Titans move closer to goal of storming the South with late win over Bengals

Wesley Woodyard’s response when told Tennessee now has its first four-game winning streak since 2009?

“Wow!” the Titans linebacker said with a disbelieving laugh.

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Such a fact speaks volumes about Tennessee’s failures in the previous seven seasons.

It also shows that the 2017 Titans may be primed to end a nine-year drought without a playoff appearance.

Another step in that direction was taken in Sunday’s 24-20 home win over Cincinnati.

This wasn’t a particularly pretty performance. The Titans enjoyed a 40:09 to 19:51 advantage in time of possession and allowed Cincinnati to convert only one of 10 third-down conversion attempts. Yet it took a seven-yard touchdown catch from quarterback Marcus Mariota to running back DeMarco Murray — his third score of the day — with 36 seconds remaining for Tennessee to secure the victory.

Counting wins against Cleveland (12-9 in overtime) and Baltimore (23-20), the Titans have now triumphed in three straight games decided by four points or less against opponents with a combined record of 7-20. Woodyard, though, isn’t complaining about the lack of blowouts – nor should he considering those squeakers have allowed Tennessee to keep pace with Jacksonville (6-3) atop the AFC South.

“We’re winning those close games that in the past we would lose because we weren’t playing sound football,” Woodyard told Sporting News in a telephone interview.

“Coach (Mike) Mularkey said it best: Good teams find ways to win. Bad teams find ways to lose.”

The axiom holds true for a Bengals squad that has now lost three of its past four games to move one step closer to postseason elimination for the second straight year. Cincinnati (3-6) beat itself as much as the Titans did with six of 12 penalties giving the Titans first downs.

And the personification of a team lacking discipline — linebacker Vontaze Burfict — was on display again.

Well, at least until midway through the second quarter. That’s when Burfict got ejected for touching an official following a play that ended out of bounds.

Burfict, who was flagged for unnecessary roughness two snaps earlier, sauntered off the field showing no signs of remorse for letting down his teammates while making the Johnny Manziel “money” gesture to fans at Nissan Stadium.

Why should he care? The Bengals rewarded him with a four-year, $38 million contract extension a few months ago even though Burfict’s immaturity and inability to play within the rules showed no sign of ending.

If team management wasn’t overly concerned by his antics then, why should Burfict worry besides losing a paycheck if the NFL suspends him again for this latest escapade?

“Vontaze is one of those guys who’s very chippy,” Woodyard said. “He loves the game and he’s one of my favorite guys to watch. Unfortunately, he has to know the NFL is going to be looking at him and the referees are going to be keying on him.

“We were all looking at the (replay) on the sideline and saying we didn’t know if something like that was a true personal foul with the way he pulled up (and made contact). But the refs are like that. You’ve got to be smart.”

Woodyard, who registered a team-high seven tackles, said Tennessee’s defense accomplished three of its four pre-game goals: Create turnovers (two), stop the run (53 yards on 14 carries), and harass quarterback Andy Dalton (a strip-sack by outside linebacker Brian Orakpo and two pressures).

The inability to complete the fourth one – not letting A.J. Green become a factor – almost proved disastrous. Green beat cornerback Logan Ryan on an inside slant and zipped through Tennessee’s secondary for a 70-yard score to give Cincinnati a 20-17 lead with 5:03 remaining.

Earlier in the quarter, the Titans squandered a chance to start putting the game away when rookie wide receiver Corey Davis fumbled out of bounds while trying to stick the football over the goal-line. The ensuing touchback “allowed (Cincinnati) to stick around,” Woodyard said.

To their credit, Tennessee’s offense rebounded and stuck it to Cincinnati on what proved the game-winning 12-play, 73-yard drive following Green’s touchdown. Mariota accounted for 63 of those yards both passing and rushing.

“We see things like that every week in practice so we know how good the guy is,” Woodyard said. “Any time the offense gets the ball back with a chance to score late, we’ve all got confidence he’s going to get the job done.

“Marcus is a great leader and he’s getting better every year. It’s going to take him for us to be successful because great teams revolve around great quarterbacks.”

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A gauge of how close the Titans are to greatness will come in Thursday night’s matchup with Pittsburgh. The Steelers (7-2) are the last team currently above .500 on Tennessee’s schedule until a Week 16 road game against the Los Angeles Rams followed by the season-finale at home versus Jacksonville. That showdown could very well determine the division champion.

“Our goal is to storm the South,” said Woodyard, echoing a Titans team mantra. “That’s what we’re heading out to do.”

Dispatching the Bengals helps the march continue.

Alex Marvez can be heard from 8 to 11 a.m. Monday and 7 to 10 p.m. Tuesday on SiriusXM NFL Radio.

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