Titans wide receiver Corey Davis scores a walk-off 10-yard TD pass from Marcus Mariota with five seconds left in overtime. Photo by Andy Lewis / contrastphotography.com

NASHVILLE: For the first time in a long time, the Eagles found a way to lose.

The Birds, of course. during the Carson Wentz era, have lost games. They lost two weeks ago to Tampa Bay. In that game though, they were simply outplayed. But against the Tennessee Titans, there are not many examples you will see where a team simply hands a win back to its opponent so many times over five quarters.

The Eagles did that Sunday, losing to the Titans 26-23 on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Marcus Mariota to Corey Davis with five seconds left in overtime.

The Eagles had taken a 23-20 lead in the extra period on a 37-yard field goal by Jake Elliott to end a nine-play, 56-yard drive.

But Mariota took the ball from his own 25-yard line and led his team on a 16-play, 75-yard drive that included converting three fourth down plays, one was a fourth-and-15 from the Tennessee 31-yard line. Mariota hit Lewan Taylor with a 19-yard completion…he was wide open. The rest was history

“It’s a game you tell your kids about,” Titans center Ben Jones said in the Tennessee locker room after the game. “It’s something special. It’s my 100th straight game and it’s one I’ll never forget in my life.”

Titans cornerback and South Jersey native Logan Ryan paid homage to the man behind center.

“Credit to our offense, credit to No. 8, our quarterback Mariota, ” Ryan said at his locker. ” A lot of people questioned him. The one thing is , he’s tough, he’s a winner, he’s competitive. He outdueled a great quarterback today and we beat a pretty good team, the defending champions at home. It took five quarters but we did it.”

Titans safety Kevin Byard agreed with his center, you may only play in a game like this once in your career.

“I thought I was watching a movie,” Byard said at his locker. “I was on the sidelines, I was like, ‘a bunch of fourth downs?’ but obviously, when it was fourth and two and we got it with Dion (Lewis), I knew were going to win the game, we’re going to throw a touchdown pass…it was like a movie, it was awesome.”

The Eagles played like team caught in a trap game. The Minnesota Vikings game loomed next week in a key NFC battle. Was that the reason for the poor play of the offense?

For most of the first half, the Eagles offense line could not pass block, running backs could not pick up blitzes, there were dropped passes and questionable play-calling.

The Eagles defense was able to keep the score close until Wentz started to move the ball in the second quarter.

The Titans led after first period on a 42-yard field goal by Ryan Succop. It was Tennessee’s first drive of the game.

Cornerback Malcolm Butler finally got to play against the Eagles coming up with a nine-yard sack on Wentz on the Birds second drive.

The Eagles offense woke up at almost the midpoint of the second quarter when Jordan Matthews caught a 56-yard TD pass from Wentz to go up 7-3. It was an eight-play, 97-yard drive.

The following Titans drive the Eagles defense started to warm up. Derek Barnett nailed Mariota with a seven-yard sack. The drive fizzled after three plays.

Neither team could move the ball until Eagles rookie corner Avonte Maddox intercepted Mariota at the Tennessee 40-yard line and returned it 17 yards to the 17. The Eagles could not punch it in and had to settle for a 26-yard field goal as the half ended.

The Birds came out after the half and drove the ball well. Dallas Goedert finally got into action, catching a pass and drawing a pass interference flag that set up first and ten at the Titans 25-yard line.The drive featured five flags – three on the Eagles, two on the Titans.

But the end justified the means as Wentz hit Alshon Jeffery, who was making his season debut, with a 16-yard throw to the veteran pass catcher, who made an impossible reception right over the goal line.

The score came at the end of a 12-play 75 yard drive 17-3. Bird are rolling right?

The Titans found a rhythm on their next possession. After getting to the Eagles 25-yard line, Eagles corner Jalen Mills committed pass interference that set up first and goal at the five. Two plays later Mariota scored on a dive from the two and it was 17-10

On the Eagles next possession, Wentz was sacked twice. The second caused the quarrterback to lose a fumble, setting up the Titans at the Eagles 35-yard line. A Titans 33-yard field goal made the score 17-13.

After an Eagles three-and-out, the Titans drove 75 yards on just five plays to make the score 20-17. The backbreaker for the Eagles was 51-yard strike by Mariota to Davis that set up the 11-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Tajae Sharpe from Mariota.

Both teams failed to move the ball and with 1:41 left in the fourth, Wents orchestrated a six-play 27-yard drive that stalled at the Tennessee 12-yard. A 30-yard Elliott field goal with 16 seconds left forced overtime.

Wentz was 33 of 50 for 348 yards and two touchdown passes and no interceptions. He was sacked four times and hit numerous more times.

The third-year signal caller said the Birds should have won this game.

“It’s frustrating, obviously, to come up short, especially as an offense when you have chances,” Wentz said at his post game press conference. “We had chances to finish in the end zone at the end of the game. (We had) chances to finish in the end zone in overtime, and we just didn’t execute in the red zone the way we wanted to. You can look at all sorts of plays from the game–at the end of the day, we just didn’t finish as an offense and as a team either.”

Jay Ajayi led all rushers with 70 yards on 15 carries. Zach Ertz had a big day with 10 receptions (14 targets) for 112 yards. Jeffery caught eight passes (9 targets) for 105 yards and a score.

Nelson Agholor had a tough day. Targeted 12 times, he caught five passes for just 22 yards. He had a few drops.

Mariota had almost identical numbers as Wentz, going 30 of 43 for 344 yards and two touchdown passes. He did throw an interception and was sacked three times. He out-rushed Wentz by a lot…10 rushes or 46 yard to lead Tennessee. Both quarterbacks finished with identical quarterback ratings of 99.4.

The rest of the Titans rushers were almost invisible. Starter Derrick Henry got 24 yards on eight carries. Dion Lewis had a net zero yards on four carries.

Head coach Doug Pederson said it is his responsibility to get his team in better sinc with the Vikings coming to town for a national showdown next week. He said it also means enhancing his players hatred of losing.

“Well, it comes down to, first of all, you have to, as I said in that locker room, hate this feeling more than you enjoy winning,” Pederson said. “It comes out of each guy, starting with myself. I look at myself in the mirror and make sure I am doing everything I can to prepare this football team for each weekend, and that the effort, obviously, is always there. We have to look at the film quite honestly, and (realize) it’s all fixable. The mistakes we’re making are all fixable. Whether it’s a coverage element being out of position, or holding when we’re on the perimeter offensively, we can’t do it. It’s just things that we can correct and practice during the week, and that’s what we have to do.”

Eagles fans hope sooner than later. *

Follow Al Thompson on Twitter @thompsoniii