- Titans were down 21-3 in the third quarter when Mariota launched comeback
- Threw a pass toward the endzone which was deflected back into his hands
- Mariota is only the second NFL quarterback to catch his own touchdown pass
- Titans beat the Chiefs 22-21 and will face either the Patriots or Steelers next
Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota has pulled off the nearly impossible in a come-from-behind playoffs victory by catching his own touchdown pass.
The Titans were down 21-3 in the third quarter of their away wildcard game against the Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday night when Mariota launched the comeback march by catching his own pass.
The Titans were at third and goal when Mariota thought he saw an opening and passed the ball toward the endzone, only to have it batted back toward him by a Chiefs cornerback Darrelle Revis.
Just inches over the line of scrimmage, Mariota was an eligible receiver by a hair’s breadth, and caught his own deflected pass legally before diving toward the corner pylon for a touchdown.
The Titans were down 21-3 in the third quarter of their away wildcard game against the Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday night when Mariota launched the comeback march
Mariota caught his own deflected pass before diving toward the corner pylon for a touchdown
Mariota leaps over the goal line for a touchdown after catching his own pass during the second half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game against Kansas City Chiefs
The play put the Titans on the march to a heart-stopping 22-21 win, stunning the teams fans.
It was the first time a player has thrown a touchdown pass to himself in the playoffs, and the first time in any game since the Vikings’ Brad Johnson during the 1997 season.
‘Right place, right time,’ Mariota said with a smile after the game.
‘Special,’ said Mariota, whose 205 yards passing included the go-ahead 22-yard strike to Eric Decker with six minutes left.
‘I’m part of a great team. I’m part of a group of guys that really believe in each other. And it’s something special,’ he said.
Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota celebrates with fans after the team’s NFL wild-card playoff win Saturday. ‘Right place, right time,’ he said of his TD pass to himself
Only two other road teams have rallied from at least 18 down to win a playoff game in NFL history.
The Cowboys came back from 21-3 in the first half to beat the 49ers 30-28 in December 1972, and the Lions came back from 27-7 in the second half to beat the 49ers in December 1957.
The Titans’ opponent in the divisional round will be decided Sunday.
If the Jaguars beat the Bills in their wild-card matchup, Tennessee heads to New England to face the No. 1 seed. If Buffalo wins, the Titans head to face No. 2 seed Pittsburgh.
