Marcus Mariota’s game-winning touchdown gave the Titans hope again

The Titans have systemic problems. It’s a team playing under a different head coach than it had just last week. Tennessee reshuffled its offensive line and it performed surprisingly well against the Saints on Sunday, not relinquishing a sack. The defense didn’t show the same immediate improvement and even committed some rather silly mistakes, but one thing at a time. They won!

The Titans earned their second win of the season by coming back from eight points down in the fourth quarter to force overtime. That’s the biggest thing at this moment, and the fact that they won largely because of rookie quarterback Marcus Mariota’s brilliance should fill the suffering fan base with a lot of hope.

Mariota was brilliant coming off a two-game absence due to a knee injury. He completed 28 of 39 passes for 371 yards and four touchdowns. The dual-threat quarterback didn’t need to do anything on the ground. He complemented his big game with just five yards rushing on one carry. Mostly, he spent the game putting the football exactly where it needed to be for his pass catchers.

He was perfect on the final drive. The Titans needed just one possession to drive the stake in the Saints. Mariota went 5-of-5 for 78 yards and one dagger -- a well-executed throwback pass for the game-winning score.

They weren’t all that easy, but Mariota executed anyway. The easy criticisms of Mariota after college concerned his arm and his mental fortitude playing for an Oregon team that lost its most crucial games (a petty criticism for a program that was very, very good when Mariota was a part of it). He was both accurate and clutch against what had been a streaking Saints team.

This isn’t a meaningful season for the Titans in terms of on-field success. They’re not going to the playoffs barring a miraculous run. But Mariota torched the Saints like a quarterback beyond his years. That in itself may be reason enough for Titans fans to feel good about this season and the future.