For the first time since Avengers: Endgame was the top grossing movie in the US (2019), the Colts will face off against Marcus Mariota at Quarterback. On Friday the Washington Commanders announced that starting QB Jaden Daniels would be out for a 2nd straight week with an elbow injury. Thus Mariota gets another start after leading a surprise upset victory over the reigning Super Bowl Champion Seahawks in Week 3.
Last week Mariota had 3 Passing TDs: one to RB Rachaad White, one to fellow former Tennessee Titan (albeit different eras) Treylon Burks, and one to former Mr Indiana Football Terry McLaurin.
He has yet to turn the ball over, and out of 32 QBs with 45+ Passing Attempts, Mariota ranks 11th in On Target Throw Rate at 77.3% (Daniel Jones is right behind him at 12th with 76.3%). And its not because Mariota has been dinking and dunking with short throws either, he ranks 7th in Average Depth of Throw with 8.5 showing a willingness to test a Defense vertically (stats per Sports Info Solutions).
The 32 year old former 2nd Overall Pick for the Tennessee Titans has a 2-5 record as a starter against the Colts from his 2015-2019 tenure with the AFC South rival to start his career. In those 7 career games he has racked up:
- 143/217 Passing = 65.9% Completion %
- 1,618 Passing Yards
- 7.5 Yards Per Attempt
- 9 Passing TDs
- 6 INTs
- 20 Sacks
- 90.4 Passer Rating
- 21 Carries
- 96 Rushing Yards
- 4.6 Yards Per Carry
- 0 Rushing TDs
- 4 Fumbles
But it has been 7 years since then, and in that time Marcus Mariota has bounced around the league. His NFL journey has had 4 different stops since he lost the starting job to Ryan Tannehill mid-2019 season:
- The Las Vegas Raiders backup QB (2020-2021)
- 13 Game Starter with the Atlanta Falcons (2022)
- Backup QB for the Philadelphia Eagles (2023)
- Backup QB with the Washington Commanders, 8 starts in 2025 with Daniels injured (2024-present)
Since leaving the Titans, Mariota has appeared in 43 games (22 starts) and recorded some solid stats as a journeyman:
- 420/671 Passing = 62.6% Completion %
- 4,966 Passing Yards
- 7.4 Yards Per Attempts
- 35 Passing TDs
- 18 INTs
- 52 Sacks
- 91.3 Passer Rating
- 189 Carries
- 1,068 Rushing Yards
- 5.7 Yards Per Carry
- 8 Rushing TDs
- 16 Fumbles
As both teams journey to London, England to face off at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the Colts have an opportunity to beat an old foe once again and Mariota has a shot at redemption against one of his biggest obstacles from early in his career.
