Tennessee Titans players were quite boisterous on Twitter when their former teammate, Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Marcus Mariota, made his 2020 debut on Thursday night against the Los Angeles Chargers.
And that excitement only escalated when Mariota threw an absolute dime to tight end Darren Waller for a touchdown to cap off his first drive in the wake of starter Derek Carr getting hurt.
Mariota looked very impressive overall despite the losing result, finishing with a 60.7 percent completion rate for 226 passing yards, 88 rushing yards and two total touchdowns to one interception.
When speaking to the media on Friday, Titans head coach Mike Vrabel and wide receiver A.J. Brown both shared their thoughts on Mariota’s first game for the Silver and Black.
For Vrabel, he says it was “absolutely easy” to root for Mariota, as was the case for all Titans fans who still have a soft spot for the former No. 2 overall pick.
#Titans Mike Vrabel says it was “absolutely easy” to pull for Marcus Mariota when he saw the tail end of the Raiders game last night. Was happy to see him get an opportunity to play and it looked like he was out there having fun.
— TURRON DAVENPORT (@TDavenport_NFL) December 18, 2020
Brown, who was one of the players reacting on Twitter last night, recalled how Mariota used to take the blame for everything that went wrong, even when it wasn’t his fault. He also expressed how happy he was to see No. 8 back out on a football field.
.@Brown1arthur on Marcus Mariota: "When he came in the game, I was excited to see him. He's a hard worker, and a great person, and to see him out there last night means everything to me.@Titans @Raiders
— Jim Wyatt (@jwyattsports) December 18, 2020
[lawrence-related id=52874]
Aside from being a good football player who is exciting to watch when healthy, Mariota has always been a very likable guy, hence why it’s easy to cheer for him.
Following his stellar debut, the Oregon product talked about the “long journey” it took for him to get there, according to Lindsey Wisniewski of NBC Sports Northwest:
“You know to be truthful, it’s been a long journey,” Mariota said. “I’ve been through kind of everything, from injuries to surgeries, to mental lapses, and the confidence thing. I just really appreciate the Raiders and the entire organization for kind of helping me through that. I was trying to kind of find my way again and they gave me an opportunity to take some time, were patient with me and I just appreciate the fact that they were willing to do that.
“Again, it’s just kind of part of being an athlete. You’re going to go some ups and downs, and I think the staff did a great job of kind of keeping me level-headed and kind of fighting through it. When it comes down to it, it’s still ball. I just love being out there again. It was fun to play. Unfortunately, we just didn’t make enough plays.”
While the Raiders’ playoff hopes are in bad shape, it looks as though Mariota will continue to get the opportunity he has been waiting for all season. Carr’s injury appears to be serious, so it’s Mariota’s ball for the foreseeable future.
[lawrence-related id=52899,52887,52874]
[listicle id=52894]