Thursday Night Football was not kind to the Tennessee Titans. But, it was a road game, in Pittsburgh, against a Steelers team that looks like it could be the best in the AFC. It was Thursday night – a short week, and was one of those games that we all marked “L” when we got our first glimpse of the schedule. Should we be surprised that the Titans lost this game? No. Is there room to be surprised at how poorly Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota played? Yes.
For three quarters, the Titans were competitive. When the game went into the fourth quarter, the Titans were only down 23-17. But, when the triple zeroes came up, that score ballooned into a 40-17 Steelers advantage. Yeah, it was rough. But, more discouraging than the final result was just how off Mariota looked. It was his worst game as a pro, easily. A close second doesn’t even come to mind.
He finished with 306 passing yards and a touchdown, but he kept giving the ball away. Four interceptions had the Titans offense hamstrung. I’m no football expert, but I think throwing the ball to the other team four times is not how you win football games. Look at his season stats, and where he sits compared to the other quarterbacks in the NFL, and it’s incredibly discouraging.
He’s one of just three quarterbacks who remain as starters despite throwing more interceptions than touchdowns. The other two being Joe Flacco and DeShone Kizer. Mariota’s eight touchdown passes are good for 29th in the league, while his 10 interceptions are the 4th most. In passing yards, he ranks 20th, but what hurts most of all is a passer rating that has him ranked as the 27th best quarterback in the league. Does he belong among Jay Cutler, Blake Bortles, and Trevor Siemian? I don’t think so, but it’s hard to argue with the numbers.
I don’t think it’s unreasonable to suggest that his development has hit a bit of a plateau. This season has been a huge disappointment for Mariota. Many expected him to take the next step this season…some even going as far as to put him on preseason MVP watch lists! But, for whatever reason, it hasn’t panned out. The bottom line is that things aren’t truly clicking the way we all expected during the offseason, and several factors are contributing to that.
First of all, an offensive line that was considered among the five best last season hasn’t played very well. A couple of those interceptions Thursday night were the direct result of mistakes made by Corey Davis. That served as a reminder that this is still a young team developing into their roles. And, you have to wonder about the coaching staff. Those questions are going to start creeping in when you see DeMarco Murray get 52 snaps compared to Derrick Henry’s 18, although, with the exception of the Bengals game, Henry has been the better back. There was a game earlier in the season when it seemed Terry Robiskie and Mike Mularkey tried NOT to feed their best offensive weapon: Delanie Walker.
It’s the responsibility of the coaching staff to put their players in positions to succeed. But, I don’t think that’s been happening at a consistent level this season. At least on offense, I should specify. The problem with the ‘exotic smashmouth’ philosophy is that it fails to offer a concrete identity. Why not try and strip it down a bit and get back to its 2016 roots?
Mariota excels in play action and run-pass options. Get back to the bread and butter, and this thing may eventually work itself out. The further they stray from that, the more they complicate the offense, the worse off this franchise’s young quarterback may be.
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Alabama Crimson Tide football, the WWE, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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