MARCUS MARIOTA THREW two touchdown passes and rushed for another as the Tennessee Titans deepened the gloom surrounding the Dallas Cowboys with a 28-14 win.
Mariota finished with 240 passing yards as the Titans punished another stumbling performance by the Cowboys offense, who were subjected to boos throughout by frustrated home fans.
The victory saw Tennessee improve to 4-4 in the AFC South to remain in the hunt for a playoff spot.
Dallas’s hopes of a postseason berth are fading fast as they fell to 3-5 in the NFC East, with the loss piling pressure on coach Jason Garrett.
Once again, the Cowboys’ failure to convert red zone pressure into points proved costly, with the tone for another dismal showing set on an early drive which ended with a missed Brett Maher field goal.
The Cowboys did get another early crack at the Titans end zone soon afterward, however, when Mariota fumbled after being sacked on his 31-yard line and the Cowboys recovered the ball.
This time Dallas took advantage of their field position, with quarterback Dak Prescott finding Amari Cooper with a four-yard pass to send the former Oakland Raiders receiver over in the corner for the touchdown.
Dallas forced another golden opportunity on the next Tennessee drive, when Mariota fumbled at the 38-yard line and Jaylon Smith recovered.
Yet again Dallas failed to make it count as Prescott was picked off by Kevin Byard as he attempted to thread a pass through to Cooper at the back of the end zone.
The Titans then got on the board with Derrick Henry rumbling over from the one-yard line for the touchdown.
Dion Lewis’s 18-yard touchdown made it 14-7 before Dallas hit back just before half time with a 10-play, 78-yard drive which ended with Prescott passing to receiver Allen Hurns for a 23-yard touchdown to make it 14-14 at halftime.
That was the last Dallas score of the night however, and Tennessee regained the lead after a Prescott fumble set up another drive for Mariota, who found Jonnu Smith for the touchdown.
Mariota put the final nail in the coffin in the fourth quarter, scampering over from nine yards out to make it 28-14.
Subscribe to our new podcast, Heineken Rugby Weekly on The42, here:
