Tennessee Titans: Quarterback battle heating up after loss to Patriots

There’s an alleged quarterback battle in Nashville, and Marcus Mariota may have heard some of those rumors as he showed out on Saturday night.

Saturday night was a big night for the Tennessee Titans at the quarterback position. As we inch closer to the official start of the NFL season, the Titans could still be looking for an answer at the quarterback position.

I wouldn’t say they got an answer on Saturday night as the Titans took on the Patriots in Nashville, but they did get a better idea of where Marcus Mariota is at.

Mariota had a tough start to the preseason with an iffy drive in last week’s preseason game, but he came back this week and went 6-9 for 63 yards and a touchdown.

This comes off the heals of backup quarterback Ryan Tannehill having a pretty good performance last week as Logan Woodside followed.

Tannehill continued his good play against the Patriots as he went 7-11 for 84 yards and a touchdown. Both quarterbacks showed they could lead a drive for a touchdown which only makes the quarterback controversy more interesting as we hit the homestretch of the preseason.

Although Woodside currently isn’t mixed into the quarterback debate in Nashville, he’s definitely proving he deserves a shot to serve as a backup somewhere if the Titans don’t keep him.

He struggled Saturday night completing just 4-13 for 72 yards and was unable to hold the lead against the Patriots.  The lack of offense was the main reason why the Titans failed to win their second preseason game.

But for Mariota and Tannehill, I liked what I saw out of both of them. Mariota showed his running ability as he flipped into the endzone to convert on a two-point conversion.

That’s one place Mariota is better than Tannehill at. With his bad knees, Tannehill can’t run as much as he used to or at least as well as Mariota can. I think the jury is still out on who’s the better quarterback when it comes to throwing the football, but the battle is heating up.

After the game, coach Mike Vrabel seemed to be pleased with both quarterbacks overall, but most of the questions came in on Mariota, so that’s where the focus was.

I think with Mariota looking good in Saturday’s game will only help him. The Titans staff is going to do everything they can to keep him as the starting quarterback. Only if he starts playing really bad and Tannehill starts playing really good will they make that change.

The Titans are Mariota’s team and can be long-term, but it’s up to him to make sure it stays that way. As long as he doesn’t force Vrabel’s hand, then he will continue to be the starter but Tannehill playing well does make the conversation a bit more interesting.