Titans Fall To Raiders At Home 24-21

Final. 21. 35. 24. 28

In a driving rain at Nissan Stadium on Sunday afternoon, the Tennessee Titans pushed the rock to the top of the hill once again, and once again, they could not push it over the top to get a win against the Oakland Raiders.

As the losses continue to pile up, so does the frustration and I think this entire team has become gun-shy. They expect to find a was to lose….especially at home.

This time it was the Dick LeBeau defense that cost the team a game. Marcus Mariota threw a touchdown pass to rookie fullback Jalston Fowler, and after Ryan Succop did his thing, the Titans led 21-17 with 4:41 left on the clock.

Derek Carr and The Raiders ran out of momentum deep in Titans territory and failed to convert on a fourth down desperation pass, and the flag on the field was the bad thing that had to happen.

They had flagged cornerback B.W. Webb for defensive pass holding.

Instead of a victory formation with Marcus Mariota downing the ball to run the clock out, The Raiders get a new set of downs and get their fifth win for the year.

"“Personally, I thought it was a terrible call,’’ Webb said."

“It’s very frustrating. I mean, you know we have found ways to lose,” Mularkey said. “We thought we finally found a way to win, to come back, put the drive together, put the ball in our defense’s hands. They do, they hold up. We should get the ball back. We felt like we had overcome something we haven’t and … the one call is the call. It changes the game, changes the outcome of the game. It’s frustrating, very frustrating.”

The Raiders left 1:21 on the clock after the Derek Carr to Seth Roberts touchdown and the Titans got an opportunity to move the ball into a game-tying field goal, but Kendall Wright fell down on his route in the driving rain and it resulted in Mariota’s second interception of the day.

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Interim mead coach Mike Mularkey defended his young quarterback, saying Marcus put the ball where he was supposed to, and Wright was not there to catch or defend it.

Mariota was 17 of 37 for 218 yards and three touchdowns in the loss, and was frustrated that the young team could not find a to win this game.

There were a lot of factors that played into the the Titans third loss since changing head coaches, and the 9th of the season, but not staying committed to the running game at times and not being able to convert third downs looked like the culprit to me.

Antonio Andrews ran the ball well when he had it in his hands, he carried the rock 11 times for 32 yards with rookie David Cobb tacking eight yards on three carries.

Along with Mariota running the ball once for seven yards and a first down, the Titans totaled 44 yards on the ground.

In the driving rain that started at halftime and continued throughout the afternoon, the Raiders rand the ball 30 times for 84 yards. They appeared to be more committed to the run and it opened up the game downfield. David Carr was 24 for 38 and 323 yards.

Even the announcing team on CBS pointed out that the Titans should run the ball more and use the play-action for big chunks. It worked for the Raiders.

Byron Bell said the young Titans need to keep the faith, and the wins will come.

“Everything in life is a process, and this is a process we have to go through. Everything is going to come out beautiful,’’ Bell said. “A butterfly don’t just happen. It has to go through a process and has to get in a cocoon and then come out beautiful.

Next: Brian Orakpo the comeback player of the year?

With both Indianapolis and Houston wining on Sunday, the playoffs are pretty much out of reach for the Titans, so maybe it’s time to start looking forward to the draft and offseason.

The clock is also running out for Mike Mularkey. He promised that the team would be tougher and he would improve the running game. Neither has happened and one has to think his time, like the season, is just about over!

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