With the Titans' season on the line, backup quarterback Blaine Gabbert found third-string tight end MyCole Pruitt for the game-winning score.
No, this was not at all how Tennessee, a 10-point favorite, drew it up.
But the bottom line? The Titans, with their 25-16 come-from-behind win over the Redskins on Saturday at Nissan Stadium, still have a beating pulse in their push for January football.
Here are five things to know as Tennessee improved to 9-6 and clinched their straight winning season for the first time since moving to Nashville:
Marcus Mariota leaves with injury
For the third time this season, Marcus Mariota left a game early due to injury.
The Titans quarterback left the field late with a stinger in the first half after being sacked. He was labeled questionable to return initially before eventually being ruled out.
Mariota completed 10-of-13 passes for 110 yards before leaving with 48 seconds left in the second quarter. Three trainers attended to him on the field during a timeout before he left the field.
Backup Blaine Gabbert entered to finish the drive, which resulted in a field goal. Gabbert finished 7-of-11 passing for 101 yards and a touchdown.
Mariota also left games early against the Dolphins in Week 1 (with an ulnar nerve injury) and the Colts in Week 11 (with a stinger).
Defense does just enough
They had a 33-year-old in the backfield and a 32-year-old journeyman under center. Yet the Redskins were pretty effective offensively.
Washington had a few long, methodical scoring drives — including one that lasted 17 plays, 93 and over 10 minutes of clock — as they wore down a Titans' defense that last week pitched their first shutout in 18 seasons, smothering the Giants and Saquon Barkley in a dominating performance.
Still, when it mattered most, the Titans rose to the occassion. Kevin Byard's fourth interception of the season came late in the fourth quarter and helped seal the win. Malcolm Butler had a pick six to end the game with an exclamation point.
Defenisve tackle Jurrell Casey, named to his fourth straight Pro Bowl earlier in the week, hobbled off the field late with an injury.
Derrick Henry surges late
After two straight monstrous performances, Derrick Henry looked a bit more human on Saturday.
With the Redskins honing in on Henry, the third-year running back had only 84 rushing yards on 21 carries — this after rushing for a combined 408 yards over the previous two games. Still, when it mattered most, Henry was unstoppable yet again, running three straight times to take the Titans from the Washington 32-yard line all the way down to the 2 to set up the game-winning connection between Gabbert and Pruitt.
Henry also had a 1-yard rushing touchdown.
Ryan Succop off the mark
Essentially automatic on extra points for the duration of his career, Ryan Succop has suddenly been off.
By the start of Week 14, he was 304 of 309 on extra point attempts in his career. But since then he’s missed three, including the PAT that followed Derrick Henry’s 1-yard rushing score in the first quarter on Saturday.
Playoff hopes remain intact
The Titans refuse to die.
They still need the Ravens or Steelers to lose once more for their path to a wild cart spot to be in their control, but the win keeps them right in the hunt.
Tennessee hosts the Colts next week in what could be a winner-take-all scenario. Indy QB Andrew Luck is 10-0 in his career against the Titans.
Reach Erik Bacharach at [email protected] and on Twitter @ErikBacharach.
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