OAKLAND, Calif. – The way the Tennessee Titans are rolling behind quarterback Ryan Tannehill, an early interception proved to be an easy obstacle to overcome.
Tannehill threw for 391 yards and three touchdowns, and Derrick Henry ran for two scores as the Titans won their fourth straight game by beating the Oakland Raiders 42-21 on Sunday.
“Every time we touched it, we felt like we were going to score,” Tannehill said. “It was just a belief of everyone in the huddle – the run game was going, guys were making plays outside. We had belief in each other.”
That’s the way it has been ever since Tannehill replaced Marcus Mariota as the team’s starting quarterback after Week 6. The Titans (8-5) have won six of seven games since then to move into a tie first place in the AFC South Division standings with the Houston Texans, who lost 38-24 to the Denver Broncos on Sunday. Tennessee has two games in the final three weeks against the Texans.
Tennessee scored touchdowns on five of its next seven possessions after the interception to run away from the Raiders (6-7) and make sure there was no slip-up before hosting Houston next Sunday. The Titans are second in the NFL in scoring with Tannehill at quarterback at 31.4 points per game.
“I just told the team we don’t work as long as we work in practice and prepare just to win eight games,” Titans coach Mike Vrabel said. “We don’t. That’s the reality of this business.”
Tennessee broke open a tight game with a three-touchdown barrage in a span of just more than seven minutes of the second half that all but ended the playoff hopes for the Raiders in their final season in Oakland before moving to Las Vegas.
Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry pushes past Oakland Raiders free safety Erik Harris during Sunday’s game in Oakland, Calif. / AP Photo by Ben MargotHenry, who rushed for 103 yards, broke a 21-all tie with a 10-yard run midway through the third quarter to cap an 89-yard touchdown drive.
The Raiders then went three-and-out on their next series, and Tannehill easily drove Tennessee 84 yards for a 35-21 lead on a 17-yard pass to Jonnu Smith.
“When we’re going three-and-out and not picking up first downs and going down and scoring points, it’s tough,” guard Richie Incognito said. “The offense put the defense and the rest of the team in a tough position to start that second half, and they just exploded on us.”
The boo birds then came out in the second-to-last game at the Coliseum when Darren Waller fumbled a catch after a hit by Tye Hill and Jayon Brown returned it 46 yards.
Tennessee outscored Oakland 21-0 in the second half and has a league-best plus-59 point differential in the second half over the past five weeks.
“We just have to keep it rolling. The offense is firing on all cylinders right now,” Titans tackle Jack Conklin said. “That’s the goal for us every week: Come in and wear down a team.”
What had been a promising season for the Raiders with a three-game winning streak in November that improved them to 6-4 has gone off the rails the past three weeks. They lost by 31 points in successive road games against the New York Jets and the AFC West rival Kansas City Chiefs, then fell apart in the second half against Tennessee.
This marked just the second time in franchise history the Raiders dropped three in a row by at least 21 points, having also done it in 2012.
“We did put ourselves in position to make a run and we didn’t do it,” Oakland quarterback Derek Carr said. “It’s just as simple as that.”
Tannehill threw two touchdown passes in the first half to rookie A.J. Brown – including a 91-yarder that is the longest pass play in Tennessee history – who finished with five catches for 153 yards.
Tennessee finished with 552 yards of total offense, the franchise’s second most since the merger in 1970. They had 563 in a 27-10 win over Kansas City on Dec. 16, 1990, when they were still the Houston Oilers.
Henry also had a 12-yard touchdown run in the first quarter and has eight touchdown runs in his past five games to give him 13 this season. He joined Earl Campbell as the only players in franchise history with back-to-back seasons of at least 12 touchdown runs. Campbell did it three straight years (1978-80) for the Oilers.
The Titans missed a chance to break a 21-21 tie when Ryan Succop hit the left upright from 42 yards out on the final play of the first half. Tennessee has missed nine field goals this season, one shy of the Dallas Cowboys for the most in the NFL.