Marcus Mariota caught his own touchdown pass, and Titans came back to beat the Chiefs because of it

Marcus Mariota scored a touchdown in the Titans’ Wild Card Game with the Chiefs by throwing the ball to himself. Really.

Mariota escaped pressure and couldn’t find an open receiver. He rolled to his left, and the Chiefs’ defense collapsed in to stop him short of the goal. Mariota targeted a receiver in the end zone, but the ball was deflected by the Chiefs and bounced right back to him. So Mariota ran and dove over the pylon for the score.

This is a completely legal play. Just part of Mariota’s foot is behind the line of scrimmage, but that’s all it takes.

As the official explained it, Mariota was sufficiently behind the line of scrimmage and he took the snap in shotgun, so he’s an eligible receiver. That last part isn’t actually true. Because a Chiefs player touched the ball, any Titans player on the field is suddenly an eligible receiver, including Mariota.

It’s been over two decades since this has happened in an NFL game.

Jon Gruden even pulled up the highlight of Johnson’s play on his cell phone.

It’s the second weird rule that worked in the Titans’ favor in this game. Mariota fumbled during a big sack in the first half, but it couldn’t be reviewed because the refs called forward progress.

The score cut the Chiefs’ lead to 21-10 and was the catalyst for another epic home team failure in Kansas City. A muffed Tennessee punt return gave Andy Reid’s team the chance to put another nail in the Titans’ coffin, but instead resulted in a missed field goal and nine net yards for the visitors.

Tennessee took the ensuing drive 62 yards in six plays to cut the KC lead to 21-16 and give fans a reason to be nervous. Another Kansas City punt only exacerbated those concerns. Mariota, who had struggled early in the day, was buoyed by Derrick Henry, the hard-rushing sophomore tailback who churned out yards after contact in the Kansas City cold. The pair pushed the Titans 80 yards in 5:09, a long drive culminating in a 22-yard touchdown strike to Eric Decker.

Tennessee’s inability to cap those drives with two-point conversions left the team unable to extend its lead, giving Alex Smith another shot to lead the Chiefs back to a dramatic win. Instead, he flailed in the pocket, forcing a turnover on downs as the two-minute warning approached and dealing a serious blow to his team’s chances.

But then, a miracle seemed to deliver the Chiefs from two decades of playoff futility. Derrick Johnson returned a Henry fumble 56 yards for a tide-shifting touchdown, only to have the play ripped away on review. Two plays later, Mariota threw a game-clinching block as Henry rumbled forward for the game’s final first down.

What this means for the Chiefs: Kansas City hasn’t won a playoff game at home since Joe Montana was the team’s quarterback. Andy Reid is now 1-4 with the Chiefs in the postseason.