The Tennessee Titans were in control and driving to add more points to a 15-3 lead over the Jacksonville Jaguars when disaster struck to give the Jaguars life. On a routine running play, Marcus Mariota and Derrick Henry ran into each other, fumbling the ball straight in the air.
Marcus Mariota, Derrick Henry’s exchange shot straight into the air to gift the Jaguars a hilarious fumble-6
Luckily for the Titans, the play didn’t come back to haunt them.
It was scooped up by Jaguars defensive end Yannick Ngakoue, who returned it 67 yards for a touchdown that cut the score to 15-10.
That’s not exactly what head coach Mike Mularkey had in mind when he designed an exotic smashmouth offense.
The Jaguars have lived off of forcing mistakes in 2017. Ngakoue’s touchdown is the seventh defensive score of the season for Jacksonville, the most for any team since the 2013 Chiefs.
For the Titans, the touchdown almost turned out to be catastrophic. It gave the Jaguars an opportunity to drive for a winning score, but the Tennessee defense continued to have a great day and earned a final stop when it needed to.
Mariota put the game on ice with one last first down that included a brutal stiff arm of Jaguars safety Barry Church.
Thanks to the huge mistake, their postseason hopes came down to the wire. But with a win Sunday, Tennessee clinched a playoff spot and kept the season alive.
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