Titans shake off ugly start, rally to overcome Jets

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Marcus Mariota and the Tennessee Titans could not have started much uglier.

They sure showed they can finish.

Mariota threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Corey Davis with 36 seconds left, and the Tennessee Titans rallied from a 16-point deficit and beat the New York Jets 26-22 on Sunday.

The Titans (6-6) snapped a two-game skid to keep themselves on the fringes of the AFC playoff chase. Mariota, who had an interception returned for a touchdown in the first quarter, notched the 12th game-winning drive of his career and eighth since the start of the 2017 season.

“Marcus isn’t going to be the guy giving pep talks,” Titans coach Mike Vrabel said of his quarterback. “He’s very calm, cool, collected. He takes control of the huddle, and you can see him in the most critical situations he’s at his best. And so that’s great to see.”

The Jets (3-9) had one last chance to snap their own losing streak, but Malcolm Butler intercepted Josh McCown’s pass with 21 seconds left to seal Tennessee’s victory and the Jets’ collapse. New York now has lost six straight with this latest loss leaving Jets coach Todd Bowles “fuming.”

“Dumb mistakes at dumb times cost us ballgames, and that’s why we’re in the position we’re in,” Bowles said.

Mariota looked nothing like the quarterback who turned in the second-best single-game performance in NFL history last week completing 95.7 percent of his passes in a loss at Houston. Home fans booed early and often as Jets cornerback Trumaine Johnson got only his second interception this season and ran it back 31 yards for an early TD and a 10-0 lead.

It was the Jets’ first takeaway after the franchise tied a league record for futility for not forcing a turnover in five straight games. The Jets also sacked Mariota three times.