Nashville, TN – Behind the arm of quarterback Marcus Mariota, the Tennessee Titans overcame a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter for just the fourth time in the Titans era—and first time since 2006—to defeat the Detroit Lions 16-15 at Ford Field and move to 1-1 on the season.
The Detroit defense controlled the game from early in the first quarter, when Lions defensive end Devin Taylor tackled running back DeMarco Murray in the end zone for a safety.
Mariota was also intercepted by Lions safety Glover Quin on a long pass in the third quarter to thwart another scoring attempt by the Titans.
In the first three stanzas, Tennessee’s lone points came on a 46-yard field goal by Ryan Succop.
Both sides were heavily penalized—29 flags between the teams—and the Lions offense saw three of its touchdowns nullified by offensive infractions. Despite those setbacks, Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford directed his team down the field for points four times, including a 24-yard touchdown to wide receiver Anquan Boldin in the first quarter.
However, Detroit began to see its lead slip when Mariota found tight end Delanie Walker for a 30-yard strike on the first play of the fourth quarter. After forcing the Lions to punt on back-to-back drives, the Titans regained possession trailing 15-10 with 7:04 to play.
Mariota then orchestrated a 13-play, 83-yard drive, targeting wide receiver Andre Johnson in the end zone on fourth-and-four for the nine-yard, game-winning score.
With 1:13 remaining, the Lions were not finished yet. As Stafford set out to negate the Titans’ comeback drive, cornerback Perrish Cox jumped the route of a Lions receiver, intercepting the ball and sealing the first Titans win of the 2016 season.
Box Score
Titans 16, Lions 15
2016 Week 2 | Sunday, September 18th, 2016 | 12:00pm CT | Ford Field
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Tennessee | 0 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 16 |
| Detroit | 9 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 15 |
