Every week in the NFL, something will jump out at you and show you that it is a quarterback driven league. As Marcus Mariota returned from his injury in week nine, it was clearly different to see his production on the field compared to his backup in Zach Mettenberger.
Many people didn't give the Tennessee Titans much of a chance in week nine as they faced a streaking hot New Orleans Saints club. In fact, all of the writers in the weekly predictions at VAVEL USA didn't pick the Titans at all. Everyone had their minds set on Drew Brees, especially after his wonderful seven passing touchdown game against the New York Giants.
But Mariota would show them something different. He would not take a single sack, and he completed 28 of his 39 pass attempts for a grand total of 371 yards and four touchdowns. His QBR for the game was listed at 94.8 out of 100. Also, his passer rating was up to a 135.7, both of which were better than his counterpart in Brees.
Of the touchdowns he threw, he found Delanie Walker for two of them, Justin Hunter for another one, but he found Anthony Fasano for the game winning touchdown pass in overtime. There is nothing bigger than getting a game winning and game ending touchdown. Plus, he not only got the Titans a victory, but they got a road victory in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The Saints have struggled at home lately, but the Superdome has been known for it's noise ever since the games came back there following Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Mariota will be staying in the same division at home during week ten, but this time he will be facing a much stiffer defense. The 8-0 Carolina Panthers are coming to town, and everyone knows that Cam Newton, Luke Kuechly, Josh Norman, and Thomas Davis will not be taking it easy on the young rookie quarterback, but Mariota still has a solid chance to outshine his competition.