NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- With a thorough effort in an long, exhausting game, the Tennessee Titans vanquished the Green Bay Packers 47-25 on Sunday at Nissan Stadium, improving to 5-5.
The .500 record keeps them very much in the race for the AFC South title. It also gives Tennessee as many victories this season as it had in 32 chances in 2013 and 2014 combined.
The Houston Texans are first in the AFC South at 6-3, with the Titans alone in second place.
"It's a huge stepping stone, it's getting us in the right direction," quarterback Marcus Mariota said. "...Hopefully we can use this as momentum."
Nissan Stadium was finally full, but fans in green and gold -- many in Packers jerseys and wearing cheeseheads -- were the reason.
The Titans did well to silence them, becoming the first team in the NFL this season to score touchdowns on its first four possessions en route to a 28-7 lead.
Tennessee set the tone quickly, holding the Packers to a three-and-out before DeMarco Murray ran 75 yards for a score on the first offensive play from scrimmage.
A bit later, left tackle Taylor Lewan (who made some key blocks to spring Murray for his TD) was ejected for making contact with back judge Steve Freeman after a scrum ensued because nose tackle Letroy Guion burst through the line before a snap and put Mariota on his back.
Dennis Kelly replaced Lewan and the Titans survived the loss of their high-performing blindside blocker.
While the Packers recovered offensively and the Titans couldn’t maintain their first-quarter production, Green Bay never closed the gap to fewer than 13 points.
Mariota finished with four touchdowns on 19-of-26 passing for 295 yards while Murray's 17 carries for 123 yards spearheaded a good ground attack against the NFL’s top rushing defense.
"Everybody counted us out, you can tell by how many Green Bay Packers fans were in that stadium," said tight end Delanie Walker, who caught nine passes for 124 yards and a touchdown and dished out a lot of punishment running after the catch. "They didn't expect us to win that game."
Walker didn't want to be entirely inhospitable to Packers fans Sunday night.
"You can buy all the beer you want in Nashville," he said. "But you're going home mad."