Marcus Mariota and the Tennessee Titans overcame an 18-point deficit to beat the Kansas City Chiefs 22-21 in the AFC Wild Card Round, and now they face their toughest task yet in the New England Patriots.
The Titans will head to Gillette Stadium on Saturday with a chance to advance to the AFC Championship Game, and Tennessee’s star quarterback believes there is one thing in particular that the team must do in order to be successful against the Patriots.
Convert on third down.
Mariota went on Tuesday’s edition of ESPN’s “NFL Live” to discuss the matchup with the AFC’s No. 1 seed and gush a little bit about Tom Brady.
“Convert third downs,” Mariota said when asked what was the one thing his team has to do against New England. “We’ve got to keep drives going, you know, keep their offense off the field. Find ways to score points and try to make the most of every drive.”
And as for Brady, the Oregon product referred to his counterpart as, you guessed it, the best ever.
“I mean, how long he’s played and definitely he’s been playing at a high level,” Mariota said. “Year in and year out he’s been consistently good, and he’s probably one of the best ever, so it’s going to be fun and I look forward to the challenge.”
Mariota took a step back in his third season, but he did it all in the Titans’ win over the Chiefs, throwing for two touchdowns (one to himself) as well as throwing a game-winning block for running back Derrick Henry.
Tennessee will need him to be even better to have a chance Saturday against Brady and the Patriots.
