EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – DECEMBER 16: Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) during the National Football League game between the New York Giants and the Tennessee Titans on December 16, 2018 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Marcus Mariota suffered an injury last week, and the Titans will hope he’s ready to go for their must-win game against the Colts on Sunday.
The Tennessee Titans will play their biggest game of the year in Week 17 when they host the Indianapolis Colts with the winner going to the playoffs and the loser going home. The biggest question is whether the Titans will have Marcus Mariota for the playoff play-in game.
Mariota left Saturday’s win vs. Washington at the end of the first half with a stinger. The good news for Tennessee is that head coach Mike Vrabel says Mariota is feeling better, and he still has six more days to keep making progress.
The Titans have gotten hot at the perfect time, winning four straight games to remain in the hunt for a playoff berth. Their playoff lives flashed before their eyes when Mariota went down and it was up to backup Blaine Gabbert to rally the team in the second half vs. Washington.
Gabbert helped them pull out a 25-16 win, completing 7 of 11 passes for 101 yards, including the go-ahead touchdown pass.
But in a must-win game next Sunday at home against the Colts, the Titans won’t want to have to put their trust in Gabbert. The Titans hope Mariota can still be their franchise quarterback and they’ll need him to be healthy to knock off the Colts and a red-hot Andrew Luck.
It’s likely that, throughout the week, Mariota will be tested to see what he’s comfortable doing. Expect him to be out or limited in practice early in the week before a questionable designation is placed on Mariota.
As Sunday night’s game draws closer his status will be closely monitored but it’s hard to imagine Mariota would miss his team’s most important game of the year.