NEWS » Tennessee’s three-game skid is over, and the Titans

NASHVILLE Dre'Mont Jones Jersey , Tenn. (AP) — are back to .500 after a big road victory.But before they can catch their breath, the Titans have a short week before they host the surging New England Patriots in what will be Tennessee’s lone home game in November.Coach Mike Vrabel understands the challenge — and opportunity — the Titans have going against his old coach, Bill Belichick.“We’ve just gotten ourselves to the surface where there’s a little bit of air, a little bit of water,” Vrabel said Tuesday. “You’re kind of taking a little bit of both in and you can’t survive there for long. But you can survive there for a few minutes. And so we got to make the next decision to see if we can get our heads completely above water.”The Titans (4-4) still trail the Houston Texans (6-3) inside the AFC South, but their 28-14 victory in Dallas on Monday night put Tennessee into the sixth and final playoff spot in the AFC for now. The Titans shook off a horrific start with two fumbles by Marcus Mariota on their first two drives to turn score a season-high in points after managing just 31 points all of October.Vrabel credited the Titans with shaking off that start. Tennessee turned two turnovers into 14 points, came up with five sacks and held Ezekiel Elliott to just 61 yards rushing.Offensively, the young Titans showed serious signs of progress in offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur’s scheme.They converted 11 of 14 attempts on third down for a 78.6 percent rate that was the best in the NFL this season and tied for the league’s highest in the past three years. The Titans tied up the game at 7-7 with the franchise’s longest drive since Dec. 9, 2012 Hakeem Butler Jersey , using up 8 minutes, 55 seconds.Tennessee scored touchdowns on four of five trips inside the Dallas 20 against a Cowboys defense that came in as the NFL’s second stingiest in the red zone. Mariota also completed passes to nine different receivers and had a season-high 119.9 passer rating throwing for 240 yards and two touchdowns. He ran for 32 more yards and another score.“I hope it’s that guys are understanding where they fit, what they need to do to get open and understand when they get open, Marcus is going to try to get them the ball,” Vrabel said of the Titans’ offense.Left tackle Taylor Lewan, who spoke about the Titans deserving respect after a 3-1 start, said he is just relieved to win a game and get back to .500.“I’ll definitely keep my (expletive) mouth shut from now on about that kind of stuff,” Lewan said. “Daddy learned his lesson.”Cornerback Logan Ryan said the Titans knew they were in a must-win situation in Dallas and that one win in the NFL can turn things around.“It was a huge win,” Ryan said after the game. “Now we know we’ve got a tough test next week, and we will be ready.”The Titans host the Patriots (7-2) on Sunday before heading back on the road to Indianapolis and Houston. The Patriots routed Tennessee 35-14 in an AFC divisional game last January. Titans controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk fired Mike Mularkey after that game and chose Vrabel to take this franchise further.“We have to just get our players as ready as we can for the game http://www.bengalscheapstore.com/jonah-williams-jersey-cheap ,” Vrabel said.Notes: Vrabel made it clear he didn’t like safety Kevin Byard celebrating his interception by running to the star at midfield and posing like Terrell Owens 18 years ago. The coach said he plans to talk again with the safety and the Titans on Wednesday, and Vrabel said he wants them to celebrate with each other. COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina appears ready to offer $120 million in tax breaks to the Carolina Panthers to move their practice fields and team headquarters out of North Carolina, after the state Senate overrode objections that a billionaire NFL owner didn’t need public help.The Senate voted 27-15 on Thursday to exempt the Panthers from paying state income taxes for players, coaches and other employees for 15 years as long as they use the money to build their new complex near Rock Hill.The team will continue to play its games 15 miles (25 kilometers) to the north in Charlotte, North Carolina.Gov. Henry McMaster was an enthusiastic backer of the proposal, along with a number of lawmakers. They spoke of South Carolina crawling out of the shadow of North Carolina and its massive Charlotte with hotels, restaurants as well as potentially landing a Major League Soccer team and hearing ESPN reports from Panthers practices constantly saying “Rock Hill, South Carolina.”“This is a golden ticket,” said Republican state Rep. Gary Simrill of Rock Hill.Some of the 15 senators who voted against the bill questioned why Panthers owner David Tepper needed any help after buying the Panthers for more than $2 billion last year while still having billions in the bank.“This guy didn’t acquire eleven-and-a-half billion giving away the farm. He has driven hard deal. This side has not Drew Sample Jersey ,” state Sen. Dick Harpootlian said.Tepper didn’t immediately respond to the vote, but told reporters Wednesday he wasn’t building in South Carolina without the incentives.Other senators against the bill said a state Commerce Department report suggesting the Panthers new complex would bring $3.8 billion in economic benefits was wildly exaggerated.Harpootlian, a Democrat from Columbia, paid for his own analysis from a conservative economist often used by Republicans who said the best case scenario brought the state only a third of that. Harpootlian’s report found the state’s review depended on every Panthers player and coach moving to South Carolina and spending their entire paychecks here and the team buying all the material for the new facility from companies in the state.The initial discussion of the facility also included an orthopedic hospital that may turn out to only be a sports injury rehabilitation facility, Harpootlian said, pointing out the Panthers never testified publicly about what they wanted to do or put any promises in writing.“If we accomplished anything, maybe we will take a closer look at these deals,” Harpootlian said.Tepper has made a new indoor practice facility a priority after heavy rains late last season forced the Panthers to move practices to a hotel ballroom. He also wanted to continue the team’s “two states, one team” attitude that began when they played their inaugural season in 1995 at Clemson’s stadium while their stadium in Charlotte was being built. The team still holds training camp every summer at Wofford University in Spartanburg, South Carolina.North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper didn’t respond to South Carolina’s vote Thursday. Bur a spokesman for North Carolina Senate leader Phil Berger said it’s his understanding Cooper planned no incentives for a practice facility in his state.“The state’s partnership with the Panthers has been a successful one for the past 25 years and we hope they will keep pounding in Charlotte for years to come http://www.bengalscheapstore.com/germaine-pratt-jersey-cheap ,” Berger spokesman Bill D’Elia said in a statement.Tepper met privately with McMaster and legislative leaders in March and they immediately introduced the tax break proposal. The House passed it 90-25 less than two weeks after it was announced.The House and Senate are expected to work out a few minor changes and McMaster then will likely sign the bill.The Senate debated the bill for more than two hours with several twists and turns. Republican Sen. Larry Grooms of Charleston suggested adding a proposal that would require the Panthers to play two regular season home games a year at one of South Carolina’s two major college football stadiums. It was killed and there was no indication whether the Panthers or the NFL would have allowed it.While Tepper would benefit from the bill, South Carolina would also benefit greatly for decades, well after Cam Newton is finished as the team’s franchise quarterback, Simrill said.“The Panthers organization, the average pay is 39 times that of the median South Carolina income. We derive our income between sales tax and income tax. Look at the income tax that will come from the Panthers organization to South Carolina,” Simrill said.That is a risky bet without nailing down the promises from the Panthers, Harpootlian said.“It might be cheaper to build a house for Cam Newton and ask him to live in Columbia,” Harpootlian said.