NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- A look at the highs and lows from the first half of the season for the Tennessee Titans (1-6), and what to expect in the second half:

Midseason MVP: Defensive lineman Jurrell Casey is a constantly disruptive terror for opposing teams to deal with. Derrick Morgan and Brian Orakpo rushing from the edges have helped Casey, who has to be the primary worry for offenses. Casey has four sacks, 15 quarterback pressures, six tackles for loss and four passes defensed. He’s playing as well as he ever has in the first season of Dick LeBeau running the Titans' defense.

Best moment: The Titans forced the issue, took control and had everything go right for them in a 42-14 rout of the Buccaneers in Tampa Bay. Rookie quarterback Marcus Mariota threw four touchdowns in just 15 attempts. The Titans were 4-for-9 on third down while the defense held Tampa Bay to 3-for-14.

Worst moment: A Week 6 blowout loss to the struggling Dolphins. In interim coach Dan Campbell’s first game at the helm, the Dolphins pushed the Titans around en route to 434 net yards. They sacked Mariota six times and left him with a sprained left knee after an illegal hit by defensive lineman Olivier Vernon.

Two shots: The struggling Titans have two games with the Jaguars still to come. They play at Jacksonville on Nov. 19 before hosting the Jags on Dec. 6. The Titans have split with them the past two seasons and are just 2-5 against them in their past seven matchups.

Key to second half: A failure to protect the quarterback was probably the top reason coach Ken Whisenhunt was fired after seven games and replaced by Mike Mularkey. They have to do more to keep Mariota upright and get him some experience. While that means better offensive line play and schemes, it also means running the ball better in order to be less quarterback-reliant.