Titans’ running game wears out Broncos’ defense

Tennessee staves off late threat, stays tied for first in AFC South.

NASHVILLE, TENN. — A year ago, the Tennessee Titans lost their way in the race for the No. 1 overall draft pick. Now they find themselves tied atop the AFC South and coming off a very big upset of the defending Super Bowl champions.

DeMarco Murray ran for 92 yards and a touchdown, and the Titans held on to beat the Denver Broncos 13-10 and keep a piece of the lead in their division.

“We’re definitely a team that’s on the rise,” linebacker Brian Orakpo said.

With the win, the Titans (7-6) also climbed above .500 for the first time all season. They are tied atop the AFC South with Houston, a 22-17 winner over Indianapolis. Tennessee hosts Houston in the regular-season finale Jan. 1.

“All it does is just reconfirm what we’re doing, that we can play with anybody in this league,” Titans coach Mike Mularkey said.

The Titans came in with the NFL’s third-best rushing offense and the AFC’s top runner in Murray, and they ran right over a Denver defense that came in 28th in that c ategory. By halftime, the Titans led 13-0 having run 26 times for 138 yards — the second-most rushes by any team in the first half this season and most allowed in the first half by Denver since 2014.

Tennessee then had to hold on as Trevor Siemian tried to rally Denver (8-5) despite a sprained left foot that kept him out last week. He threw a 3-yard TD pass to Emmanuel Sanders with 9:58 left and drove the Broncos to first-and-goal at the Tennessee 7 before rookie Aaron Wallace sacked him.

Coach Gary Kubiak settled for a 34-yard field goal by Brandon McManus on fourth-and-goal at the 16 with 4:28 left.

Siemian was driving the Broncos again when A.J. Derby fumbled after a catch. Safety Daimion Stafford recovered with 53 seconds left.

“We had our chances down the stretch and we didn’t make the plays, but the start sure as heck didn’t help us,” Siemian said.

Siemian threw for 334 yards. Marcus Mariota, taken by Tennessee the second overall selection in 2015 after Tampa Bay drafted Jameis Winston, threw for only 88 yards for his worst game passing in his two-year career in a game he finished.

“We completed enough to win the game, and that’s all you can really ask for,” Mariota said.