Titans Follow Emotional Victory with Debilitating 17-10 Loss
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- For the second consecutive week, the Tennessee Titans capped off a late drive with a touchdown pass from Marcus Mariota to Andre Johnson.
Unlike that of week two, Sunday's touchdown did not count, as Johnson was called for offensive pass interference. Two plays later on 4th down, with Tennessee out of timeouts and 16 seconds on the clock, Mariota could not connect with Harry Douglas in the end zone, resulting in a turnover on downs. There was contact on the play, with Douglas appearing to be interfered with, but unlike two plays earlier there was no call.
Tennessee placed themselves in a hole early on in their 17-10 loss to the Oakland Raiders Sunday. After a decent opening drive had to be ended with a Ryan Succop field goal, the ensuing kickoff was sent out of bounds, giving Oakland the ball on the 40-yard line. The Raiders would make quick effort, as Latavius Murray ran in a 22-yard touchdown.
Oakland added another touchdown late in the half, a 19-yard catch-and-run by Seth Roberts from Derek Carr. Kicker Sebastian Janikowski connected on a 52-yard field goal with 8:13 remaining in the second quarter.
Much like that of their last home game, a 27-16 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, Tennessee was plagued with poor ball handling by Mariota. On a 3rd down run, Mariota's attempt to extend the run and gain the first down instead of sliding resulted in a fumble recovered by Oakland.
The second year quarterback from Oregon threw his third interception of the season on the final play of the first half,. After poor clock management by Tennessee who had two first half timeouts go unused, 15-seconds were run off the clock, forcing Mariota to attempt a deep pass that was picked off by safety Reggie Nelson.
Mariota would throw another interception late in the third quarter, as cornerback Sean Smith jumped a route intended for Rishard Matthews.
Oakland entered Sunday with the top offense in the NFL. Carr threw for 249 yards on 21-of-35 passing, with one touchdown. He threw his first interception of the year in the third quarter, as Avery Williamson caught the deflection by Jason McCourtey.
Receivers Amare Cooper and Michael Crabtree had a field day. Crabtree collected 102 yards, with Cooper racking in 62. Oakland continuously attacked cornerback Perrish Cox, who has noticeably been struggling in 2016, and his struggles continued on Sunday.
Tennessee finally had their running game up to par in week three, as DeMarco Murray broke a 35 regular season game streak in which the team has gone without a 100-yard rusher. Murray rushed for 114 yards, including the team's lone touchdown, a 5-yard run, which came in the third quarter. The scoring drive was aided by a 35 yard Murray run, and a 19-yard pass from Mariota to tight end Jace Amaro, who stepped in for the injured Delanie Walker
Rookie running back Derrick Henry added 45 yards on the ground, with Mariota totaling 22 rushing yards. In the air, Mariota totaled 214 yards, with Amaro leading the receivers with 59.
After stopping the Raiders on 3rd and 3 at the two-minute warning, Tennessee got the ball back at their own 20 with one timeout and 1:51 remaining. The Titans marched down the field thanks to long passes from Mariota to Douglas and rookie Tajae Sharpe.
A 19-yard pass from Mariota to Sharpe placed Tennessee on the 4-yard line, but an unnecessary roughness penalty after the conclusion of the play on left-tackle Taylor Lewan pushed the Titans pack to the 19. Lewan had to miss the next play due to concussion protocol.
The Tennessee defense held Oakland to zero points in the second half.
Tennessee has not won back-to-back games in the same season since week 16 and 17 of the 2013 season.
The Titans will have to forget about the loss, much like they did after week one, as they will start divisional play next week in Houston against the Texans. Houston is coming off a 27-0 defeat in New England Thursday night.
Houston went 2-0 against Tennessee last season, and the Titans have not beaten their divisional foes since that week 17 victory in 2013.
All information provided via www.titansonline.com and espn.com. Stats provided via www.pro-football-reference.com.
