NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Titans biggest dropoff from 2016 to 2017 was in the red zone.

During last year’s 9-7 campaign, they scored a touchdown on 36 of 50 red-zone trips for a tremendous .720 rate.

Through seven games this season, that had plummeted to seven of 17 for a .412 clip.

A good share of the bye week focus was on third down and red zone, and in wins over Baltimore and Cincinnati, the Titans scored six touchdowns in six chances.

That included three in three chances against the Bengals, who came into Sunday’s game as the NFL’s No. 1 defense.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – On first glance, it seemed Marcus Mariota let the ball go earlier than he typically would.

Up the right side, Corey Davis hadn’t turned yet. He didn’t turn to look for it until really late, but when he did he was remarkably able to collect it on super-short notice.

“That play, I don’t know if I’ve seen one like that,” Mike Mularkey said. “The anticipation by the quarterback and the receiver to be able to catch that was pretty impressive.”

Said Mariota: “It’s a big-time play. For him to keep his concentration and come down with it was huge.”

That was the highlight of the day for the Titans rookie receiver, playing in just his fourth NFL game, a 24-20 Titans in over the Bengals.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Titans 24, Bengals 20 edition of the ever-popular reaction to over-reaction file!

Called it. Looks like that first drive was all they practiced last week and now they’re just going to be lost for the rest of the game.

— Matt Lee (@mlee0427) November 12, 2017

PK: Called it. You were dead on. There they are in the standings, 5-4 after being lost for the rest of the game. Oh, wait, actually they won and they are 6-3.

Exactly...instead of putting the ball at risk to obtain an individual stat, your first priority has to be to protect possession for your team to set up the scoring chance.

— Billy Darks (@billy_darks) November 12, 2017

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The opening drive was wonderfully orchestrated. The finishing drive secured the win.

The offense the Titans played in between was patchy at best, including a dropped touchdown pass, a missed field goal, an interception, a fumbled touchdown pass and the sort of inconsistency that’s been a hallmark of the 2017 Titans.

The home team never trailed during its 24-20 win until A.J. Green’s 70-yard catch and dash for a touchdown with 5:03 left.

Marcus Mariota answered in franchise quarterback style, and he hit third read DeMarco Murray with a little dump off pass from 7-yards out and Murray fought his way in with a stretch to put the Titans ahead for good with his third score.

The Titans are 6-3, still a half game up on Jacksonville thanks to their head-to-head win. Tennessee faces a huge challenge with a Thursday night trip to Pittsburgh, looking to finish off a four-game AFC North run with a fifth consecutive victory.

As good as the last drive was, I want to focus here on the first one.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Adoree Jackosn played at least six snaps on offense Sunday, and he was a threatening presence who gained 30 yards on three touches in a 24-20 win.

Sure, Mike Mularkey and Terry Robiskie should use all the weapons at their disposal, Even with the biggest contribution yet for Jackson, the Titans needed late heroics in order to win a game where they should have crushed it based on a 416-308 net yard advantage and 40:09 to 19:51 edge in time of possession.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. –  Call it to close, call it ugly, call it lucky.

It’s all accurate.

But there was something that felt different about this one at the end, where the Titans found a winning drive and put up the winning score with 36 seconds left against a top-flight red zone defense.

Titans 24, Bengals 20.

I said last week you should expect a zig-zagging team, and the Titans delivered that again while winning a fourth consecutive game sof the first time since 2009.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Welcome to the weekly mailbag, where we cover a lot of ground, not just one item like you will find in some mailbags.

@PaulKuharskyNFL Do you think fans would be more excited about the #titans if Mariota were having a better statistical year? #pkmail

— The General (@mac9nj) November 11, 2017

Is fantasy football causing fans to be overly critical of player stats, particularly QB stats? #pkmail

— Angry Viking (@angriviking) November 10, 2017

PK: Yes, but this is a fan problem, not a team problem. If you’re a fan of a team you need to remain conscious of where fantasy football ends and real football starts. He’s hardly played his best and his stats aren’t impressive. And they’re 5-3. I think his best football this season is still ahead of him, which bodes well for him. But whether his numbers are good or not, I think if you’re a football fan in Nashville and this team stays on its current course, you should probably be more excited about it. (You can not be excited if you don’t want to be of course. But I don’t know that you can claim to be a giant fan if they are 6-3 heading to Pittsburgh and you say “meh.”)

Check out this picture I took Friday. (Yes, I tinkered with some settings.)

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Well, well, well.

We got off to a rough start here with two NFL losses and a college push. I also missed on my prediction of a three-interception game for the Titans.

Is that going to stop me from telling you about things I expect to happen this weekend? Hell no. But we might frame things a bit differently.

So here goes: