Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill reacted to his replacing Marcus Mariota during the Week 6 loss to the Denver Broncos.
Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill got his first regular season action in Week 6 during the 16-0 loss to the Denver Broncos, and it came at the expense of Marcus Mariota.
Tannehill replaced a struggling Mariota in the third quarter of Sunday’s game and finished 13-of-16 for 144 yards and one pick. He was also sacked four times in less than two quarters of play.
And, like Mariota, Tannehill failed to get his team into the end zone, however it was abundantly clear that Tannehill was the better quarterback in this game.
Mariota completed just 7-of-18 passes for 63 yards and two picks. Tannehill proved that he was the more accurate passer and the Titans offense as a whole had more success moving the football, despite the final outcome.
Tannehill spoke to the media about the Titans’ quarterback change, per Jim Wyatt of Titans online.
"“These things are tough, no matter how you cut it,” Tannehill said. “I think the only thing that makes it somewhat tolerable is we do have a good relationship and we have a ton of respect for each other. I have a ton of respect for Marcus. It’s a tough situation all around.”"
For now, we don’t have a definitive answer as to who will start in Week 7 against the Los Angeles Chargers, but it looks like Tannehill is the safe bet there based on the comparison of results between the two quarterbacks in Week 6.
Even though he looked better on Sunday, Tannehill still has plenty of things to overcome moving forward. The play-calling on offense has been atrocious, and the offensive line has been even worse.
Improving this offense is no small task for sure, but at least things can only go up from here.
What he does have is a solid complement of weapons to throw to — perhaps the best group he has ever had the chance to play with during his career — which is something Mariota was never able to take full advantage of this season.