ATLANTA _ A quarter of the 2019 season is in the books for the Atlanta Falcons.
The bad news appears to be that that there are three quarters left.
Uninspired, uninterested and totally devoid of energy in a partially empty stadium, the Falcons were blasted 24-10 Sunday by the Tennessee Titans.
The Falcons dropped to a disappointing 1-3 on the season, while the Titans, coming off a mini-bye, improved to 2-2.
With the defeat, the Falcons have now dropped six straight games to AFC teams and are 1-10 against AFC teams since blowing the 28-3 lead in Super Bowl LI.
The Falcons fell behind 24-7 and could not mount a credible rally as the running game was extinguished and stopped on a key fourth-and-1 attempt.
They were also 5-of-14 on third downs and 1-of-4 on four downs with 3:31 left in the game.
Tennessee quarterback Marcus Mariota completed 18-of-27 passes for 227 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. He finished with a passer rating of 129.7.
Running back Derrick Henry rushed 27 times for 100 yards.
Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan completed 33-of-51 passes for 377 yards, with no touchdowns. He was sacked five times. Tight end Austin Hooper caught nine passes for 133 yards. Wide receiver Mohamed Sanu caught nine passes for 91 yards.
Once down, the Falcons had to contend with Henry.
Both teams punted on their first possessions, then the Titans had a quick-strike score when Mariota and A.J. Brown connected on a 55-yard pass play. Brown, a rookie from Mississippi who was drafted in the second round, ran a nice route through the middle on cornerback Desmond Trufant. After catching the ball, Brown darted back outside and away from Trufant and free safety Damontae Kazee.
Linebacker Deion Jones gave chase, but couldn't get Brown.
The Falcons answered with a 1-yard Ito Smith touchdown run to make it 7-7.
The Titans, who were coming off a 20-7 loss to Jacksonville on a Thursday night, used two Falcons penalties to help them march 75 yards for a 14-play touchdown drive. Mariota tossed an 11-yard touchdown pass to Brown on a fade route. Trufant was in coverage. The score put the Titans up 14-7.
Ryan fumbled on the next possession, but the defense was able to force a punt. When the Falcons couldn't move it, Tennessee cobbled together a five-play, 35-yard drive and got a 45-yard field goal from Cairo Santos to make it 17-7.
The Falcons were driving, but running back Devonta Freeman was stuffed for a yard loss on fourth-and-1 from Tennessee's 39-yard line. Why they were running at Tennessee defensive tackle Jurrell Casey, a four-time Pro Bowl selection, was a questionable play-call.
The Titans, using a 22-yard pass to Corey Davis, marched into Falcons territory. On third-and-5 from the 23, Mariota found Davis along the left sideline, he slipped a tackle from cornerback Isiah Oliver at the 9-yard and tight-roped it into the end zone to make it 24-7.
Matt Bryant missed a 32-yard field goal off the left upright in the second quarter. It was his first miss inside of 40 yards since the 2017 season. He added a 42-yard field in the third quarter, but the offense never could get in sync.
For the Falcons, it's off to Houston to face another AFC team and play in the stadium where they blew the biggest lead in Super Bowl history.
