Theoretically speaking, it should be hard to fly under the radar in the NFL. Between fantasy football, traditional gambling, and the NFL RedZone channel, there are plenty of reasons for even casual fans to take in parts of almost every game each week.

Even so, for teams not among the league’s flagship franchises national attention can be hard to come by. Between Sundays, you can count on the talk shows to discuss the Dallas Cowboys ad nauseam regardless of how they’re doing, but rarely does a club like the Tennessee Titans get its due.

That may change this week with the Titans coming off a 47–25 drubbing of the Green Bay Packers, but this is a team that has deserved the spotlight for weeks. The prevailing wisdom is that Tennessee is solid but unspectacular and their 5-5 record is a reflection of their ability to keep games close with a run-heavy ball-control offence. This perception is so far behind the reality that it’s on the verge of getting lapped.

Yes, the Titans like to run the ball, but they have a passing attack that’s far more dangerous than most realize despite their lack of a top-flight receiver. Marcus Mariota stumbled out of the gate in his sophomore season, but in recent weeks he’s been among the best quarterbacks in football.

Time Period Completion% Yards Per Attempt Yards per Game Touchdowns Interceptions Passer Rating First 4 Games 58.8% 6.8 231.3 4 5 73.9 Last 6 Games 68.0% 8.6 259.5 17 3 118.9

Throwing to a group of pass catchers with one true playmaker (tight end Delanie Walker) and a bunch of non-descript outside threats (Tajae Sharpe, Rishard Matthews and Kendall Wright), the 23-year-old has elevated his game.

One of the biggest drivers of this success is an offensive line that’s consistently keeping him clean. In 2015 Mariota was sacked on 9.3 percent of his dropbacks—this year that number has dropped to 4.2 percent. With more time and space to operate, he’s been able to connect on deep passes like his 32-yard touchdown toss to Matthews on Sunday.

Since Mariota’s season-worst performance against the Houston Texans in Week 4, he’s led his team to 26 points or more in six straight games. There’s no signal caller in football who’s done the same this season.

The young quarterback’s hot streak began just as the New England Patriots got Tom Brady back, and the two team’s offences have been comparably effective since then:

Team Games played Record Rushing Yards/Game Passing Yards/Game Total Yards/Game Points/Game Patriots 5 4-1 94 314.4 408.4 32.0 Titans 6 4-2 158.7 252.8 411.5 33.7

Clearly, it’s hard to credit Mariota with all of his team’s success moving the ball when the ground game is so effective. During a lost season with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2015, DeMarco Murray managed 702 yards and six touchdowns on 193 carries. This year he’s received two fewer totes and turned them into 930 yards and eight touchdowns, good for 4.9 yards per attempt.

The 28-year-old back’s production is unassailable, but as is usually the case, the magic starts with the offensive line. With a potent combination of youth, power and continuity, the Titans’ starting five bullies opponents every week.

Normally it’s quite difficult to credit individual linemen for a team’s success up front, but left tackle Taylor Lewan has been absolutely spectacular. The 2014 first-round pick has played a huge role in Mariota’s declining sack rate and mashed defensive linemen into a fine paste in the running game.

The chart below shows the Titans’ success running the football by direction. When they go behind or around Lewan things tend to go pretty well.

Direction Attempts Yards Yards Per Rush Left End 36 257 7.14 Left Tackle 42 297 7.07 Right End 32 185 5.78 Right Tackle 35 156 4.46 Centre 82 315 3.84 Left Guard 35 121 3.46 Right Guard 21 49 2.33

Lewan has also made an unconventional offensive contribution this year, catching a 10-yard touchdown pass on a gadget play against the Indianapolis Colts.

In most cases, the quarterback and blindside tackle are the two most important players on a thriving offence, and the Titans certainly have Mariota and Lewan rolling. Add in a workhorse running back, a top-flight tight end and a few competent receivers and you’ve got a unit that’s a nightmare to defend.

The Titans’ opponents have known this for weeks, but a massive win against the Packers is driving that point home on the national stage. This isn’t an unimaginative ground-and-pound attack—this is an offence where offensive linemen are catching passes and running backs are throwing them.

This is an offence where 30 points isn’t a lofty goal. It’s a week-in-week-out expectation.