On Monday night, Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota completed 22-of-23 passes (95.7%) for 303 yards, threw two touchdown passes, threw zero interceptions, and had a passer rating of 147.7. Mariota completed his first 19 pass attempts.
That obviously looks quite, quite good on paper.
And the Titans were walloped by the Houston Texans, 34-17.
Mariota becomes the second quarterback in the Super Bowl era to attempt at least 15 passes and complete 90%+ of them… and lose (joining the Raiders’ Derek Carr, who did that in Week 2 of this season).
Marcus Mariota is currently 17-of-17 passing but is down 10.
In the Super Bowl era only 1 quarterback has lost a game in which he attempted 15 passes and completed at least 90% of them. That was Derek Carr in Week 2 of this season (29-of-32, 90.6%). pic.twitter.com/8efw8gmuxj
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) November 27, 2018
Mariota’s 95.7 completion percentage is the second-best in NFL history for quarterbacks with at least 20 attempts, behind only the Chargers’ Philip Rivers… who set the record on Sunday.
Marcus Mariota completed 22-23 (95.7%) of his passes against the Texans on Monday — it's the 2nd-best Comp pct in a game in NFL history, behind Philip Rivers' yesterday (min. 20 attempts). Mariota completed his first 19 passes.
— John Brickley (@JohnABrickley) November 27, 2018
Now, the game featured plenty of dink-and-dunk action from Mariota, especially in garbage time when the Texans were glad to give up yards in exchange for time running off the clock. And Mariota was sacked six times, though that’s probably more on his offensive line.
However, you’d still think that with Mariota’s passing numbers and efficiency on the night, his team wouldn’t lose by *17* points.
But that happened because the Tennessee defense was unable to stop the Houston offense.
Deshaun Watson had a terrific passing night of his own, completing 19-of-24 passes, throwing two touchdowns and no interceptions, and putting together a 130.9 passer rating.
And the Texans’ run game was especially a problem for the Titans. Houston had 34 carries for 281 yards (9.1 yards per carry) and two touchdowns. Lamar Miller led the way with 12 carries for 162 yards, good for 13.5 yards per carry. Most of that damage from Miller came on a 97-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, which happened immediately after the Titans were stuffed on 4th-and-1 at the goal line. Quite a game-changing sequence.
LAMAR MILLER PUT ON THE BURNERS! 🏃💨💨💨💨
97-yard #Texans TOUCHDOWN! @millertime_6
📺: #TENvsHOU on ESPN https://t.co/qy7uzkHi23
— NFL (@NFL) November 27, 2018
After starting the season 0-3, the Texans have won eight games in a row to get to 8-3. They have a two-game lead over the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC South, and now a three-game lead over the 5-6 Titans.
