Broncos vs. Titans: Score and Twitter Reaction from 2016 Regular Season

The Tennessee Titans proved they can be playoff contenders in the AFC with their 13-10 win over the Denver Broncos on Sunday.

After the offense showed what it could do with a strong first half, the defense flexed its muscles to hold on late.

Kirk Herbstreit of ESPN was impressed by the win:

Former NFL offensive lineman Damien Woody noted the importance of the victory:

Tennessee finished with 180 rushing yards. DeMarco Murray led with 92 yards and a touchdown. Meanwhile, Denver managed only 18 yards on the ground.

This dominance in the run game helped overcome a poor game from Marcus Mariota, who only had 88 passing yards in the game. ESPN Stats & Info noted the quarterback's struggles:

Quarterback Trevor Siemian did have 334 passing yards and a touchdown for the Broncos, but it wasn't enough to score more than 10 points against Tennessee's solid defense.

The Titans stunned the Broncos in the early going, scoring a touchdown and field goal on their first two drives of the game.

As the contest progressed, Tennessee's steady offense continued to move the ball against a loaded Broncos front seven. Jim Wyatt of the team's official website described one impressive drive:

That helped Tennessee build a 13-0 lead, which seemed even bigger based on the flow of the game, per Colin Cowherd of Fox Sports 1:

The Titans offense was impressive while moving the chains, but the defense did its job as well, limiting the Broncos throughout the first half.

Ed Werder of ESPN described the problems for the Broncos offense:

Denver especially struggled on third down, converting just three of 11 for the game. Of course, it was a fourth-down conversion that helped turn things around.

Still down 13-0 late in the third quarter, the Broncos called a fake punt, with punter Riley Dixon completing a pass to Cody Latimer for 16 yards and a first down. While Denver wasn't able to turn that drive into points, it seemed to create some much-needed momentum.

Chris Wesseling of NFL.com described the change of events:

The team's first touchdown came on its next offensive possession, which began at the Titans 26-yard line and took just five plays to get into the end zone.

After another three-and-out for Tennessee, the Broncos drove downfield again to earn a field goal, cutting the deficit to 13-10.

While Denver got the ball back to try to tie or win the game in the final minute, an A.J. Derby fumble handed the ball back to the Titans, who were able to close out the win.

Tennessee improved to 7-6 on the year and will remain in a tie for first place in the AFC South. The schedule will continue to be challenging, with a road game against the Kansas City Chiefs next week, but the squad proved it can hang with anyone.

The Broncos dropped to 8-5 with a brutal upcoming schedule featuring games against the New England Patriots, Chiefs and Oakland Raiders. Despite a strong start to the season, it might be difficult for the defending Super Bowl champions to even reach the playoffs this year.

Postgame Reaction

It wasn't a pretty game for Tennessee, especially with the way Mariota struggled to throw the ball, but head coach Mike Mularkey looked at the positives.

"We found a way to win," the coach said, per the team's Twitter account. "I think that's going to be good for us down the road."

Broncos coach Gary Kubiak also stayed upbeat despite the disappointing effort from his team.

"From outside looking in, doesn't look great," Kubiak said, per Troy Renck of Denver7. "But we are battlers."

The Broncos will need to figure out something in order to turn things around for the stretch run.

Follow Rob Goldberg on Twitter.