NASHVILLE — Marcus Mariota threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Corey Davis with 36 seconds left, and the Tennessee Titans rallied from a 16-point deficit to beat the Jets, 26-22, on Sunday.
The Titans (6-6) snapped a two-game skid to keep themselves on the fringes of the A.F.C. playoff chase.
The Jets (3-9) had one last chance, but Malcolm Butler intercepted Josh McCown’s pass with 21 seconds left. The Jets have lost six straight, with this latest loss leaving Coach Todd Bowles “fuming.”
“Dumb mistakes at dumb times cost us ballgames, and that’s why we’re in the position we’re in,” Bowles said.
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Mariota looked nothing like the quarterback who turned in the second-best single-game performance in N.F.L. history last week when he completed 95.7 percent of his passes in a loss at Houston. The home fans booed early and often as Jets cornerback Trumaine Johnson got his second interception of the season and ran it back 31 yards for an early touchdown and a 10-0 lead.
The interception ended a streak of five games without forcing a turnover, which tied a league record. The Jets also had three sacks of Mariota, who went 20 of 35 for 282 yards.
With Sam Darnold still limited with an injured foot, the 39-year-old McCown started his third straight game. He was 17 for 30 for only 128 yards as the Titans outgained the Jets, 403-280.
The Jets’ special teams picked up some of the slack. Kevin Pierre-Louis blocked a punt in the second quarter to set up the third of Jason Myers’s five field goals, giving the Jets a 16-0 lead with 2 minutes 51 seconds left in the half. Henry Anderson blocked Ryan Succop’s extra-point attempt after Anthony Firkser scored on a 12-yard catch with 52 seconds left. Then, Andre Roberts opened the third quarter with a 61-yard kickoff return.
The Jets led by 22-13 on Myers’s final field goal, a 39-yarder with 27 seconds left in the third quarter. McCown said having to kick field goals instead of scoring touchdowns was costly.
“You’ve got to get 7 points when you’re down there, and we didn’t do that. And yeah, if you do that too much in the N.F.L., it will come back to get you, and it certainly did us today.”
The Titans had first-and-goal on back-to-back drives in the fourth quarter, only to settle for two Succop field goals. The Titans forced the Jets to punt with 1:46 left and got the ball their 14.
Mariota threw for 220 yards in the second half. He also led the Titans with 43 yards rushing, including a 25-yard scramble on the winning drive where he recovered his own fumble at the end.
“Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good, and I got lucky,” Mariota said.
A face-mask penalty on Johnson during the play added to the end, and Mariota hit Firkser for 25 yards. Three plays later, he found Davis, who ran in for the touchdown and the Titans’ first lead of the game. It was the 12th game-winning drive of Mariota’s career and eighth since the start of the 2017 season.
“Marcus isn’t going to be the guy giving pep talks,” Titans Coach Mike Vrabel said. “He’s very calm, cool, collected. He takes control of the huddle, and you can see him in the most critical situations, he’s at his best.”
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