Marc Mariani Video: Watch Titans X-Factor Dissect Panthers for Return TD

Marc Mariani has got the Tennessee Titans on top of the Carolina Panthers and back alive in the AFC South playoff race.

Mariani returned a punt for 79 yards after the Panthers went three-and-out on their first possession.

Jason Baker punted the ball 56 yards to the Tennessee 21 and Mariani fielded it and took off. He brought it to the house and that isn’t a surprise for the second-year return specialist, who already has a Pro Bowl appearance under his belt.

Mariani was a seventh-round pick in the 2010 NFL draft and was inked to a four-year deal shortly after. He started making his mark on this league in Week 4 of his rookie season when he took a kickoff back 98 yards for a score.

He ended the year with 1,530 yards and a TD on kick returns and 329 yards and a TD on the punt return team.

Now Mariani is looking to make a case to get back to his second straight Pro Bowl as a return specialist with the AFC. He set records in the 2011 game for most returns and most return yards in the history of the Pro Bowl.

The Panthers are a team that simply doesn’t do a good job on punt coverage and will make Mariani look good all game. They give up an average of 15.3 yards on each return and haven’t been able to make the necessary tackles on special teams.

Tennessee needs to continue to see this kind of production from its return beast if it wants to catch the Houston Texans in the race for the AFC South.

Keep an eye out for the speedy Mariani to continue to be a constant threat to house anything kicked his way, and the Panthers may soon be kicking it far away from him to avoid that altogether.