NASHVILLE, Tenn. – It’s not like Marcus Mariota doesn’t have a pulse.

After the stiff-arm against Jacksonville, we saw him bounce around and glare at Barry Church. After the rebound reception in Kansas City, we saw full-on celebration.

Still, his default setting is calm. Super calm. Cool. Collected. Unflappable.

So While Mariota has taken over two must-win games -- with runs, throws and even a big block to make room for Derrick Henry -- his team has fed off him more than ever.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – I texted with several personnel men/ pro scouts/analysts and asked them for one, non-obvious thing the Titans have to do in order to have a chance to upset the Patriots at Gillette Stadium Saturday night.

A couple expounded, a few kept it short and sweet.

I think you will find it all quite interesting.

Here is what they said:

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – As the season moved along, it wore on me to hear Mike Mularkey and the Titans say being in games late gave them a chance to win, and that is all you can ask for.

It’s not that I was expecting them to run away with games on any regular basis. It was that the mentality that they couldn’t ask for or expect more of themselves.

It’s OK to say the standard is to seize and maintain control of a game, even if in the end you wind up satisfied you were in it at the end, particularly if you won it in the end.

But now, all that is tossed aside.

The Titans are major underdogs Saturday night at the Patriots and with good reason.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – In one big swoop, the Titans made a dramatic move.

In 2016 the got away from raw, athletic receivers with a poor sense of time and place, and replaced Justin Hunter and Dorial Green-Beckham with lesser athletes with far better receiver skills in Rishard Matthews and Tajae Sharpe.

In 2017, Sharpe went on the shelf with a foot injury and a precise veteran Eric Decker was added, along with fifth-overall draft pick Corey Davis and third-rounder Taywan Taylor.

Mike Mularkey booted his pal Bob Bratkowski as receivers coach and brought in a Terry Robiskie disciple, Frisman Jackson.

But the move toward enhanced precision feels stalled.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – In two critical wins, Marcus Mariota made three iconic plays.

The helped secure two wins.

And they didn’t include a pass to a teammate.

In the playoff-clinching win over Jacksonville on Dec. 31, Mariota’s massive moment was a stiff-arm of Barry Church on a key 13-yard run that gave the Titans a late first down that helped them kill time and preserve a 15-10 lead.

And Sunday in the wild-card win at Arrowhead Stadium, Mariota’s most memorable moments were a touchdown pass he threw to himself and a block he threw for Derrick Henry.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Mike Mularkey made it clear he was unhappy Titans management had not discussed his status with him as a report from NFL Network Sunday said his job could be at risk if his team lost here.

Here is Mularkey on his job status after the game. pic.twitter.com/LRGyvBOBAx

— Paul Kuharsky (@PaulKuharskyNFL) January 7, 2018

Not knowing what's up with your job sucks. I’ve been there myself.

Mularkey should be on solid footing now, after leading the Titans to their first playoff win since Jan. 3, 2004.

He deserves a great deal of credit for changing the culture, for guiding the Titans to back-to-back 9-7 seasons and for this playoff berth and victory.

Still, owner Amy Adams Strunk owes him nothing. He owes her.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Down 18 points and in serious trouble, the Titans came out from halftime, recommitted to their plan and executed it really well en route to their first playoff win 5,117 days.

That goes back to Jan. 3, 2004 at Baltimore.

That plan was Derrick Henry, a week removed from a 1.8-yards-per-carry average against Jacksonville that he later deemed soft. He boosted that a touch in six days, by five yards to 6.8.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Once the magical comeback was sealed, so were many of the postgame comments.

The things that brought the Titans 22-21 Wild Card playoff win over the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium to fuition were largely the same qualities we saw from the team en route to a divisional round date in New England or Pittsburgh.

They fell behind but they stuck together and with resolve, they found a way back.

“That is the team we have," Mike Mularkey said. "That does not surprise me and I don’t think you guys believe me when I say that they come in the locker room and there is a look that we are going to come back and win the game. But there is. It is on the sideline and it has been. It always has. It is this team. I wish you guys would give them a little credit for it. They stick together and they got each other’s backs and they always have and came through today when we really needed it.”

My video report: