A week after winning in Detroit on a game-winning touchdown drive in the final minutes, the Titans had another opportunity Sunday. But this time the plays (and calls) that so often define the difference between winning and losing in the NFL went against them.
Here are my five takeaways from Sunday's 17-10 loss to the Raiders that dropped the Titans to 1-2 on the season.
1. Penalties Proved Costly
Trailing by seven with under 2:00 to go, the Titans tried to create some more late game magic with four consecutive completions after starting the drive from their own 20. The final one saw Tajae Sharpe take the ball down to the Raiders 3-yard line before he was stood up by tacklers. That's when Taylor Lewan came flying into the pile. Officials flagged the Titans' left tackle for unnecessary roughness, so instead of having the ball first and goal at the 3, the team was backed up to first and 10 at the 18.
Two plays later, it appeared Andre Johnson would again be the hero, but his apparent game-tying touchdown catch was waved off by a rare offensive pass interference play. There was also contact on the Titans' final play, a fourth down incompletion intended for Harry Douglas, but no penalty was called on the play.
I am probably in the minority of people in Tennessee in this belief, but I actually think the officials got all three calls right. Lewan's penalty was foolish; a faux hustle play that has no real benefit, but does have a high risk of a penalty. I think officials could've let the Johnson OPI call go, but by the letter of the law when he extended his left arm, made contact and the defensive back fell over it's a penalty. The final play to Douglas appeared to be incidental contact on a ball that may or may not have been catchable.
If you want to complain, I think it's about the consistency of calls. Johnson was flagged for contact on a 50/50 judgment call while Douglas didn't get the benefit of the doubt when contact affected his chance to make a play. It's unfortunate that both calls went against the Titans.
But undisciplined football teams don't get the benefit of the doubt, and right now that's what the Titans are.
Tennessee has been called for 20 penalties over the past two games, including eight in Sunday's loss. That's too many for a team with such a slim margin for error.
Mike Mularkey has made penalties an emphasis since taking over as the team's head coach. In practice, he makes an offender flagged for a penalty stand and watch as the rest of his unit has to do push-ups. It's supposed to promote team wide accountability, but so far that discipline hasn't shown up in games.
2. Mariota Struggles
Marcus Mariota is this team's franchise player, I have no doubt about that. He's done so many positive things in just 14 NFL starts with minimal help from his supporting cast.
But turnovers are becoming a growing concern. The 2015 no. 2 overall pick has six turnovers in three games, including three in Sunday's loss.
In week one, he threw a game-changing pick six and had a catastrophic fumble returned for a touchdown that basically handed the Vikings a win in a game the Titans largely controlled.
Mariota is fully capable of running an NFL offense effectively, and even dynamically, but right now he's trying to do too much.
You can't win an NFL game in one play, but you can lose one. Right now, Mariota just needs to go back to the basics and protect the football. If he does that, he and the Titans will be fine.
3. Smashmouth Is Still A Work In Progress
The Titans produced their best running game of the year against the Raiders, rushing for a season-high 181 yards. DeMarco Murray became the team's first running back since Chris Johnson in 2013 to rush for 100 yards in a game, running for 114 yards.
Murray even seemed to pick up speed in the second half, gashing the Raiders defense for more than seven yards per carry. That's exactly what the Titans want to do, run the football and wear down opposing defenses in the second half.
The only question is why didn't we see even more of it? Murray had just 16 carries and Derrick Henry only had 10. 26 carries isn't enough when you're averaging six yards per carry, especially when the passing game is struggling.
And that's the thing; the Titans have to run the football. The receiving corps continues to struggle to get separation and make plays, which means Mariota is having to force balls into spots where interceptions are possible. The more effective the Titans running game can be, the more it opens up the passing game and takes the pressure off Mariota to be perfect.
4. Don't Blame the Defense
The Titans held the NFL's best offense to 17 points and more than 100 yards below their season average Sunday. They shut the Raiders out in the second half.
Yes, there were a couple blown assignments and missed tackles on both of the Oakland's touchdowns, but that's a good effort against an explosive team.
In fact, the defense has been the reason the Titans have had a chance to win this year, allowing just three touchdowns in their three games. They didn't allow an offensive touchdown in the loss to Minnesota and have allowed just one field goal in the second half of the past two games.
If you take out the points scored against the team's offense, the Titans defense is allowing just 14 points per game. That should be good enough to win in the NFL.
Yet the Titans are just 1-2.
5. Homefield Disadvantage
There was another large contingent of visiting fans at Nissan Stadium Sunday. The familiar silver and black of the Raiders painting downtown much of the weekend and helping to fill the stands.
It's become a familiar sight as fans from visiting teams come to Nashville for a weekend of fun and gobble up tickets to the game.
And, unless they're from Jacksonville, they've been leaving town with a victory as a souvenir.
The Titans have now lost 16 of their last 18 home games dating back to Mike Munchak's final game as the team's head coach in the 2013 season finale. The only two wins in that time came against the lowly Jaguars.
For the Titans to turn their fortunes around, they have to start by protecting their turf. Start winning at home and maybe the hometown fans will start to come back and keep some of those visitors in the bars on Broadway.
