Marcus Mariota set a surprising record in the Tennessee Titans’ 34-17 loss to the Houston Texans on Monday night.
Mariota went 22/23 for 303 yards and two touchdowns in the game. He completed 95.7 percent of his passes in the game, which is the highest completion percentage for a quarterback in a loss. The previous record holder was Derek Carr, who went 29/32 (90.63 percent) in a September loss to Denver. When a quarterback has those kinds of numbers, you typically expect a win.
Mariota looked sharp early in the game. He completed passes down the field to Corey Davis, and he found Jonnu Smith for a short completion over the middle that Smith took for a 61-yard touchdown. Tennessee even opened up with a 10-0 lead before the game turned one-sided, with the contest swinging on a 4th-and-1 stop at the 3 followed by a 97-yard touchdown run for Houston.
It’s hard to know what to make of Mariota’s performance in this kind of a loss. He makes lots of short passes and checkdowns, which are easier throws to complete. At the same time, he took throws that were available, while he did make some long completions to Davis. He probably does not have enough playmakers at wide receiver to give him better options to take shots downfield. The other issue is he took 6 sacks for 43 yards and should throw the ball away more to avoid such losses.
The high completion percentage is a sign of Mariota doing a lot right, but also signs that he should throw the ball away more and probably needs more receiver threats he can take chances with down the field.
