NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP/CLARKSVILLENOW) — Marcus Mariota tossed a 7-yard touchdown pass to DeMarco Murray with 36 seconds left , and the Tennessee Titans rallied to beat the Cincinnati Bengals 24-20 Sunday for their fourth consecutive victory.
It’s the longest winning streak for the Titans (6-3) since winning five straight in 2009, and it’s their best start to a season since 2008 when the Titans last reached the playoffs as the AFC’s No. 1 seed.
Murray ran for two touchdowns, and Mariota finished with 264 yards passing.
The Bengals (3-6) lost for the third time in four games despite sacking Mariota four times. They started with three defensive starters scratched and lost a fourth when linebacker Vontaze Burfict was ejected in the second quarter after pushing the arm of an official.
Cincinnati took its only lead at 20-17 on a 70-yard TD pass from Andy Dalton to A.J. Green with 5:03 left, but the Bengals couldn’t stop the Titans, who drove 73 yards for the winning TD. They had one last chance. On their final play, Dalton threw deep only to have Titans safety Kevin Byard knock the ball down.
Titans kicker Ryan Succop’s NFL record streak of successful field goals finally came to an end at 56 straight after his first attempt. He missed wide right on a 48-yarder midway through the second quarter. Succop came into the game having easily topped the previous NFL mark of 46 consecutive field goals inside the 50 that had previously been set by Matt Bryant of Atlanta between 2013 and 2015.
It was Succop’s first miss from inside 50 yards since Sept. 21, 2014, in a loss at Cincinnati. The Titans kicker came into this game 21 of 23 on field goals. Succop connected from 44 yards for a 17-13 halftime lead.
The Titans travel to Pittsburgh on Thursday.