NFL News: Titans Head Coach Ken Whisenhunt Calls Olivier Vernon’s Hit On Marcus Mariota 'Dirty'

Tennessee Titans head coach Ken Whisenhunt criticized Miami Dolphins defensive end Olivier Vernon for a low hit on Titans Marcus Mariota on Sunday. The rookie quarterback will have X-rays on his knee on Monday to evaluate the extent of the injury.

In the second quarter, Vernon came in from the left side for the low hit on Mariota, and was penalized for roughing the passer. Mariota was evaluated on the field for several minutes but played the rest of the game with a knee brace as the Titans lost big to the Dolphins, 38-10. Mariota finished with 219 yards on 21-33 passing.

"I think it was done with the idea of trying to hurt our quarterback and that's [expletive] football," Whisenhunt said after the game.

Mariota stated after the game that Vernon already apologized for the low hit and the Dolphins defensive end also publicly explained his side on social media Twitter.

The Titans have dropped to 1-4 for the season after the Dolphins loss. The Titans won their opening day game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (42-14) but has lost four straight, to the Cleveland Browns (28-14), Indianapolis Colts (35-33), Buffalo Bills (14-13) and Dolphins.