NASHVILLE, Tennessee -- The Tennessee Titans will be looking to make the most of their only prime-time appearance of the regular season Monday night, when they entertain the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots, Reuters reported.

Both teams have rebounded from lengthy slumps -- each overcoming a four-game losing skid -- to stand 8-5. At stake Monday is a possible home playoff date.

The Titans have been especially impressive since their slide, winning seven of their past eight games, their only loss being by a single point to Baltimore three weeks ago.

Leading the Tennessee resurgence has been quarterback Steve McNair, the third overall pick in the 1995 draft. He has hardly practiced since taking a shot to the ribs against Baltimore, yet put together two of his best efforts of the season over the past two Sundays.

Playing with pain is nothing new for McNair and he claims that it improves his concentration.

If that is true, maybe the blitz-happy Patriots should forget about trying to unload on him Monday.

McNair has already matched his career best with 21 touchdown passes and is second on the team in yards rushing with 330.

The Titans hope to have defensive end Jevon Kearse, a two-time Pro Bowler, back for Monday's game but the pass-rush specialist is likely to see limited action.

Kearse, who set a record for a rookie with 14.5 sacks in 1999, broke his left foot in Tennessee's season opener.

TOP TEAMS Another clash of top teams finds the Oakland Raiders (9-4) in Miami to play the Dolphins (8-5) Sunday.

The game will pit the NFL's leading thrower, the Raiders' Rich Gannon, against rush leader Ricky Williams, who could become the first player to have three straight 200-yard games in NFL history.

Williams has exactly 1,500 yards for the season -- 46 more than second placed Priest Holmes of Kansas City -- and has rumbled for 689 yards and eight touchdowns in his last four games alone, including his 217 yards in Monday's victory of the Chicago Bears.

Twice Pro Bowl MVP Gannon grabbed his own place in the NFL record books last weekend when he notched up his 10th 300-yard plus passing game against San Diego, beating the previous single-season best of nine.

But the Raider, who is only two weeks away from his 37th birthday, is more concerned with his team's record.

"My biggest concern is winning football games," he said.

The Dolphins have won six of the last seven regular-season meetings between the teams, including four straight.

Chasing the Raiders in the AFC West are the surprising San Diego Chargers (8-5) who travel from temperate southern California to the icy conditions of upstate New York this weekend.

There was blinding snow in Buffalo when the Bills (6-7) hosted Miami two weeks ago and cold weather is again anticipated Sunday.

NOT CONCERNED The Chargers say they are not overly concerned about the weather, that they will just hand the ball to second-year running back LaDainian Tomlinson, who is third in the NFL in rushing with 1,375 yards.

The Bills have Travis Henry -- also in his second NFL season -- to carry the load. He has 1,168 yards on the ground for the season.

Neither team does much to disguise its intentions, as San Diego's next biggest gainer, Terrell Fletcher, has amassed a mere 128 rush yards, while quarterback Drew Bledsoe is second best among the Bills with only 57 yards rushing.

Diminutive Doug Flutie returns to Buffalo, where he played from 1998-2000, but is not expected to see any action this time as Drew Brees has taken every snap for San Diego in 2002.