Marcus Mariota’s second preseason showing was better than his first.
That’s exactly the kind of progress the Titans want to see from the No. 2 pick in last year’s draft. It’s still the preseason and Mariota still has much growing to do, but he looked comfortable and confident in completing 5-of-9 passes for 58 yards against the Rams Sunday night.
His last pass should have gone for a 9-yard touchdown to Dexter McCluster after Mariota scanned the field and threw to the middle instead of bailing out of the pocket and trying to run, but McCluster dropped the pass in the end zone. The Titans went eight plays in 71 yards and settled for a field goal.
After (too) much was made of Mariota having a streak of not throwing an interception for more than two weeks in training camp practices, he turned the ball over on the first two possessions in last week’s preseason opener, once on a fumble and once by interception. Mariota was 7-of-8 for 94 yards in that game but the Titans also didn’t score a touchdown.
In two series Sunday, the Titans moved the ball and Mariota looked to be in control of the offense. He’s still transitioning from spread quarterback in college to professional being asked to command the huddle and be the face of the franchise, so every bit of work against a real opponent counts.