MARCUS MARIOTA PASSED for 270 yards and two touchdowns as the Tennessee Titans recorded their most impressive win of the season by beating the Jacksonville Jaguars 36-22 in a NFL South Division contest.
DeMarco Murray also ran for 123 yards for the Titans who led 3-0 before breaking Thursday’s contest open with 24 unanswered points in the second quarter in front of a crowd of 61,600 in Nashville.
Mariota ended his home troubles by completing 18 of 22 passes and no interceptions as the Titans outgained the Jaguars 494 yards to 370.
It was a rare home win for Mariota, who improved to 3-8 at Nissan Stadium.
Tennessee moved a half-game behind the first place Houston Texans in the AFC South Division.
The loss puts more pressure on Jaguars coach Gus Bradley, who dropped to 14-41 in his fourth season. Jacksonville fell to a record of 2-5 after beginning the season with high expectations due to a roster overhaul.
Jacksonville’s Blake Bortles completed 33-of-54 passes for 337 yards and three touchdowns.
Jacksonville finally got on the scoreboard when Bortles threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Julius Thomas on the first possession of the second half.
Bortles ran in the two-point conversion, narrowing the deficit to 27-8.
Tennessee countered with a 75-yard drive of its own on the next possession. Mariota threw a four-yard touchdown pass to Rishard Matthews, giving the Titans a 33-8 lead with 6:53 left in the third quarter.
Ryan Succop then kicked a 36-yard field goal to pad the Titan’s lead to 36-8 early in the fourth quarter.
Bortles threw a five-yard touchdown pass to Allen Hurns and then a seven-yard strike to Bryan Walters in the final minutes.
(C) AFP 2016
