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Titans-Texans Game Notes

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MARIOTA'S COMPLETION PERCENTAGE SECOND IN NFL HISTORY: Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota completed 22 of 23 passes for 303 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. His completion rate of 95.7 percent set a franchise record and was the second-highest single-game completion percentage in NFL history (minimum 20 attempts). Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers set the all-time NFL record the day before Mariota's performance at Houston, completing 96.6 percent of his passes (28 of 29) for the Arizona Cardinals against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Nov. 25. The previous NFL record holder was Kurt Warner, who completed 92.3 percent of his passes against Arizona on Sept. 20, 2009 (24 of 26). Mariota broke the franchise record held by former Oilers signal caller Chris Chandler, who completed 88.5 percent of his passes (23 of 26) at Cincinnati on Sept. 24, 1995.  

NINETEEN CONSECUTIVE COMPLETIONS: Marcus Mariota completed his first 19 passes in the game at Houston, going until late in the fourth quarter before throwing an incompletion on his 20th attempt. Since the beginning of the 1997 season, no Titans/Oilers quarterback has completed as many consecutive passes in a game as Mariota did against the Texans. Mariota's 15 consecutive completions against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sept. 30 set the previous benchmark for the franchise in that period. Mariota's 19 consecutive completions to start the game at Houston nearly doubled the previous high for the franchise since 1997. His 10 consecutive completions to begin the game against the Green Bay Packers on Nov. 13, 2016 and Steve McNair's 10 consecutive completions to begin the game against the New England Patriots on Sept. 20, 1998 tied for the previous high since 1997. 

FIRST HALF COMPLETIONS: Marcus Mariota completed all 12 of his passing attempts in the first half for 157 yards. He became the first Titans/Oilers player since the beginning of the 1991 season to attempt at least six passes without an incompletion in the first half.   

MARIOTA'S PASSER RATING: Marcus Mariota's passer rating against the Texans was 147.7, giving him his third-highest career passer rating with at least 20 attempts and the fourth-highest single-game passer rating in franchise history. It was his highest passer rating since a 149.8 passer rating against Green Bay on Nov. 13, 2016, which is his career high, followed by a 148.1 passer rating against Jacksonville on Oct. 27, 2016.  In his first NFL game (Sept. 13, 2015 at Tampa Bay), he had a perfect 158.3 passer rating, but his 15 attempts were shy of the 20-attempt qualifier in the team and NFL record books.     

THIRD-LONGEST PASS FOR MARIOTA: Marcus Mariota's 61-yard touchdown pass to Jonnu Smith in the first quarter was the third-longest career pass for Mariota and his longest of 2018.   He added a 48-yard touchdown pass to Corey Davis in the third quarter. It was his 23rd career game with at least two touchdown passes and his first performance with at least two passes of 45 or more yards.

EIGHTH 300-YARD GAME: With 303 passing yards, Marcus Mariota recorded his eighth career 300-yard passing game and his second of 2018 (344 vs. Philadelphia on Sept. 30).

MARIOTA TAKES OVER FIRST PLACE IN CAREER PASSING CATEGORIES: On his 10th pass of the game, which occurred in the second quarter, Marcus Mariota qualified for a pair of the franchise's all-time records. On that throw, Mariota reached 1,500 career passing attempts, the benchmark to qualify for NFL and team passing records in career completion percentage and career passer rating, among other categories. Including his numbers at Houston, Mariota has 1,513 attempts, 955 completions, 11,362 yards, 67 touchdowns and 40 interceptions in his career. With a 63.1 completion percentage, he took over first place for the franchise ahead of Steve McNair (59.5). With a career passer rating of 89.7, Mariota passed McNair (83.3) for the franchise's all-time lead in that category as well. Mariota also went ahead of Warren Moon (7.4 yards per attempt) as the franchise leader in passing average with a rate of 7.5 yards per attempt and moved in front of McNair for the best interception percentage in franchise history at 2.6 percent (McNair 2.7 percent). Mariota's 4.4 touchdown percentage ranks second only to George Blanda (5.9) in team annals.

BIG NIGHT FOR DAVIS: Second-year wide receiver Corey Davis led the team with 96 yards on four receptions, including a touchdown. It was the third-highest single-game receiving yardage total of his career. In the third quarter, he caught a 48-yard touchdown pass from Marcus Mariota to record his third touchdown of 2018 and the second-longest reception of his career. Davis also took a reverse and raced 39 yards for a career-long rushing attempt in the second quarter. His 135 scrimmage yards in the game made up the second-highest total of his career (161 vs. Philadelphia on Sept. 30, 2018).

DAVIS HITS 1,000: On a 19-yard catch in the first quarter, Corey Davis reached the 1,000-yard receiving mark for his career. In 21 career games, the former fifth-overall draft choice has 83 receptions for 1,077 yards and three touchdowns. 

HUGE PLAY FOR SMITH: In the first quarter, tight end Jonnu Smith recorded a 61-yard touchdown reception to set a new career long. Smith's catch surpassed his previous long of 32 yards at Jacksonville on Sept. 17, 2017. He finished the game with a career-high 63 yards on two receptions, eclipsing his previous single-game career high of 45 receiving yards against New England two weeks earlier (Nov. 11).

FIRKSER SETS HIGHS: First-year tight end Anthony Firkser set new career highs with four receptions and 52 receiving yards.   

LEWIS ESTABLISHES CAREER SEASON RECEIVING HIGH: Running back Dion Lewis registered a team-high seven receptions for 33 yards against the Texans. In getting to 43 receptions in 2018, he set a new personal high for catches in a season, topping his previous high of 36 receptions in 2015. Additionally, Lewis hit the 1,000-yard receiving mark for his career. The seventh-year veteran's career totals include 131 receptions for 128 yards. 

FOUR SACKS: The Titans sacked Deshaun Watson a total of four times, recording their fourth game of 2018 with at least four sacks.   

SACK BY BROWN AND MORGAN: In the first quarter, inside linebacker Jayon Brown and outside linebacker Derrick Morgan dropped Deshaun Watson for an 11-yard loss. Brown increased his team lead to five sacks in 2018 (6.5 career sacks), while Morgan tallied his first half-sack of 2018 (44.5 career sacks).   

VACCARO RECORDS SECOND SACK: Safety Kenny Vaccaro sacked Deshaun Watson for no gain in the first quarter, giving him two sacks in 2018 and 9.5 sacks in his six-year NFL career. Vaccaro has only had two or more sacks in one previous season (three in 2015).  

ORAKPO AND LANDRY SPLIT A SACK: In the third quarter, outside linebackers Brian Orakpo and Harold Landry III took down Deshaun Watson for an eight-yard loss. Orakpo brought his 2018 total to 1.5 sacks, which gave him 66.5 sacks in his 10-year NFL career. Landry, the team's second-round pick in 2018, has 2.5 sacks as a rookie. 

CASEY REACHES FOUR SACKS AGAIN: In the fourth quarter, defensive tackle Jurrell Casey sacked Deshaun Watson for a 10-yard loss. Casey reached 4.5 sack in 2018, hitting the four-sack mark for the sixth consecutive season. He now has 43.5 sacks in his eight-year career.   

KERN PASSES ROOS: With his 149th game with the Titans, punter Brett Kern passed Michael Roos (148) for 11th place on the franchise's all-time games played list.

BIG PUNTS: Brett Kern punted six times for a 49.7-yard gross average and a 43.5-yard net average. His night included punts of 59 and 53 yards in the second quarter and 55 yards in the fourth quarter. 

OPENING DRIVE SCORE: The Titans took the opening kickoff and marched 62 yards on six plays for a 31-yard field goal. It marked the Titans' sixth game in 2018 with a score on their first series (four field goals, two touchdowns).  

INACTIVES: The Titans' inactive list included wide receiver Taywan Taylor, defensive back Dane Cruikshank, running back David Fluellen, running back Dalyn Dawkins, guard Aaron Stinnie, tackle Tyler Marz and defensive end Matt Dickerson. Taylor (foot), Cruikshank (knee) and Fluellen (knee) were listed on the injury report prior to the contest.

The Tennessee Titans get set to take on the Houston Texans in Week 12 of the 2018 season on Monday, Nov. 26, 2018 at NRG Stadium. (Photos: Donn Jones, AP, Talha Khawaja, Jorge Luna)

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