessee, Johnson 25-135, Young 5-14, White 4-3. San Francisco, Gore 15-83, A.Smith 2-11, Morgan 1-11, Coffee 1-4, Robinson 1-(minus 1).

Passing » Tennessee, Young 12-19-0-172, Johnson 0-1-0-0. San Francisco, A.Smith 29-45-3-286.

Receiving » Tennessee, Gage 4-97, Washington 3-30, Johnson 3-25, Scaife 2-20. San Francisco, V.Davis 10-102, Gore 7-75, J.Hill 4-50, Crabtree 3-30, Morgan 2-9, Walker 1-13, Robinson 1-4, Bruce 1-3.