For Marcus Mariota, the hits keep on coming
Even when Marcus Mariota was playing so superbly at the start of his rookie season, you knew there would be days like this.
For his sake and the sake of all things Titan, he needs to minimize them.
Mariota’s four turnovers — two fumbles in the first half, two interceptions in the second half — served as a sobering reminder that there is a steep learning curve in the NFL. Just when it looks like you’ve got all the answers, they change the questions.
On Sunday, the Dolphins made Mariota look like exactly what he is: a rookie quarterback. With lax pass protection from a makeshift offensive line, he took a beating. A defense that had only one sack in the first four games sacked him five times — all in the first half.
“You have to put your nose down to the grindstone, keep fighting and slugging it out and we’ll end up on the other side of it,” Mariota said.
Easier said than done. The Titans’ 38-10 no-show was a blast from the past. It conjured up memories of the 2-14 disaster of 2014. With four straight losses after an opening win at Tampa Bay, the Titans’ season is teetering.
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The Dolphins arrived at Nissan Stadium with a 1-3 record but the Titans made them look like the 1972 version. Ryan Tannehill’s passer rating was 27th among NFL starting quarterbacks in the first three games but against the Titans defense, you would have thought he was the second coming of Dan Marino.
Asked if the performance was frustrating, Titans tight end Delanie Walker said: “Frustrating? It’s getting tiring. They beat us. They came ready to play.”
The Titans? Not so much. They gave up an 80-yard touchdown drive on the first series and things never got much better.
"We know the game starts at 12:05. We can’t wait until the second quarter to turn it on,” offensive lineman Byron Bell said.
Mariota had trouble finding a rhythm. After their first possession resulted in a field goal, the Titans went six straight offensive series without a point. Three of those possessions ended with a Mariota turnover.
“I was inaccurate at times,” he said. “That happens. I’ve got to shake it off and get ready for next week.”
It’s starting to look like opposing defenses now have enough tape on Mariota that they have a feel for his strengths and weakness as well as where he likes to throw on certain formations.
It looked like that in the third quarter when Dolphins safety Reshad Jones jumped a slant route, grabbed Mariota’s pass toward Walker and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown. It was a play the Titans used for a 13-yard gain in the first quarter.
Jones said his interception was a case where “preparation met opportunity.”
“I studied film all week,” he said. “Once I saw a certain formation, I knew the ball should be coming on a slant. I took advantage and I got it in the end zone.”
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It also didn’t help that Mariota took a shot to the leg by Dolphins defensive end Olivier Vernon early in the second quarter when the Titans trailed 10-3. It was the first of two roughing-the-passer penalties on Vernon, and it left Mariota lying on the field for a minute or so.
Titans coach Ken Whisenhunt and offensive tackle Taylor Lewan used a term for bovine excrement to describe the first late hit.
“Marcus is a good football player. He’s going to be a target,” Lewan said. “Guys that are good football players are going to be targets. … That’s not only the quarterback, he’s my friend. There is no excuse for what he did.”
But Mariota took it in stride.
“I haven’t looked at the play,” he said. “I don’t have an opinion about it. He came up to me after the game and apologized so I don’t think it was malicious at all.”
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Even so, he played the rest of the way wearing a knee brace. And the hits kept right on coming.
As a three-year starter at Oregon, Mariota was sacked a total of 66 times. He’s on pace to be sacked 61 times — this season.
Asked if Mariota’s struggles were due to the knee injury, Miami’s pass rush or simply having a bad day, Whisenhunt said: “Maybe a little bit of all three. He’s a battler. I love the kid. He’s going to be a really good quarterback in the league. It starts with us being able to protect him better.”
Yes, that would be a start.
Reach David Climer at 615-259-8020 and on Twitter @DavidClimer.
