NASHVILLE – The chants began with two minutes to play, the Tennessee Titans holding tightly to a 15-10 lead over the Jacksonville Jaguars inside Nissan Stadium.
“Marcus, Marcus, Marcus!” screamed the semifrozen faithful toward their third-year quarterback, Marcus Mariota, after a 13-yard gain delivered the home team the last first down it would need to clinch its first playoff berth since the 2008 season.
“Marcus, Marcus, Marcus!”
It was third-and-5 when he began that scramble around left end from the Tennessee 44 to the Jacksonville 43. At that point, nothing was certain. These were the Titans, after all, losers of three straight entering this meat locker of an afternoon, the temperature only 23 degrees at kickoff, soon to grow much colder.
Their no-nonsense leader, Mike Mularkey, had never been to the playoffs, despite concluding his fifth season as an NFL head coach, including his second full one with the Titans.