ATLANTA — Tennessee Titans rookie quarterback Marcus Mariota learned quickly Friday night that games — even preseason ones — are far different than practice.
On back-to-back plays in the first drive of his first preseason game, the No. 2 pick in the draft took his first NFL sack and threw his first NFL interception, neither of which had happened over the past two weeks as he received rave reviews and plenty of hype for his accurate passing at training camp in Nashville.
On his next possession, Mariota experienced another first when he had the ball batted out of his hand, and it was returned for a Falcons touchdown.