Titans set season-high offensive marks in rout of Jags
NFL: Marcus Mariota threw for 270 yards and two touchdowns to end his home struggles and the Tennessee Titans had their highest point total of the season in a 36-22 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday night.
Since the start of the 2014 season, the Titans’ home record is 3-0 against the Jaguars and 1-17 against everybody else. The Titans are 3-8 in home games started by Mariota, a second-year pro out of Oregon.
Mariota was 18 of 22 for 270 yards and had a 148.1 passer rating, the second-highest of his career. DeMarco Murray ran for 123 yards and a touchdown.
The Titans (4-4) gained a season-high 494 total yards and won for the third time in four games. They scored on six straight possessions during a stretch that began in the first quarter and stretched into the third period.
Jacksonville (2-5) trailed 24-0 by the time it got its second first down of the game midway through the second quarter. The Titans made it 27-0 at the intermission with a 90-yard drive that resulted in Ryan Succop’s 22-yard field goal on the final play of the half.
Blake Bortles threw three touchdown passes for Jacksonville and went 33 of 54 for 337 yards, but much of his production came with the game out of reach.
Smith applies for reinstatement: Oakland Raiders pass rusher Aldon Smith has applied to the NFL to be reinstated from his one-year suspension.
A person with knowledge of the application told The Associated Press that Smith has asked Commissioner Roger Goodell to be allowed back on the field once his ban for violating the league’s substance abuse policy ends on Nov. 17.
Smith was suspended for one year last November for violating the substance abuse policy. That stemmed from an arrest in August on charges of drunken driving, hit and run, and vandalism, which led to his release by the San Francisco 49ers.
Dolphins’ Landry fined for illegal block: Jarvis Landry will take a hit in the wallet for his block that injured Buffalo Bills safety Aaron Williams.
The Miami Dolphins receiver was fined $24,309 for an illegal crackback block, two people familiar with the situation said Thursday. . One of the people said a letter disclosing the fine was sent via email on Tuesday to Landry, his agent, the Dolphins and the NFLPA.
Landry was penalized for unnecessary roughness after he launched himself and caught Williams in the head while blocking on a running play Sunday. Williams was taken to a hospital for evaluation of a head and neck injury before traveling home with the Bills.
Buffalo coach Rex Ryan said Williams is out indefinitely, and called Landry’s hit dirty and deliberate. Following Sunday’s game, Landry apologized for the block, said he wished he could take it back and offered little defense when asked if the hit was dirty.
“Call it what you want,” Landry said. “It’s football.”
C.J. Anderson undergoing surgery: C.J. Anderson was bracing for a prolonged recovery as he prepared to undergo surgery to repair the torn meniscus in his right knee late Thursday.
Before heading into the operating room in Northern California, the Denver Broncos’ leading rusher tweeted thanks to his fans for their prayers and said, “We will not know til after the procedure if i am done for the season or if I can come back to help my team to (hash)51.”
Anderson is the Broncos’ leading rusher with 437 yards on 110 carries and four touchdowns.
Pistons in talks about downtown move
NBA: The Detroit Pistons could be starting their final season at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
The team is in advanced discussions about moving downtown to play at the Detroit Red Wings’ new arena, according to a person with knowledge of the talks. The person, said there is no deal yet but the intent would be for the NBA franchise to start playing downtown next season if possible.
Representatives from the Pistons and Olympia Entertainment have been involved in the talks. Olympia handles business operations for the Red Wings, who are owned by Mike and Marian Ilitch.
76ers players may respond to anthem flap: The Philadelphia 76ers held a team meeting Thursday and may take action in the wake of the organization’s decision to cancel the national anthem performance by a singer wearing a “We Matter” jersey.
Sevyn Streeter said she was told by the team she could not perform the anthem before Wednesday night’s season opener because of the slogan.
The Sixers players met at their practice facility in Camden, New Jersey, and are considering whether to respond to Streeter’s cancellation.
“Everybody expressed their emotions about it,” forward Robert Covington said. “We want to take steps about it. We just don’t know exactly what steps we want to take. We talked about a lot of different things.”
Bulls sign former top pick Hunter: The Chicago Bulls have signed former Boston Celtics first-round draft pick R.J. Hunter. The 28th pick in the 2015 draft, Hunter averaged 2.7 points in 36 games as a rookie for the Celtics last season.
Yang leads LPGA Malaysia at 63
Golf: Amy Yang took the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia lead, and Michelle Wie had her best score in more than a year. Lydia Ko had to fight to get back to even par in her first tournament since firing her caddie.
Yang shot an 8-under 63 on Thursday in hot and humid conditions for a two-stroke lead over American Marina Alex. The 27-year-old South Korean player birdied all four par-3 holes at TPC Kuala Lumpur.
Wie opened with a 66, breaking 70 for only the fourth time in 68 rounds this year.
Karlberg takes 1-shot lead in China: Rikard Karlberg made his World Golf Championships debut with an 8-under 64 on Thursday to take a one-shot lead over Rickie Fowler in the HSBC Champions.
Karlberg was 9 under through 16 holes and challenging the course record when he came up short on the par-3 17th, nearly in a hazard, and managed to save par. He wasn’t so fortunate on the par-5 closing hole after driving into a bunker. He caught too much sand, couldn’t reach the green with his third and took his only bogey.
Streelman shoots 63 at Sanderson Farms: Kevin Streelman shot a 9-under 63 in nearly ideal conditions Thursday to take the first-round lead in the Sanderson Farms Championship. The 37-year-old Streelman had 10 birdies, including eight in an 11-hole stretch, at Jackson Country Club.
Del Potro advances at Swiss Indoors
Tennis: Two-time champion Juan Martin del Potro advanced to the Swiss Indoors quarterfinals by beating fifth-seeded David Goffin of Belgium 7-5, 6-3 on Thursday.
Del Potro, who won the Stockholm indoor title Sunday, extended his winning streak to seven matches – six against players higher in the standings than the 42nd-ranked Argentine player.
Murray overcomes slow start to beat Simon: Top-seeded Andy Murray overcame a slow start against Gilles Simon of France before winning 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 and advancing to his 13th quarterfinal of the season at the Erste Bank Open on Thursday.
The Scot, who improved to 16-2 against Simon in their career matches, clinched his 12th straight win of the season after taking back-to-back titles in Beijing and at the Shanghai Masters, where he beat Simon in the semifinals.
McQueary wins over $7M in defamation case
Miscellany: A jury awarded former Penn State assistant football coach Mike McQueary $7.3 million in damages Thursday, finding the university defamed him after it became public that his testimony helped prosecutors charge Jerry Sandusky with child molestation.
Jurors deliberated for about four hours in Mike McQueary’s defamation and misrepresentation suit. McQueary remained stoic as the verdict was read, and he and his lawyers made no comment as they left the courthouse.
Ducks sign Lindholm to 6-year deal: The Anaheim Ducks signed holdout Hampus Lindholm to a six-year, $31.5 million contract through the 2021-22 season on Thursday, ending a stalemate with their talented Swedish defenseman.
The 22-year-old Lindholm scored 92 points in 236 games over the past three seasons, developing into one of the NHL’s top young blueliners with a fluid two-way game. The Swede missed training camp and the first eight regular-season games this fall while holding out.