It was Mariota’s first game back after suffering an injury from a low hit from Olivier Vernon of the Miami Dolphins.
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Finding a replacement at wide receiver seems to be the bigger priority for the Titans right now, as they have just three healthy wideouts in Harry Douglas, Dorial Green-Beckham and Rico Richardson.
Rookie quarterback Marcus Mariota went 16-for-24 for 185 yards and one interception, and for just the second game all year failed to complete a touchdown pass. But Mariota’s largely played well and even excelled at times despite the lack of a running game behind him.
Even with the loss of veteran cornerback Jason McCourty for the rest of the season, this team showed on Sunday that although they will miss his leadership on and off the field, they have been able to survive in the secondary.
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WR Kendall Wright (knee) is testing his sprained MCL out this week to see if he can return after missing two games because of it. The Titans are short-handed at receiver after Justin Hunter’s severe ankle injury.
Thursday’s game represents a homecoming of sorts for Mularkey, who coached the Jaguars in 2012 but was sacked after going 2-14 his lone season in Jacksonville. The Titans are hopeful that Perrish Cox could be back this week after sitting out with a hamstring injury Sunday vs. the Panthers. Eliminate those two games, and the Jags are 3-4 with losses to the Colts, Buccaneers, Texans and Jets.
The Titans might also be without Blidi Wreh-Wilson, who has been battling a hamstring injury and exited Sunday’s game against the Panthers.
“We’ve got to do a few things practice-wise”, Mularkey said.
The second open roster spot won’t automatically be used for a cornerback, Mularkey said.
Also, Mularkey said defensive tackle Al Woods would miss at least a couple of games due to a high ankle sprain suffered in Sunday’s game.
Jacksonville already has as many wins as the entire 2014 season, but the team has bigger goals of making the playoffs. Defensively, the Titans yield 217.5 yards in passing and 111.5 yards in rushing.
Hunter finished the season with 22 catches for 264 yards and one touchdown.
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-RUN DEFENSE: C. Jonathan Stewart had a workmanlike 91 yards on the day and Newton added 23 more on the ground, but all in all, it wasn’t the worst performance against the run, considering the Panthers are the league’s top rushing team.
