ATLANTA – Marcus Mariota and the Tennessee Titans enjoyed a surge in confidence after returning to .500 and a share of the AFC South lead.
For Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons, there is only frustration and despair at the bottom of the NFC South standings, though they’ve yet to play a division game this season.
Mariota threw three first-half touchdown passes, two to A.J. Brown, and Tennessee’s defense made three fourth-down stops in a 24-10 win against the Falcons on Sunday.
The Titans (2-2) used Mariota’s big first half on offense and strong play on the other side of the ball to snap a two-game losing streak.
“If we can continue to get better and ascend, we’ll like where we are at the end of the year,” said Mariota, who completed 18 of 27 passes for 227 yards against Atlanta and has not thrown an interception this season.
Derrick Henry ran for 100 yards to keep Tennessee’s offense balanced.
The Falcons, held to only a field goal in the second half, were unable to maintain drives despite Ryan’s 397 passing yards in the game.
“We’re a quarter way through the season,” Ryan said, “and we have not played to our standard, that’s for sure.”
Ito Smith’s 1-yard touchdown run in the first quarter pulled the Falcons (1-3) even at 7-all, but Tennessee outscored Atlanta 17-0 the remainder of the half. Special teams took a hit when Matt Bryant, usually automatic from 32 yards, hit the left upright near the end of the second quarter.
The Falcons jogged toward the locker room at halftime to heavy boos from the home crowd.
“It’s part of it,” Ryan said. “When you’re playing poorly, you’re not giving them much to cheer about. You get it. We want to give them something to get loud about. To make those plays and get this place rocking – we didn’t do that today. We’ve got to find a way to make plays to get the energy in the building going.”
The Falcons announced that 72,108 tickets were distributed, but Mercedes-Benz Stadium didn’t look half full at any point during the game. Atlanta fans who stayed away didn’t miss much, other than mounting pressure on Dan Quinn.
He is in his fifth year as coach of the Falcons, and although in the 2016 season he led the franchise to only its second Super Bowl berth, Atlanta went 7-9 last season after starting 1-4.
“It is a tough loss, and we’re as disappointed as our fans are,” Quinn said. “You better believe we’re going to look at everything. When you’re sitting at 1-3, you want to make sure you’re finding the answers.”
Atlanta running back Devonta Freeman, who was held to 28 yards on 12 carries, was stopped by Jurrell Casey on a fourth-and-1 run in the second quarter, and Ryan was sacked on fourth down twice in the second half.
“Those are like turnovers, especially when they’re behind,” Titans coach Mike Vrabel said. “They were going to be going for it and they were aggressive. I thought our guys responded really well.”
Mariota faced growing criticism after managing only one touchdown pass in two straight division losses, 19-17 to the Indianapolis Colts and 20-7 to the Jacksonville Jaguars, but he enjoyed a resurgence against the Falcons. On Tennessee’s second possession, Mariota threw a 55-yard touchdown pass to Brown, who beat Desmond Trufant and then outran Kemal Ishmael and Deion Jones.
Brown beat Trufant again for an 11-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter. Mariota’s 23-yard touchdown pass to Corey Davis late in the half followed the fourth-and-1 stop by Casey on Freeman’s run.
With the game tied early, Mariota completed a third-and-15 pass over the middle to Corey Davis for 16 yards. The play kept alive the drive that finished with Brown’s second scoring catch, giving the Titans the lead they would never lose.
“It was a huge momentum shift and something that really got us going,” Mariota said.
Davis had five catches for 91 yards, Brown had three for 94 and Mariota praised the protection provided by his offensive line after he was not sacked. It was a dramatic turnaround after Tennessee allowed 17 sacks in its first three games.
“Those guys up front did a great job,” he said.
The Falcons have been outscored 65-10 in the first half of their three losses.
“I wish I had a clear answer to that, but the fact is that’s the truth,” Quinn said. ” I addressed that last week, but we obviously still have work to do.”
Ryan had another early turnover, fumbling on a sack by Casey late in the first quarter to set up a Tennessee field goal and put the Falcons in a 17-7 hole. The miscue dropped Atlanta to minus-5 in turnover differential this season.
“We’re working on it,” Ryan said. “That’s for sure. It’s been a big point of emphasis. That was a good play by them on the turnover today. It happens sometimes in the pocket. I felt like I had two hands on it trying to move, and (he) just swiped it. I’ve got to find a way to clean that up. Go down quicker or get it out quicker.”
Bryant was good from 42 yards to cap the Falcons’ opening drive of the second half, but not much went right for the offense. Freeman gained just 28 yards on 12 carries, and the Falcons whiffed on their last three fourth-down chances.
Falcons tight end Austin Hooper had nine catches for 130 yards, and Mohamed Sanu added nine for 91, but star receiver Julio Jones was held to four for 52.
“We can practice as good as we want to,” defensive tackle Grady Jarrett said. “We’ve got to win the game. That’s the business that we’re in. We’ve got to put a good product on the field. We’ve got to find a way to get some wins. It’s unfortunate that we’re coming out on the wrong end of it in some games, but I feel like we still have a lot ahead of us.”
Injury notes
Falcons right guard Jamon Brown (concussion) left in the first quarter and did not return. The line took another loss when center Alex Mack left with a left elbow injury in the third, though he returned later in the quarter with the elbow heavily wrapped. Tennessee outside linebacker Cameron Wake (hamstring) and Falcons cornerback Blidi Wreh-Wilson (groin) were injured in the fourth.