NASHVILLE – The Titans were looking for a spark this week when they made a quarterback change.
It's safe to say they got one.
Along with an incredible finish on Sunday.
Ryan Tannehill started at quarterback for the Titans, and he played well, throwing for over 312 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the team's wild 23-20 win over the Los Angeles Chargers.
"Ryan, he was leading in the huddle – he had a lot of confidence," receiver A.J. Brown said of Tannehill. "After every play, he was saying something positive, trying to keep us going no matter what.
"He was a general today."
Tannehill connected on touchdown tosses to receivers Corey Davis and Tajae Sharpe in the contest.
He found Sharpe open in the back of the end zone for a five-yard touchdown to give the Titans a 16-10 lead with 13:11 left in the contest, which capped a 14-play, 85-yard drive.
Earlier, Tannehill connected with Davis for an eight-yard touchdown pass, which capped an eight-play, 86-yard drive.
Tannehill engineered another seven-play, 75-yard drive that was capped off with an 11-yard touchdown run by running back Derrick Henry.
On the day, Tannehill completed 23-of-29 passes for 312 yards and the two touchdown passes. He was sacked just twice, and his passer rating was 120.1 on the day. Davis (6 catches, 80 yards), Brown (6-64), Sharpe (2-19) and Adam Humphries (4-40) all made big catches, along with tight ends Jonnu Smith (3-64) and Anthony Firkser (1-27).
Titans coach Mike Vrabel said he was looking for a spark when opting to start Tannehill in place of quarterback Marcus Mariota. The Titans compiled 403 yards of offense and 22 first downs on Sunday against the Chargers – a week after managing just 11 first downs in a shutout loss to the Broncos last week.
"I think everybody probably played better, at all positions," Vrabel said. "I thought (Ryan) was efficient."
Tannehill, who joined the Titans in March via trade after spending his first seven seasons with the Miami Dolphins, said he was happy to do his part.
"I'm really proud of the way the guys played," he said.
After the game, Tannehill also praised Mariota, and how he handled the events of the week, and the day.
"Marcus has been huge throughout this whole process," Tannehill said. "He was great all week, just communicating throughout meetings and on the practice field. It is a tough situation. I feel for him and I empathize with him. But he has been a true professional throughout this whole process and he was totally supportive on the sideline today, supporting me when I came off the field.
"I can't say enough about Marcus and how he has handling this as a professional, and guys still look at him on this team. He has been here a long time and is a captain for us. He is still a big factor on this team."
