Marcus Mariota vs. Falcons: Stats, Reaction and Updated 2015 Fantasy Advice

Tennessee Titans rookie quarterback Marcus Mariota made his much-anticipated professional debut in the team's preseason opener against the host Atlanta Falcons on Friday. It was a solid first showing that got better after a bad start.

The 2014 Heisman winner went 7-of-8 for 94 yards with one interception, one lost fumble and one sack. He also had one rushing attempt that lost six yards. 

Recap and Reaction

Per the NFL on ESPN's Twitter account, here's how Mariota's numbers stack up compared to the last three Heisman winners in their NFL preseason debut:

There were moments when Mariota showed his inexperience against NFL defenses. For instance, his interception came on a busted screen play, and he threw the ball right into the hands of Falcons linebacker Justin Durant. 

Here's what the play looked like, via the NFL's official Twitter:

NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah noted that was a moment for Mariota to learn from:

One fun tidbit about the fledgling signal-caller's interception, per ESPN's Ed Werder: It's the first he has had since training camp started:

Turnovers are part of being a young quarterback in the NFL. Some of the best QBs in history had a lot of them in their first season:

Player	Interception Total	Season
Peyton Manning (16 starts)	28	1998
Troy Aikman (11 starts)	18	1989
Andrew Luck (16 starts)	18	2012

There were other little things for the 21-year-old Mariota to show he could handle in this game, other than an interceptionless streak carrying over from training camp. 

One of the most encouraging signs was how Mariota responded following the pick. He was 2-of-3 with 16 yards passing at the time. But he finished 5-of-5 for 78 yards after that and helped put the offense in position for Dexter McCluster's six-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter. 

Sports Illustrated's Andrew Perloff was complimentary toward Mariota for how he came back from the brutal start:

In addition to those numbers, his command of the offense and presence was a big factor. By Mariota's admission at the scouting combine, as relayed by Pro Football Talk's Michael David Smith, the biggest change for him was going to be moving from Oregon's quick-strike offense to the huddle. 

“It’s gonna be huddling—I haven’t huddled in a while,” Mariota said. “It seems like a little detail, but that is kind of a big thing.”

Sports Illustrated's Chris Burke jokingly noted early in the game that Mariota had been in the Titans' huddle four times and had "not yet laid down in a fetal position because it was too much to handle."

Mariota doesn't need to be brilliant in all four preseason games for Titans fans to be excited. He needs to do exactly what he did after throwing the interception—relax, take control of the offense and respond with points. 

Fantasy Outlook

Mariota isn't worth drafting in fantasy, at least not yet. He's still a rookie quarterback playing on a bad team without a lot of offensive weapons. 

As good as his response following the interception was, it's important to note that Atlanta's defense allowed the most passing yards (4,478) in the NFL last season. 

It's also unclear at this point how Titans head coach Ken Whisenhunt intends to use Mariota's legs in the offense. He didn't get a chance to display it in this game, but his rushing ability will play a factor at some point because of his 4.52-second 40-yard dash at the combine. 

Because of the way Mariota is able to use his arm and legs, he offers value as a potential waiver claim for your bench in a deep league—like 15 teams—or even as a potential insurance policy in case you have New England quarterback Tom Brady and may need to carry someone else as depth for four games. 

This outlook for Mariota is fluid, as he still has three more preseason games to play. He made a strong impression on his final drive, building confidence as the contest moved along. Whisenhunt was smart to end his quarterback's night after the Titans got on the board, as Mariota will head into their next tilt with St. Louis on August 23 with some momentum.