Watching Mariota was concerning in that it makes you realise just how fragile this whole thing could be. We just couldn’t move the ball at all out there once we sat JD.
Now, maybe Kingsbury didn’t feel a need to adjust his playcalling for just 1 quarter, and maybe if this happened for and extended stretch of games he’d take Mariota’s limitations into account and game plan differently.
But it all shows how much the combo of run ability to freeze a défense and quick decision making and accuracy, elevates this offense.
We’re in trouble if JD goes out for an extended period, but then the same is true for any other team losing an elite playmaker at QB.
Weirdly, it’s a kind of nice place to be in 😂
Too many years past we’ve been fine(ish) with losing starters as the drop off hasn’t been that bad (sometimes an improvement!)
This year, we know there’s no real replacing JD.