NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee Titans kicker Stephen Gostkowski redeemed himself once again, hitting a game-winning 49-yard field goal with 1:41 left to give his team a 33-30 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Thanks to Gostowksi's clutch kicking, the Titans are 2-0 for the first time in 12 years.
Gostkowski improves to 13-for-14 on potential go-ahead field goals in the fourth quarter for his career. He has made his last 11 such attempts. The 15th-year kicker hit a 51-yard field goal earlier in the game as well. That comes after his career low point last week, when he missed three field goals and an extra point in Tennessee's 16-14 win over the Denver Broncos.
In Sunday's win, Gostkowski missed an extra point that would have made the score 31-23 early in the fourth quarter. But after the Jaguars tied the game at 30, Titans coach Mike Vrabel said he believed in his former New England Patriots teammate enough to send him onto the field to attempt the game winner.
"The confidence is the same for every player that is here," Vrabel said. "They are expected to do their job. That's what we had to do. We came down to a field goal kick and you can see that it was a really good kick. It had plenty of distance, accuracy and the protection was good. That's what we needed today."
The Titans' defense gave up 480 yards of total offense to the Jaguars, including 165 rushing yards. Jacksonville was able to battle back from a 14-0 deficit, but Gostkowski's kick and a stop by the defense on a tipped pass by Jeffery Simmons that was intercepted by Harold Landry saved the day.
Added safety Kevin Byard, "Obviously he didn't have his game last week, but everybody on the team backed him up and had trust in him. He came back this week and made the game-winning field goal again. He's a pro and has been doing this for a long time. We have full trust in him."
Ryan Tannehill tied a career high for single-game touchdown passes with four against the Jaguars. (Tannehill also threw for four touchdowns in games against the Houston Texans on Oct. 25, 2015, and the Minnesota Vikings on Dec. 21, 2014.) Two of his touchdown passes went to Jonnu Smith, a player with whom Tannehill held two to three weekly passing sessions in South Beach during the offseason. The duo has already connected for three red zone touchdowns through the first two games.
Tannehill was happy to see Gostkowski get redemption once again this week after pulling off another close win.
"You have to find a way to win," Tannehill said after the game. "It's huge. Coming off last week, I know he wanted to get out there and make a few today. He came up big for us in the end. That wasn't a chip shot. It was a tough kick at a crucial point in the game. I had nothing but confidence that he was going to bang it through. That's exactly what he did."