From the first drive of the game, the Titans and Mariota looked prepared for a better 2015 campaign. Mariota ultimately finished with a perfect158.3 passer rating, becoming the first rookie to hit that mark in a Week 1 game.
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Winston was 16 of 33 for 210 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.
“We have the guy, ” Smith said, “that’s perfectfor our football team”.
But there may never have been a Week 1 game that engendered as much belief and disbelief as this one did. That win was followed by a 2-14 season.
Don’t think Mariota was perfect. What’s amazingis that the entire Tampa team looked completely un-prepared to play on their opening day. But Sunday he did the things he did in college and made the Bucs look like San Jose State.
It was a debut that even Mariota said exceeded his own expectations.
In addition to Mariota, the Browns will face running back Terrance West, who was traded to the Titans for a conditional 2016 seventh-round pick. Why isn’t there a life mulligan? It’s a disastrous debut that raises the question: did the Bucs draft the wrong quarterback? But when you’re getting the ball out extremely fast, it’s hard to get after the quarterback. They play the Saints in New Orleans on Sunday.
After the game, Winston knew some fans would say Mariota is better.
The Tampa Bay crowd did not salvage Mariota’s play or confidence at all, leading his team to win big 42-14. But the utter domination and phenomenal debut of Marcus Mariota is enough to dazzle just about anyone, and Titans fans deserve the good feelings for as long as they can last. Afterward they parroted how it’s just one game, one loss.
Notes: Tight end Delanie Walker was seen wearing a brace on his right hand, and Whisenhunt said the veteran has a chance to play at Cleveland. “But it’s not about how you start, it’s about how you finish”.
“Let’s not overreact to a bad performance”.
Thing is, it’s a dubious mark because Favre is the only other quarterback since 1991 whose first NFLpass resulted in a pick six. “I can’t perform like that on the home opener, but we will get better”. “The first drive, it was a dumb decision”. When you lose 3 yards on a play down there in that area of the field thats critical.
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The problem is it came in an interception to Titans defensive back Coty Sensabaugh. Here’s the official Titans Blog Cheat Sheet for fellow couch potatoes GM’s looking for Three Monday Talking points. Sankey added two catches for 12 yards as well. Competing in a division that has Dwayne Allen, Coby Fleener and Julius Thomas may cause some problems for the Titans’ defense down the road. He and newly acquired Terrance West got extra work with a huge lead early, and they combined for 115 yards on 25 carries.
