The Titans welcomed the New England Patriots to town, and then sent them packing with a dominating performance.
The Titans won 34-10 on Sunday at Nissan Stadium in a game they never trailed. They took control early, and never looked back.
Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota completed 16-of-24 passes for 228 yards and two touchdowns in the game, and posted a passer rating of 125.0.
Titans receiver Corey Davis caught seven passes for 125 yards in the contest, and running back Derrick Henry ran for two touchdowns as the Titans pulled away.
The Titans (5-4) have now won two straight heading into next Sunday’s game at Indianapolis.
Patriots quarterback Tom Brady completed 21-of-41 passes for 254 yards in the game before being replaced late by back-up Brian Hoyer.
Return man Darius Jennings started the game with a bang, returning the opening kickoff 58 yards to put the Titans in good field position, at the New England 40.
Seven plays later, Mariota connected with tight end Jonnu Smith for a four-yard touchdown pass to give the Titans a 7-0 lead with 11:29 left in the first quarter. The Patriots cut the lead to 7-3 on a 52-yard field goal by kicker Stephen Gostkowski.
The Titans stretched the lead to 14-3 on a beautifully thrown, 23-yard touchdown pass from Mariota to Davis, which capped off a nine-play, 78-yard drive. The Titans then made it 17-3 on a 33-yard field goal by kicker Ryan Succop.
The Patriots cut the lead to 17-10 on a one-yard touchdown run by fullback James Develin.
But the Titans gained some momentum back before halftime, as Henry scored on a one-yard touchdown run with 1:09 left in the second quarter to make it 24-10. Henry’s run capped off an eight-play, 37-yard drive that included a big third down catch to tight end Anthony Firkser.
On defense, the Titans pressured Brady, and made him look uncomfortable in the first half.
The Titans stretched their lead to 27-10 on a 31-yard field goal, which came with 4:15 left in the third quarter.
Then came another scoring drive for the Titans, which was capped off by another run by Henry – this one from 10 yards, from the Wildcat. It made it 34-10 with 7:13 left, and sent a bunch of Patriots fans headed to the exits.
The Titans have now beaten both participants in last year’s Super Bowl after earlier defeating the Philadelphia Eagles.
