Marcus Mariota helped prepare this defense
One of the major questions going into Saturday’s Divisional Round game was uncertainty of how this Titans defense was going to contain Ravens superstar quarterback Lamar Jackson.
As you’d expect, Jackson lit up the stat sheet, finishing with over 500 total yards of offense. However, this Titans team was consistent all night on ensuring that he was not going to beat them with the big play.
The defense frustrated the inevitable league MVP to the likes that we haven’t seen this season. However, You could make a legitimate argument that this defense had something that all of those teams didn’t, which may have given them an unprecedented advantage.
The Titans possess an athletic, Heisman-winning quarterback on their bench. This allowed Tennessee’s starting defense to get a relatively similar look to what Baltimore’s offense usually looks like, as Marcus Mariota mimicked Jackson all week at practice.
Many quarterback’s egos will get in the way of them embracing the scout team role, especially after being the starter for over four years.
However, to no ones surprise, the Hawaiian native has gladly put his ego to the side and has embraced his new role in order to help the team prepare for each week. His particular skill set was perfect for this defense to practice against.
Say what you want about the former Oregon product but there is no denying that he is a phenomenal athlete in his own right. His career as a Titan may not have panned out exactly like we all had hoped, but even as a backup, Mariota is proving to be a valuable member of this Titans team during this playoff run.