At least the NFL schedule-makers have a sense of timing. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tennessee Titans, each with a rookie quarterback taken early in this year's draft, faced off against one another in Week 1 Sunday. It was the first time in NFL history the first two picks (Jameis Winston of the Buccaneers first; Marcus Mariota of the Titans second) in a draft faced off as quarterbacks in Week 1 of that same season. Mariota decisively won round one, throwing four touchdown passes in the Titans' 42-14 win.
Marcus Mariota shines, Jameis Winston struggles in debut for teams, fantasy football owners
The first two picks in this year’s draft faced each other Sunday, and only one came out feeling good. We break down the fantasy implications.
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Mariota completed 13 of his 16 pass attempts for 209 yards and four touchdowns, with all four scores coming in the first half. He ceded the helm to Zach Mettenberger late in the game, with the outcome decided. Mariota had a perfect passer rating of 158.3 in the game. Winston struggled a lot more -- his first pass attempt turned into a pick-six for the Titans. In the end, he completed 16 of 33 pass attempts for two scores, but also had two interceptions. Winston did add six rushes for 18 yards.
Fantasy impact: It’s one game for two rookies with spotty teams around them; drawing sweeping conclusions would be foolhardy. Yes, Mariota looked great, and Winston didn’t (his stat line is inflated by some garbage time scoring), but it’s only one game. Maybe this game bumps Mariota up into the top 20 among quarterbacks and pushes Winston down to the 25 range, but that’s about as far as it makes sense to go. Give it another week before making huge decisions here.
Still, this was a big game, considering the sub-mediocrity of the teams involved, and we certainly have something to talk about afterward.
