Titans beat Jaguars 42-39 to finally end 11-game home skid
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) Marcus Mariota gave the NFL a glimpse of just how healthy the rookie is feeling right now with the league's longest run this season and the third-longest by a quarterback going back to 1940.
Mariota also matched one of Peyton Manning's rookie marks helping the Tennessee Titans end the NFL's longest active home skid at 11 straight by edging the Jacksonville Jaguars 42-39 on Sunday.
Titans interim coach Mike Mularkey said he had one thought watching Mariota on his 87-yard TD run.
''It's going to be hard to catch him,'' Mularkey said. ''Again, I think I said, this is about as healthy as he has been since Week 2 in Cleveland.''
Mariota's TD run put the Titans ahead to stay in the fourth quarter, and he also became the first in the NFL to throw for more than 250 yards, run for 100 yards or more and throw three TD passes in a game. He threw for 268 yards and ran for 112 more.
The Titans (3-9) won for the first time since the last time Jacksonville came to town, a win Oct. 12, 2014, that was Tennessee's lone home victory all last season.
Blake Bortles topped Mariota with five TD passes himself, three to Allen Robinson. But the Jaguars (4-8) blew a fourth-quarter lead in missing a chance to sweep Tennessee for the first time since 2005 in this AFC South rivalry.
''It is a step backwards,'' Jaguars cornerback Davon House said. ''We let this one slip away.''
Some things to know about Tennessee's win over the Jaguars:
MARIOTA'S DAY: Mariota became the first Tennessee player to run for at least 100 yards since Chris Johnson on Dec. 29, 2013. His 87-yard TD run was behind only to Terrelle Pryor's 93-yard run in 2013 for Oakland against Pittsburgh and Colin Kaepernick's 90-yarder for San Francisco against San Diego in 2014.
The Heisman Trophy winner also had his fourth game this season with three or more TD passes, matching Manning as the only NFL rookies to do that. Manning had four in 1998. ''If he keeps on working the way that he's doing, he's going to help us out, and win a lot of games,'' Titans defensive lineman Jurrell Casey said.
BORTLES' FRANCHISE MARK: Bortles now has 27 TD passes this season for the Jaguars' single-season record. He passed David Garrard who had 23 in 2010. Bortles threw three TDs in the fourth quarter and three of the TDs went to Robinson who caught 10 passes for 153 yards. Robinson became Jacksonville's first 1,000-yard receiver since Jimmy Smith in 2005.
TITANS' D: The Titans sacked Bortles twice, the last ending Jacksonville's final possession on fourth down. They also took advantage of a bad snap that went over Bortles' head. Wesley Woodyard recovered the ball and ran 3 yards for the clinching TD. ''We finally found a way to stop them and get off the field and close the game out,'' Titans linebacker Brian Orakpo said. ''So it was huge. It's closing these games out. It's something we've struggled with all year long.
SPECIAL TEAM WOES: Jaguars kicker Jason Myers was both wide right and wide left on extra points, and his first miss prompted coach Gus Bradley to go for the 2-point conversion after Jacksonville's first TD. But David Bass batted down Bortles' pass, costing Jacksonville four points. Myers was on the injury report before the game with an injured back. Bradley said he'd need to look at the tape on the missed kicks.
HIGH-SCORING QUARTER: These teams scored a combined six TDs in the fourth quarter, matching the second-most TDs in a fourth quarter since 1940, according to STATS. Only Chicago and Detroit have scored more in a fourth quarter with seven on Sept. 30, 2007. Mularkey couldn't recall being part of such a crazy quarter. ''I really don't what to be a part of a lot of those like that,'' Mularkey said.
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