Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) went 28 for 39, for 371 yards and 4 touchdowns against the New Orleans Saints at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans November 8, 2015. File photo by AJ Sisco/UPI |
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Taking advantage of two short fields and one clutch drive Sunday, the Tennessee Titans edged the Baltimore Ravens 23-20 at Nissan Stadium to remain in a tie for first place in the AFC South.
Tennessee (5-3) overcame a mostly unproductive offense that managed just one first down in its first four possessions of the second half. But its defense carried the load in the second half, allowing just a 3-yard touchdown pass from Joe Flacco to Javorius Allen with 8:56 left in the game.
That was the first touchdown against the Titans' defense in 10 quarters, dating back to the second quarter of their 36-22 win over Indianapolis on Oct. 16.
But Tennessee's offense came through with a 75-yard scoring drive. Marcus Mariota supplied the clinching touchdown on a 10-yard pass to Eric Decker with 3:58 remaining.
Mariota completed 19 of 28 passes for 218 yards and a pair of scores with an interception as the Titans matched Jacksonville atop the division.
The teams swapped field goals on their first possession of the game. Ryan Succop hit from 48 yards for Tennessee, his 56th straight conversion inside 50 yards, and Justin Tucker drilled a 30-yarder for Baltimore (4-5).
Mariota put the Titans ahead for good with 1:04 left in the first quarter, finding Rishard Matthews for a 16-yard touchdown pass. It came three plays after safety Kevin Byard's 33-yard interception return of a tipped deep pass, Byard's fourth pick in two games.
After Tucker hit from 49 yards with 9:56 remaining in the half to cut the Tennessee lead to 10-6, Derrick Henry made it 16-6 at the 2:24 mark on a 1-yard run. The score came after a 26-yard drive set up by a shanked 17-yard punt from Sam Koch.
Flacco hit Mike Wallace for a 1-yard touchdown pass with 46 seconds left in the game to pull the Ravens within three, but Daren Bates recovered an onside kick to seal the outcome.
Flacco connected on 34 of 52 passes for 261 yards and two scores to go along with two interceptions, both by Byard.
NOTES: Tennessee LG Quinton Spain (toe) was inactive and replaced by Brian Schwenke, who started his first game of the year. ... Other inactives for the Titans were QB Brandon Weeden, WR Darius Jennings, CB Kalan Reed, DB Curtis Riley, LB Nate Palmer and DE David King. ... Baltimore inactives were WR Michael Campanaro, RB Terrance West, S Chuck Clark, OLB Tim Williams, G Maurquice Shakir, TE Nick Boyle and DE Bronson Kaufusi.
