Patriots clinch first-round bye with 33-16 win over Titans

Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota has left Sunday’s game against the New England Patriots with an apparent injury to his right knee.

Titans coach Mike Mularkey said it hasn’t been decided it Mariota will be shut down for the season. Zach Mettenberger threw two picks, but other than that played well, going 20 of 28 in relief of Mariota for 242 yards and two touchdowns. Mariota has already missed two games this year with a left knee injury.

The Titans return home from a two-game road trip with consecutive losses in a tough stretch with Sunday the only home game in the final month.

Mularkey said that Mariota would definitely be held out of this Sunday’s game against the Houston Texans, but would not say that the rookie quarterback’s season is over, holding out hope that he might return for the season finale against the Indianapolis Colts.

“I’ve been very blessed in my life to be surrounded by people that love and support me”, Brady said.

“To be 12-2 is a good record”.

Adrian Peterson missed some time because of an injury to his left ankle, but finished with 63 yards to maintain his National Football League rushing lead. “We’d score a lot of points that way”.

While the offense and special teams continue to battle through injuries and inconsistency, the Patriots defense continues to round into form and play like the most risky aspect of the team, which sounds insane considering that Brady and Rob Gronkowski are still around.

Chandler Jones’ two sacks today get him to 12.5 for the seasons, a career-high for Jones and the third-highest total in Patriots history. He fumbled the ball 10 times and was sacked 38 times.

“What guys won’t do for years, he’s had in his rookie year”, Mularkey said of Mariota.

Despite ripping off a big play or making a smart decision every time he touches the ball, the Patriots simply refuse to give White a larger role in their offense, and that is baffling to me.

Hopefully Mariota is able to put the knee injuries behind him and return at full strength next season, as he is one of the most exciting quarterbacks in the league to watch. He burned the Jacksonville Jaguars for an 87-yard touchdown earlier this month. That victory, combined with a 34-27 Denver Broncos loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers later in the day, means the Patriots have clinched a first-round bye for this season’s AFC playoffs. His two touchdowns an impressive 87-yard touchdown run. It would require the Titans winning their remaining two games, and the 49ers losing their remaining two games.