Marcus Mariota’s return for Monday Night Football keeps the Titans in AFC South race
By Joe Romano
Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota is on track to play against Indianapolis in Monday Night Football.
There is an AFC South battle on tap for Monday Night Football between the Tennessee Titans and Indianapolis Colts.
While the Colts await the return of their franchise quarterback from injury, the Titans expect theirs in the lineup. According to NFL reporter Adam Schefter, Marcus Mariota will return to action following a hamstring injury. Mariota missed the team’s last game, a loss to the Miami Dolphins.
The Titans are a different team with Mariota under center. The veteran backup quarterback Matt Cassel does not offer anywhere near the abilities of the Oregon product.
The talented dual-threat quarterback keeps defenses on their heels. The Titans offense features a heavy run attack. Mariota peppers in smart decisions and some rushing. Through three years and 931 pass attempts, Mariota has only thrown 22 interceptions. Taking over after the injury, Cassel threw two to Mariota’s three on the season.
While Cassel was able to limit his turnovers in last Sunday’s game against Miami, the offense was never able to find a rhythm. Now, the Titans can rely on Mariota to keep them in the AFC South hunt.
The Colts, Mariota’s Week 6 opponent, were once yearly favorites to win the division, but have hit hard times. They’re allowing 294 yards per game through the air and over 100 on the ground. Monday night’s game gets even more difficult with the Titans’ quarterback returning to the field.
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Indianapolis could not stop Mariota in the two matchups last year, even if the Colts won both contests. Mariota threw four touchdowns and no interceptions but the Colts were able to stop the Titans rushing attack. This year, with Derrick Henry only getting better at spelling DeMarco Murray, that will not be the case.
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Tennessee will look for a win tonight to get to up .500, which would put them a game back of the AFC South-leading Jacksonville Jaguars.