NASHVILLE — There could be no better present for the Tennessee Titans (10-5) than a victory on the night before Christmas. As an added bonus, there was a fresh A.J. Brown sitting under the tree.

Merry Everything.

Tennessee looked like they might fall flat on their collective faces in the early going. Points off of Jimmy Garoppolo turnovers and Brown's 145 yards in his return brought them back in the best possible way. It reminded all 69,361 fans in attendance and the football world watching at home that the Titans offense is to be feared as long as one of their primary play-makers is available to them.

A.J. Brown came to ball

What a world of difference a WR1 makes.

Not only did Brown record a career-high 11 receptions in his first game back for Tennessee, but the third-year pro caught eight of those passes on third downs alone. No NFL player has accomplished that feat at any point in the last 40 seasons, according to ESPN Stats & Info. The Titans converted nine of their 16 third down situations (56.3%) as a result.

Tennessee had not displayed that kind of "money down" efficiency in a game since their Week 7 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs (66.7%).

The Titans offense, languishing in the first half with 55 total yards, relied on Brown to carry them in the final two frames.

"I mean, A.J. (Brown) is fantastic," said coach Mike Vrabel. "We expect those things from A.J. But, you know, the guys, Aaron Brewer, Dillon Radunz, you know, this is – you know, that's special and to be able to see guys walking up the ramp after the game and Dillon (Radunz) just being excited that he did some things to help his team win. And they battled. And D'Onta (Foreman), and our runners, all those guys. But we got six conversions of third-and-10 or more. Unfortunately, that's a lot of our own doing to get in that position. But, we can eliminate some of the mistakes early on in offense."

The beauty of Brown in Tennessee's offense is just how many of the early mistakes he is able to eliminate.

Without a healthy Brown, the Titans points-per-game average dropped by almost half. Tennessee averaged just 15 points, losing three of their last four contests, per Jim Wyatt of TennesseeTitans.com. Brown sustained a chest injury one of those four games and was placed on injured reserve before the team's road loss to the New England Patriots last month. Upon his return, the former second-round draft pick accounted for 69% of Tennessee's receiving yards.

No individual in the league has accounted for a higher percentage of his team's air yardage in a single outing this year than Brown did on Thursday night.

"I feel very grateful just to play football again," Brown said. "I tweeted that I missed playing football because I did. I was on IR watching the games, tough losses. It was tough to watch. I know it was tough for our guys to be in those games, losing those big games. It was tough for me to watch them. I really feel like this is my purpose of living, you know, so it was tough."

Brown certainly has more purpose in life than just football, but his impact cannot be overstated.

Quarterback Ryan Tannehill had thrown only one touchdown pass in the three games that his top option was on IR. With Brown in the line-up, the Titans played clean, turnover-free football and boast an 8-2 record this season. Getting the Ole Miss product back in action is not the sole reason why Tannehill and the offense were able to get right.

Brown, however, gives them purpose by his presence and the promise that Tennessee's not dead in the water just yet.

Featured Image: Christopher Hanewinckel – USA TODAY Sports.