Tennessee Titans: Marcus Mariota sends reminder

Earlier today, Titan Sized editor Les Bailey provided a thorough breakdown of the Tennessee Titans’ thrilling 34-28 overtime victory over the New Orleans Saints. In the first paragraph, he penned a line that leaped off the page…

“Marcus Mariota reminded everyone why the Titans spent the second pick in the 2015 Draft to bring him to Nashville.”

And Les is absolutely right.

Since his arrival in May, Marcus Mariota had been the talk of the town. He quickly energized the city, creating a buzz that attracted the national media throughout training camp.

Mariota’s historic start to the season earned him the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Month award for September, and although the Titans were 1-2, there was optimism in the air that Tennessee finally had their franchise quarterback.

Then came October…

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After the loss to Miami, the focus quickly shifted away from the hope for the future, as the local media set their sights on Ken Whisenhunt, and his increasingly embarrassing record as head coach of the Titans.

Mariota, who was now inured and out for the foreseeable future, quietly faded from the headlines.

As you know, all hell broke loose during Mariota’s absence, so much so that his return to the line up was met with little to no fanfare. The team’s upheaval was the storyline heading into Sunday’s game, that is, until Mariota took the field.

He returned to action Sunday just like he did in the opener, in historic fashion. His 371 yard, 4 td, no int performance made him the first rookie in the history of the league to throw for at least 350 yards, 4tds, and no int’s twice in a season.

And that was just the sixth start of his career.

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This wasn’t a down by 30 points, throw it every down, garbage time stat line, either. These were money throws on money downs in money situations…throughout the entire game.

The tear drop to Anthony Fasano for the walk-off score was just the historic icing on the cake.

With his play on Sunday, Marcus Mariota reminded everyone why the Titans spent the second pick in the 2015 Draft to bring him to Nashville.