Marcus Mariota’s preseason done after Titans 1st-team offense struggles
Marcus Mariota’s preseason is officially over after the Tennessee Titans’ first-team offense did not have any success on Sunday night.
Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota’s night is finished after the first-team offense struggled to get anything going in two failed drives with the starting quarterback on the field.
Mariota threw just three passes in two drives, and failed to complete all three. The good news is he came out of it without an injury.
His first pass of the opening series was a deep ball to No. 1 wideout, Corey Davis, but the ball was slightly overthrown. Davis had a step on the defender covering him and could only get a hand on the pass.
Mariota’s second attempt was a screen pass to Adam Humphries. The normally sure-handed slot receiver flat out dropped the pass in what looked like a potentially solid gain for the Titans’ offense. The drive would ultimately end with a punt after Tennessee decided to run the ball on third and long.
Mariota’s second drive was doomed before it started. Cornerback Adoree’ Jackson failed to attempt to catch a Steelers punt, instead opting to let it bounce. Unfortunately for the Titans, the Steelers were able to down the ball on the four yard line.
Mariota’s second and final series started with a pass to rookie A.J. Brown on a crossing route over the middle. The Ole Miss product was unable to reel it in after taking a hit from a Steelers defender.
The drive ended on the next play when the Titans succumbed to pressure and surrendered a sack to Pittsburgh that resulted in a safety. Backup quarterback Ryan Tannehill was inserted into the game on the next drive, but the rest of the first-team offense remained in the game.
In all, the numbers weren’t pretty. Mariota finished 0-of-3, however it’s important to note that two of those incomplete passes could have been caught, and his offensive line and punt returner certainly didn’t help his cause.
Despite that context, you can already see the vultures in the media circling around Marcus Mariota to turn this into a big deal, especially considering Tannehill got reps with the rest of the first-team offense. As someone who watched the game, I can assure you it is not that big of a deal.