Every NFL team has their fair share of weird moments and the Tennessee Titans are no exception to this. From the entire Tennessee Oilers saga to the Music City Miracle, fans have been both tormented and treated to some quirky memories.
Arguably the weirdest moment in Titans history, however, took place in the 2017 season, more specifically the playoffs of that season. The Titans made it into the postseason as a wild card squad after finishing the 2017 season with a 9-7 record. Their reward for clinching a playoff spot was a date with the AFC West champion Kansas City Chiefs in the wild card round.
Most people were calling for a Chiefs blowout win and no one could really blame those people for feeling that way. The Chiefs, on paper, looked like a much paper team than the Mike Mularkey-led Titans, who limped into the playoffs more than anything, going 1-3 in their final four regular-season games.
Those people also looked like they'd be correct when the Chiefs led 21-3 at half time and made the Titans look downright bad in the first half of play. Well, those same people probably were left dumbfounded when the Titans slowly but surely started getting themselves back in the game.
Kicking off the eventual comeback win over the Chiefs was when the strangest moment in Titans history took place. With the ball on the Chiefs' 6-yard line, Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota took off running with the football. When he didn't feel he could run it into the end zone, he fired the ball to who knows where on what should have been an interception.
Instead, the ball was deflected right back into Mariota's arms. The Titans quarterback kept running and eventually plowed his way into the end zone for a touchdown, making it a 21-10 Chiefs lead and capping off one of the weirdest plays we've ever seen. If you didn't watch the game and just looked at the recap, you'd see "Marcus Mariota 6 yard pass from Marcus Mariota" and probably be quite confused but it happened.
Not only did it happen but it sparked what would eventually be a wild comeback for the Titans, who went on to win the game 22-21. After only scoring three points in the first half, they tacked on 19 more in the second half, which was enough to win the game after the Chiefs offense stalled in the second half.
While the Titans went on to get obliterated by the New England Patriots in the AFC Divisional Round the next week, they weren't even supposed to be in that game in the first place. They were supposed to get blasted by the Chiefs and not sniff the next round.
Even with the comeback win, Mularkey was fired at season's end. You know this was a bad loss for the Chiefs when the head coach on the team that eventually came back to beat them was let go even after helping lead that kind of come-from-behind victory.
There have been plenty of weird moments in Titans history but the Mariota touchdown pass to himself in a playoff game that sparked an eventual come-from-behind win has to be considered the most bizarre moment for this organization. Everything about that game was weird but the fact that the pass should have picked off, was deflected instead right back into the arms of Mariota who managed to get into the end zone made this contest a no brainer.