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NASHVILLE, Tennessee >> Tennessee quarterback Marcus Mariota needs a strong performance over a short week to help erase a tough performance of the Titans' home opener.
The graduate of Saint-Louis and the second choice in 2015 may be with his fourth offensive coordinator and his fifth interlocutor, but he too often seemed undecided. He held the ball too long by being fired four times. He missed the check-down options with wide open receivers. He was lucky that a Colts defender could not be intercepted.
The most costly mistakes were made in the fourth quarter of a 19-17 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. Mariota was sacked early, costing 7 yards, before Cairo Santos lost the lead in a 45-yard corner.
Then, with the quarter being paid $ 20.9 million on the option of his rookie contract, he had the ball with 67 seconds to play requiring an investment. However, Mariota managed to poke the ball in the third with 15 seconds to go and he could not connect to rookie A.J. Brown in fourth, sealing the loss.
"Thinking back, I should have played a different room instead of playing it, and that's all for me," said Mariota.
Coach Mike Vrabel said today that a lot of things are going into negative offensive games, that they will try to repair as quickly as possible. The Titans (1-1) go to Jacksonville on Thursday night, so Mariota and her team have a quick opportunity to get up.
"I'm looking forward to the challenge and we need to get one back," said Mariota.
WHAT WORKS
Defense Pass. The Titans, who placed sixth in 2018, limited the Colts to 121 passing yards for the smallest number of yards allowed in the air since their loss to Buffalo last season. They gave away 79 yards to the net on October 7, 2018 at the Bills in another match as they also lost.
WHAT NEED HELP?
The Titans converted 3 of 20 losses into third loss in two games; 13 were at least 10 meters or more.
"It's a tough sled," said Vrabel.
Better production in the first and second downs would give the Titans more options in the third down. However, Adam Humphries, their great signatory last March, managed only three catches for four yards. It has been signed to give them another slot option for throws underneath.
STORE
Derrick Henry. The big question about the winner of the 2015 Heisman Trophy was whether the half-offensive could start this season as he finished in 2018, racking up 625 yards in December for the best month by anyone in the NFL last season . That's what he did, ranked sixth in the NFL for the most rushing yards. He also averaged 4.9 yards per run with 165 yards rushing.
STOCK LOW
Mariota. There is a reason why the Titans have not signed it yet, because they need to see their quarterback take control of the offensive. Mariota was a perfect 6 of 6 in the second half of the Titans' opening win at Cleveland, with TD's two assists in the fourth quarter. In the last 15 minutes against the Colts, Mariota was 4 of 10 for 32 yards.
INJURED
GR Kevin Pamphile has now missed the first two games with an injured knee after winning the position. The Ben Jones Center was added to the injury report a few hours before the kickoff with an unspecified illness. Today's injury record featured 11 Titans, including Mariota (quad), for a visit after the hottest match of the franchise since 1999.
KEY NUMBER
8 – How many times has Mariota been sacked in two games after being sacked 42 times at the worst of his career last season. He missed three starts due to injuries.
NEXT STEPS
Hello Jacksonville? The Titans have won four straight games and six of their last seven games against the Jaguars, who will have rookie Gardner Minshew at quarterback.
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