In his first game as the starting quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons, Marcus Mariota did some postive things but not when it mattered most as the Saints mounted their 16-point comeback at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Sunday's season opener.
Despite his efficient 215 yards through the air going 20 for 33 and 72 yards on the ground, a pair of miscues in key moments will be the lasting images from the crushing 27-26 defeat—the fumble in the red zone and a bobbled snap that led to a failed 3rd down conversion.
If Mariota doesn’t put the ball on the turf and the Falcons score a touchdown at the end of the 3rd quarter to go up 30-10, the lead may be too much for the Saints to overcome. If he gets the snap cleanly on the 3rd and 1 with 1:40 to play, a first down allows Atlanta to run the clock out and escape with a narrow victory. For a player attempting to resurrect his career as a former 2nd overall pick, Steak Shapiro & Sandra Golden said on 92.9 The Game’s ‘The Steakhouse’ that he’s not doing himself any favors with rookie Desmond Ridder waiting in the wings.
“You don’t get a passing grade. You lost the game for us…Marcus Mariota fumbled the snap on 3rd and 1. You’re the quarterback. You're a veteran. That was a losing football play. Fumbling inside the five, that’s a losing football play. Of course, I like that you can run better than Matt Ryan…I like that you found Drake London, but whatever, it doesn't matter. We’re going to be 2-7, and you’re going to get benched whether or not it’s fair because you have to show us you're playing winning football.”
To this credit, Mariota owned up to the mistakes postgame, but that does nothing to quell the anger of the Falcons fans that filled the stadium Sunday.
“You came here to turn around the narrative of your career…You have the ball in your hands on 3rd and 1. The building is sold out. All those Falcons fans want one minute to turn to their neighbor and say to them ‘go home to New Orleans., we just won.’ Execute it, make a winning play,” Shapiro exclaimed.
A few short completions did put the Falcons on the Saints' side of the 50 at the end, but it wasn’t nearly close enough as a Younghoe Koo 64-yard field goal attempt was blocked at the horn.
There’s still time for Mariota to build off the positive signs we saw Sunday, but when the time comes to make a ‘winning play,’ he’ll have to prove that he can step up. He'll have to start against the defending Super Bowl champion Rams next week.
