Tennessee is playing better than it did four years ago during its only AFC Championship season.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Safety Lance Schulters doesn’t want to jinx the Tennessee Titans. At the same time, he can’t help thinking of the Super Bowl they missed out on by one game last season.

“We keep getting better and healthy, I think we have a chance to be at the top and Super Bowl contenders for real,” Schulters said. “Legitimate Super Bowl contenders.”

Steve McNair, who remembers coming up a yard short of forcing overtime in the 2000 Super Bowl, counsels patience.

“I will let the Super Bowl take care of itself. We don’t want to jump too far,” McNair said. “We have a lot of games left, but right now we are playing well. … As long as we take care of business week in and week out, who knows?”

The way the Titans are playing, they might have an easier path to the Super Bowl than they did after the 1999 season, the only time they reached the title game.

Just like in 1999, the Titans are 7-2. But this year’s Titans are playing better on offense and defense, setting team records and doing something rarely seen in the NFL.

The Titans are just the third team to score 30 or more points in six consecutive games, joining the St. Louis Rams (1999 and 2000) and the 1982 San Diego Chargers. It’s a radical change from 1999, when Tennessee kept games close with a stingy defense and won on last-second field goals.

“If you would have asked me will we set a franchise record for scoring 30-plus points in six games, I would have said you’re crazy,” McNair said. “But it happens.”

Credit McNair, the NFL’s top-rated passer who already has matched his yardage for all of 1999 with 2,179 yards through nine games.

Using the pass instead of the run, the Titans control the clock with an NFL-best 33:42 average time of possession. In ’99, they finished seventh in the NFL in points; now they are second only to Kansas City (287) with 255 points.

“We’re playing with the MVP of the league, so we got that in our back pocket and that helps,” tight end Frank Wycheck said, casting an early vote for McNair.

Jevon Kearse leads a defense playing even better than in 1999, when he set the rookie record with 141/2 sacks. Now they rank first in the NFL against the run, allowing only 73.6 yards per game, stingier than they managed in 1999.

“If this team stops the opponent’s run, then the chances are very slim that a team is going to beat us,” defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth said.

Tennessee forced 40 turnovers in ’99. These Titans have 15 takeaways in their last four games and have scored nine touchdowns off those takeaways, including three interceptions and one fumble taken back for TDs.

Any flaws? The defense ranks next-to-last against the pass, allowing 242 yards per game. But the Titans didn’t have every starter healthy and on the field until Sunday’s 31-7 victory over Miami.

The Titans have played so well they have barely tapped the playbook of one of the league’s most complicated defenses. Coordinator Jim Schwartz hasn’t blitzed much in the past month, letting the line rush quarterbacks on its own while racking up 21 sacks.

“When the defense is comfortable in what they do and confident in the players around them, a lot of things can happen,” linebacker Keith Bulluck said. “When you know what you’re doing, you can force the other team to make mistakes, especially when you play hard.”

Another weak spot is the running game, which ranks 27th.

Eddie George had 1,304 yards in 1999, but now he’s splitting carries with Robert Holcombe and rookie Chris Brown. They have topped 100 yards combined in each of the past four games, however.

The ’99 Titans finished the regular season undefeated at home, a feat they can match with four games remaining. They play only one team, co-AFC South leader Indianapolis, with a winning record down the stretch.

If they keep it up, the former Houston Oilers could find themselves back in their old hometown for another Super Bowl.

AP-ES-11-11-03 1708EST