ATLANTA (AP) – The backup quarterback replaced the injured starter and led his team to victory.

See how it’s done, Atlanta?

Billy Volek took over for Steve McNair and threw his second career touchdown pass, rallying the Tennessee Titans from a 21-point deficit in a 38-31 victory over the Falcons on Sunday.

McNair, the leading passer in the NFL, left in the second quarter when he hurt his right calf.

After he threw a 5-yard pass to Frank Wycheck, defensive end Patrick Kerney simply touched McNair, who took a tentative step and immediately reached for his calf.

At the time, the team listed his return as questionable, but he didn’t come back.

Volek finished 9-for-15 for 117 yards. Before this season, he hadn’t thrown a pass since 2001.

Atlanta (2-9) again played without starting quarterback Michael Vick, out since breaking his leg in the preseason. Earlier in the week, he sprained his ankle in practice, further delaying his return.

Justin McCareins scored twice for the Titans (9-2), including a 58-yard punt return late in the third quarter that gave them the lead for good. In the fourth quarter, he caught a 14-yard TD pass from Volek to make it 38-24.

The Falcons cut the lead to seven on Doug Johnson’s 41-yard pass to Peerless Price, then got the ball back in the final two minutes. But a fourth-down pass from Johnson to Brian Kozlowski fell short, and Tennessee ran out the clock.

Johnson started for the first time since the sixth game, replacing Kurt Kittner. He finished with 276 yards, including an 86-yard pass to Warrick Dunn in the first quarter that gave Atlanta a 21-0 lead.

The quick start led to a 21-14 halftime lead for the Falcons, the fifth time this season they’ve led at the half. They fell to 0-5 in those games.

Allen Rossum ran a punt back 59 yards for the first touchdown, and T.J. Duckett added a 2-yard run to make it 14-0.

Then on third-and-14 from the 14, Johnson avoided the blitz and threw a screen to Dunn. He meandered his way across the field and through the defense, helped by a crushing block by tight end Alge Crumpler.

The Titans hadn’t allowed an opponent to score a TD in the first quarter in 17 of their previous 19 games.

But McNair threw two touchdown passes to Wycheck before he left, then Volek brought Tennessee back from a 10-point deficit in the third quarter. Eddie George, who ran for 115 yards, scored on a 2-yard run to cut it to three, then McCareins gave the Titans the lead with his return.

AP-ES-11-23-03 1952EST