Titans Fall to Eagles 43-24 in Philadelphia

Nov 23, 2014 at 08:28 AM

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Zach Mettenberger passed for a career-high 345 yards and two touchdowns and Delanie Walker had one of his best days as a pro, but the Titans ran into trouble from the opening kickoff and never fully recovered in a 43-24 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.

Josh Huff returned the opening kickoff 107 yards and LeSean McCoy rushed for 130 yards and a score, dropping the Titans to 2-9 on the season.

"That's not the way you want to start the game off," Titans coach Ken Whisenhunt said.

The Eagles sacked Mettenberger five times, including 2 1/2 by Connor Barwin and two for Trent Cole. Delanie Walker caught five passes for a career-high 155 yards for the Titans, the second highest total by a tight end in franchise history.

Mettenberger's 345 passing yards set a new single-game franchise record among rookie passers, breaking the previous mark set by Jacky Lee, who passed for 331 yards against the Boston Patriots on Nov. 25, 1960. The total was also the most by a rookie QB in 2014, passing the previous high set by Jacksonville's Blake Bortles (336 yards) at Tennessee on Oct. 12.

The Titans, who didn't allow any sacks in last week's loss against the Steelers, could never sustain a serious rally against an Eagles defense that swarmed Mettenberger. Tennessee got within six in the second quarter on a 40-yard touchdown pass from Mettenberger to Justin Hunter and Shonn Greene's two-yard touchdown run, then watched the Eagles (8-3) pull away and put a a 53-20 loss at Green Bay behind them.

"This is a pressure team. They bring it after you," Whisenhunt said.

The Titans have lost five straight games and nine of 10 after beating Kansas City in the season opener. Up next, at Houston against a Texans team that beat them 30-16 on Oct. 26.

"It's not looking real good for us for the playoffs," Mettenberger said. "It's about pride. The work is there. The extra time put in is there. We just can't seem to get everything going at once."

Walker's return after a one-game absence from a concussion suffered against Baltimore was one of the highlights for the Titans.

"It was a good day, just to have a concussion and come back to do what I did," he said. "But I'm not really happy about it."

After the first of four straight three-and-outs to start the game by the Titans, the Eagles went up 14-0 on a 4-yard TD run by Darren Sproles.

LeSean McCoy had a 2-yard TD run in the second quarter. Mark Sanchez, who threw for 307 yards and one touchdown in his third start for the injured Nick Foles, fired a 14-yard TD pass to James Casey in the third quarter.

The Titans didn't get a first down until Mettenberger's 40-yard TD pass to Hunter on their fifth offensive series. Brandon Ghee intercepted Sanchez at the Eagles 30 to set up the score that cut it to 17-7.

Mettenberger tossed a 68-yard pass to Walker to start the next drive to set up Greene's 2-yard TD run, cutting the deficit to 20-14.

Cody Parkey kicked field goals of 36, 26, 35, 40 and 50 yards but his 49-yard attempt hit the post at the end of the first half to snap his successful streak at 17.

Walker said the first four series hurt the Titans.

"It was a big killer," he said. "Their crowd was into it, they were jumping around very excited. When you get that type of momentum at your home field, it can go a long way, which it today."

The Eagles beat the team once known as the Houston Oilers for the first time in the Titans era. They were 0-4 against them after their move from Houston to Tennessee.

"We just weren't able to protect the ball like we wanted to," Mettenberger said. "We needed more points, more first downs."

NOTES: The Eagles are the first team since the Packers in 1970 to have two players with kickoff returns of 100-plus yards in the same season. Chris Polk had one for 102 yards in Week 3 vs. Washington. ... The 10 touchdowns on special teams and defense are a franchise-record for the Eagles. ... Mettenberger's 345 yards passing a rookie franchise record. ... Sanchez was intercepted twice and has six picks in four games. ... Donovan McNabb, Michael Vick and Nick Foles also had three straight 300-yard passing games for Philadelphia. ... Eagles LB Emmanuel Acho injured his groin chasing Walker on the long catch and didn't return. ... Titans C Brian Schwenke caught a batted pass for a 6-yard gain before he fumbled it away. ... Eagles Barwin has a career-best 12 1/2 sacks. ... Parkey broke a team record with his fourth 50-plus yarder in a season.

1 / 123

2 / 123

3 / 123

4 / 123

5 / 123

6 / 123

7 / 123

8 / 123

9 / 123

10 / 123

11 / 123

12 / 123

13 / 123

14 / 123

15 / 123

16 / 123

17 / 123

18 / 123

19 / 123

20 / 123

21 / 123

22 / 123

23 / 123

24 / 123

25 / 123

26 / 123

27 / 123

28 / 123

29 / 123

30 / 123

31 / 123

32 / 123

33 / 123

34 / 123

35 / 123

36 / 123

37 / 123

38 / 123

39 / 123

40 / 123

41 / 123

42 / 123

43 / 123

44 / 123

45 / 123

46 / 123

47 / 123

48 / 123

49 / 123

50 / 123

51 / 123

52 / 123

53 / 123

54 / 123

55 / 123

56 / 123

57 / 123

58 / 123

59 / 123

60 / 123

61 / 123

62 / 123

63 / 123

64 / 123

65 / 123

66 / 123

67 / 123

68 / 123

69 / 123

70 / 123

71 / 123

72 / 123

73 / 123

74 / 123

75 / 123

76 / 123

77 / 123

78 / 123

79 / 123

80 / 123

81 / 123

82 / 123

83 / 123

84 / 123

85 / 123

86 / 123

87 / 123

88 / 123

89 / 123

90 / 123

91 / 123

92 / 123

93 / 123

94 / 123

95 / 123

96 / 123

97 / 123

98 / 123

99 / 123

100 / 123

101 / 123

102 / 123

103 / 123

104 / 123

105 / 123

106 / 123

107 / 123

108 / 123

109 / 123

110 / 123

111 / 123

112 / 123

113 / 123

114 / 123

115 / 123

116 / 123

117 / 123

118 / 123

119 / 123

120 / 123

121 / 123

122 / 123

123 / 123

Advertising

This Ad will close in 3

Related Content

news

Who Will the Titans Pick? Ninth Tour of the Mock Drafts, Ten Days Before the NFL Draft

Let's take our ninth tour of the mocks, and a look at what 30 draft analysts think the Titans will do.

news

Weekend Mailbag: Jim Wyatt Answers Questions From Titans Fans

Senior Writer and Editor Jim Wyatt tackles another batch of questions from Titans fans at the end of the first week of the team's offseason program.

news

Titans Acquire Tackle Leroy Watson in Trade With Browns

The Titans traded a 2024 seventh-round pick (#227) to Cleveland to acquire Watson, who played in seven games for the Browns in 2023, with no starts.

news

Titans Discussing Every Possible Scenario Leading Up to NFL Draft

This time in two weeks, the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft will be in the books. And, barring a trade, the Titans will have their most coveted pick in the fold.

news

Tennessee Titans Expand Interscholastic Girls Flag Football League to Hamilton County Schools in East Tennessee

The league is an expansion of the Titans' effort to bring girls flag football to the state of Tennessee after successful seasons in Williamson County, Metro Nashville Public Schools, and Clarksville-Montgomery County Schools in Middle Tennessee.