Mariota, Brown Shine on Big Day for Former Titans

How’s this for a stat you didn’t know you needed to know?

Former Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota on Sunday became the third NFL quarterback since 1950 to throw three touchdown passes and direct a game-winning drive on his birthday.

Seriously. NFL Research shared that nugget after Mariota, on the day he turned 29, helped the Atlanta Falcons (4-4) take sole possession of first place in the NFC South with a wild 37-34 overtime victory over the Carolina Panthers. The only others who can say they did the same are Russell Wilson (2015) and Warren Moon (1990).

It was the first time in his career that Mariota played a game on his birthday. In 2016, his second season with Tennessee, his birthday fell on a Sunday, but the Titans played a Thursday night game that week and defeated Jacksonville 36-22.

He and his Falcons teammate got to celebrate a triumph in this one despite an interception he threw on the third play of overtime. They got a reprieve, though, when Carolina missed a game-winning field goal, and five plays later, Mariota’s 30-yard run set up the game-winning kick.

“No matter what, however it comes about, just enjoy it,” Mariota said after the game. “With that being said, it’s always easier to go in on Monday to look back on corrections when you’ve won the game than it is when you lost.”

Mariota finished 20-28 for 253 yards passing with three touchdowns and two interceptions. He also ran it six times for 43 yards on what was a big day for a number of former Titans.

A look:

• A.J. Brown, WR, Philadelphia: Brown set a career-high with 156 receiving yards, which he did on just six catches. He also scored three touchdowns (39, 27 and 29 yards, respectively) – all within the first 24 minutes of the contest – as the Eagles routed the Pittsburgh Steelers 35-13 and remained the league’s only unbeaten team (7-0). He became the first player since Drew Bennett with Tennessee in 2004 (at Indianapolis) to score three touchdowns of more than 25 yards in the first half.

Brown’s previous career-high was 155 yards (once with Tennessee, once with Philadelphia) and both times he needed 10 receptions to get there. Brown currently leads Philadelphia in receptions (39), receiving yards (659) and receiving touchdowns (five).

“Just throw that mother[bleeper] to number 11,” tackle Lane Johnson said, via NJ.com. “That guy had a special day. We didn’t run the ball that much.”

• D’Onta Foreman, RB, Carolina: Foreman’s performance as a fill-in for Derrick Henry last season earned him an opportunity for a bigger role with the Panthers. Things got even better for him when Christian McCaffery was traded to San Francisco, and Sunday against the Falcons he set a career-high with three rushing touchdowns, two in the fourth quarter (he had five for his career coming into the contest). Foreman rushed for 118 yards – the second-highest total of his career – for the second straight week and matched his career-high with 26 carries.

"I just played my game,” Foreman said. “The line did great moving those guys. I just tried to play my game, be physical, run hard and make those guys have to tackle me. I just felt like we started to wear them down as the game went on. I felt like that was the plan.”

Four players scored at least three touchdowns on Sunday, only the fifth time since 2000 that has been the case. Foreman and Brown were two of the four.

• Rodger Saffold, G and David Quessenberry, T, Buffalo: As they did most of last season, Saffold was the left guard and Quessenberry was the right tackle on the same offensive line. This year, though, they are with the Bills, who cruised past the Green Bay Packers 27-17 on Sunday night. It was the first start of the season for Quessenberry, who played every offensive snap. Saffold missed just one play on offense.

Buffalo set a season-high with 153 rushing yards and improved to 6-1, best in the AFC and second overall to Brown and the Eagles.

• Kalif Raymond, WR, Detroit: For the fifth straight game, the diminutive Raymond produced more receiving yards than he had the previous week. This time it was 76 yards on just three catches in a loss to Miami, which was one yard better than the previous game. His 43-yard reception in the second quarter was his longest of the season.

With 17 receptions for 238 yards, Raymond already has nearly as many receptions this season as he did in 2019 and 2020 with the Titans combined (18 receptions).

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