NASHVILLE, Tenn. –The Tennessee Titans (2-11) dropped their seventh straight game Sunday in a 36-7 loss to the New York Giants (4-9) at LP Field.
The Tennessee Titans take the field for a 2014 Week 14 game against the New York Giants at LP Field. (Photos: Donn Jones, AP)
The game started with the Odell Beckham Jr. show and finished with Andre Williams sealing the win for the Giants. Beckham finished with 11 catches for 130 yards and a touchdown with Williams carrying the ball 24 times for 131 yards and one touchdown. The win snapped New York's seven-game losing streak.
Zach Mettenberger threw for 125 yards and one interception before aggravating his right shoulder sprain in the fourth quarter. The rookie QB was under siege all game long, being sacked five times. Jake Locker came in and was sacked an additional three times. Locker finished the game with 81 passing yards, 28 rushing yards and one interception on 9-of-11 passing.
With the Titans trailing 30-0 in the third quarter, rookie defensive back Marqueston Huff got the Titans on the board, intercepting Eli Manning and returning it 23 yards for a touchdown. Both the interception and the touchdown were career firsts for Huff.
Manning completed 26-of-42 passes for 260 yards, one touchdown and one interception on the day.
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Storyline Statistics**
Total Net Yards – TEN: 207 NYG: 402
Rushing Yards – TEN: 61 NYG: 142
Time of Possession – TEN: 25:17 NYG: 34:43
Third Down Efficiency – TEN: 2-13 (15%) NYG: 8-18 (15%)
Turnovers – TEN: 3 NYG: 1
Sunday Milestones
• Marqueston Huff recorded his first career NFL interception and touchdown on a pick six of Eli Manning in the third quarter.
• With six punts against the Giants, Brett Kern now has more than 400 for his career (402).
Review of the Five Things to Watch
1. Start Fast
The Titans struggled out of the gate again, falling behind 23-0 going into the locker room at halftime. It wasn't until the Giants were up 30-0 when the Titans finally got on the scoreboard with Huff's pick six.
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- Establish/Maintain a Running Game**
An early deficit is never a way to get a ground game going, and try as they might, the Titans managed just 61 yards rushing against the Giants. Locker's 28 yards on two attempts led the Titans, while Bishop Sankey gained 25 yards on nine attempts.
3. Force Bad Eli Manning
Manning had plenty of time to throw on a majority of his drop backs Sunday. The Titans failed to record a single sack for the second consecutive game. Tennessee did hit Manning five times with Jurrell Casey accounting for three of the five hits.
4. Contain Odell Beckham Jr.
Tennessee's defense saw early and often why the Giants stud rookie has been so hyped this season. In the first quarter alone, Beckham caught six passes for 98 yards and one touchdown. Beckham was relatively quiet for the remainder of the contest, finishing with 11 catches for 130 yards and the one score.
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- Inactive List**
The Titans sorely missed Kendall Wright against the Giants as the team had as many quarterbacks active as they did wide receivers. Nate Washington, Derek Hagan and Kris Durham were the only active receivers, with Dexter McCluster also lining up outside on occasion. Hagan led the team with 62 yards on six catches. Durham's three catches for 30 yards were his first as a Titan.
Both tackles were also absent on Sunday as Taylor Lewan and Michael Oher missed their second straight games. Backup right tackle Byron Stingily also left the game with an ankle injury leaving third string tackle Terren Jones to anchor the right side of the line. Jones was just signed this week from Baltimore's practice squad.
Tennessee will hope to have either Lewan or Oher back in the lineup next week against the Jets, but that's far from a certainty.
