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Game Notes: Titans vs. Lions

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MARIOTA MAGIC: Second-year quarterback Marcus Mariota attempted 33 passes against the Lions, completing 25 of them for 238 yards with one interception and two fourth-quarter touchdown passes.  His passer rating for the game was 102.8, marking the fourth time in his career with a passer rating of 100 or above; the Titans have won all four.  In the fourth quarter, Mariota was 11-of-13 for 107 yards, two touchdowns and a 140.5 passer rating.  On the game-winning drive, he completed all nine of his attempts for 74 yards and a touchdown.

MARIOTA'S COMPLETION PERCENTAGE:  Marcus Mariota's 75.8 percent completion rate at Detroit (25 of 33) was the second-highest of his career and his highest since his first NFL game, an 86.7-percent performance (13 of 15) at Tampa Bay on Sept. 13, 2015.
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FOURTH-QUARTER COMEBACK: The win against the Lions was the third time in 14 career starts in which quarterback Marcus Mariota has led a game-winning drive in the fourth quarter or overtime. The previous two came as a rookie in 2015, when he led the Titans to fourth-quarter comeback victories on Nov. 8 at New Orleans and Dec. 6 against Jacksonville.

ROAD WARRIOR: In seven career road games, Marcus Mariota has completed 133 of 204 passes for 1,612 yards with 12 touchdowns and two interceptions.  His passer rating on the road is 104.9.

GAME-WINNING SCORE INSIDE TWO MINUTES: Marcus Mariota's 13-play, 83-yard drive, culminating with a nine-yard touchdown pass to Andre Johnson, marked the first time since Nov. 24, 2013 at Oakland (Ryan Fitzpatrick touchdown pass to Kendall Wright) that the Titans scored the game-winning points in the final two minutes of regulation.

DOUBLE-DIGIT COMEBACK IN FOURTH QUARTER:  For the fourth time in the "Titans era" (1999-present) and for the first time since 2006, the Titans won a game after trailing by 10 or more points entering the fourth quarter.  They trailed 15-3 to begin the fourth quarter at Detroit.  Previously, the Titans overcame double-digit deficits in the fourth quarter to win at Jacksonville on Sept. 26, 1999 (10-point deficit), against Philadelphia on Sept. 8, 2002 (11), and against the New York Giants on Nov. 26, 2006 (21).

FIVE STRAIGHT AGAINST THE LIONS:  The Titans' 15-14 victory over the Lions was their fifth consecutive win over the Lions, dating back to 2001.  In the "Titans era" (1999-present), they have never lost to the Lions.

ONE-POINT WIN: The Titans' 16-15 victory marked the 11th time in the franchise's 57-year history the team won a regular-season game by one point and the first time since a 35-34 win at Buffalo on Oct. 21, 2012.  They have one additional one-point win in the playoffs.

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MARIOTA AND WALKER CONNECT ON TD:**  Early in the fourth quarter, tight end Delanie Walker reached the end zone on a 30-yard pass from Marcus Mariota.  It was Walker's 25th career touchdown reception (first of 2016) and Mariota's 22nd career touchdown pass (third of 2016).

WALKER TIES CASPER: With Delanie Walker's touchdown reception in the fourth quarter, his 17th as a member of the Titans, he tied Dave Casper for fourth place on franchise's touchdown receptions list among tight ends.

JOHNSON COMES UP BIG IN CRUNCHTIME: For the 69th time in his career and his first time in a Titans uniform, 14-year veteran wide receiver Andre Johnson caught a touchdown pass.  On fourth-and-four with less than two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, he caught the game-winning, nine-yard touchdown pass from Marcus Mariota.  It marked the third time in Johnson's career to catch the game-winning touchdown pass in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter or in overtime (Oct. 17, 2010 vs. Kansas City and Nov. 18, 2012 against Jacksonville).

MOST SCRIMMAGE YARDS BY A TITAN SINCE 2013: Running back DeMarco Murray led the Titans with 89 rushing yards on 12 attempts (7.4 avg.).  He added a team-high seven receptions for 56 yards, including a critical 22-yard catch during the game-winning drive in the fourth quarter.  Murray's 145 scrimmage yards were the most by a Titans running back since Chris Johnson totaled 170 scrimmage yards (150 rushing, 20 receiving) at St. Louis on Nov. 3, 2013.    

MURRAY'S RUN SECOND-LONGEST OF CAREER:  In the second quarter, DeMarco Murray recorded the second-longest run of his career, taking a handoff and racing 67 yards.  It was his longest run since a 91-yarder against the Rams on Oct. 23, 1011.  The run was the Titans' second-longest run since the beginning of the 2013 season, trailing only Marcus Mariota's 87-yard run last year (vs. Jacksonville on Dec. 6, 2015).

DEFENSE LIMITING SCORING: In the first two games of 2016, the Titans defensive unit has allowed a total of one touchdown, a 24-yard touchdown pass by the Lions in the first quarter.  Opponents have scored three total touchdowns this season, but two of those were scored by the Vikings defense in Week 1.  Without the 16 points credited to opposing defenses (including extra points and a safety), the Titans defense has allowed six field goals and one touchdown for a total of 25 points.  The last time the Titans defense allowed only one touchdown by opposing offenses through two weeks was 2010.
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LEBEAU'S HOMECOMING:  For the ninth time as a coach in the NFL, Dick LeBeau returned to Detroit, where he spent the entirety of his Pro Football Hall of Fame playing career.  The 79-year-old is now 18-2 all-time against Detroit as an NFL coach, including a 9-0 mark as a coordinator or head coach.

COX SEALS WIN WITH INTERCEPTION:  With the Lions driving to try and win the game in the final minute of the fourth quarter, cornerback Perrish Cox ended the drama by picking off a pass by Matthew Stafford.  The interception was the eighth of Cox's career and his second as a member of the Titans.

TWO SACKS BY ORAKPO: In the third quarter, outside linebacker Brian Orakpo took Matthew Stafford down for a one-yard loss.  Late in the fourth quarter, Orakpo added a nine-yard sack against Stafford, giving him 49 sacks in his career.  Orakpo now has 10 career games with at least two sacks.

FIRST CAREER SACK FOR DODD: On the final play of the first half, rookie outside linebacker Kevin Dodd tallied his first career sack, taking down Matthew Stafford for a six-yard loss.   Dodd, a second-round pick and the 33rd overall selection in the draft, also recorded his first career start.

KLUG RECORDS SACK: In the fourth quarter, defensive end Karl Klug sacked Matthew Stafford for a six-yard loss, giving him 19.5 career sacks.  

PENALTIES BY AN OPPONENT: The 17 penalties enforced against the Lions tied for second all-time by a Titans/Oilers opponent.  The record was set by the Philadelphia Eagles, who had 19 penalties against the Oilers on Oct. 2, 1988.  There were two other occasions in which an opponent had 17 penalties: the Oakland Raiders on Sept. 7, 1963 and the Raiders again on Sept. 7, 2003. The 138 penalty yards by the Lions ranked as the fifth-highest total by a Titans/Oilers opponent.

KERN, RIGGS MAKE A PLAY ON SPECIAL TEAMS: In the second quarter, punter Brett Kern and gunner Cody Riggs combined for an impressive play on special teams.  From the Detroit 38-yard line, Kern punted 37 yards, with Riggs snaring the ball in the air at the one-yard line to pin the Lions.

SUCCOP KEEPS STREAK ALIVE: With a 46-yard field goal in the second quarter, Ryan Succop extended his streak to 19 consecutive successful field goals from inside 50 yards, dating back to 2014.

INACTIVES: The seven inactive Titans were wide receiver Kendall Wright, cornerback LeShaun Sims, tight end Jace Amaro, outside linebacker Derrick Morgan, defensive lineman Austin Johnson and guards Josh Kline and Sebastian Tretola.  Wright (hamstring) and Morgan (hamstring) were listed on the injury report leading up to the game.

The Tennessee Titans take on the Detroit Lions in Week 2 action at Ford Field. (Photos: Donn Jones, AP)

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