Mariota Makes History in Rookie Debut
Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota had an impressive rookie debut in the team’s 42-14 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sept. 13, 2015. He hit the ground running by completing 13 of his 16 passes for 209 yards and a record tying four touchdowns. The only other player to throw that many touchdown passes in a rookie debut was Gold Jacket Fran Tarkenton.
Great day by Marcus Mariota! https://t.co/8QL6D2fvbD
— Fran Tarkenton (@Fran_Tarkenton) September 14, 2015
Minnesota Vikings quarterback George Shaw won the starting QB job heading into the 1961 season opener against the Chicago Bears. After a poor performance in the first quarter, head coach Norm Van Brocklin benched Shaw and replaced him with Tarkenton. His first series stalled, but in the second quarter Tarkenton connected with Schnelker for a 14-yard touchdown pass to put his team ahead by ten points. He followed that touchdown pass with two more in the third quarter and one more in the fourth to seal the Vikings 37-13 upset victory against the heavily favored Bears.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | |
| Chicago | 0 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 13 |
| Minnesota | 3 | 7 | 13 | 14 | 37 |
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Scoring Summary
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|
| 1st Quarter | |
| Vikings | FG Mercer 12 |
| 2nd Quarter | |
| Vikings | Schnelker 14 pass from Tarkenton (Mercer kick) |
| Bears | Casares 3 run (kick failed) |
| 3rd Quarter | |
| Vikings | Reichow 29 pass from Tarkenton (Mercer kick) |
| Vikings | McElhenny 3 pass from Tarkenton (Mercer kick) |
| 4th Quarter | |
| Vikings | Tarkenton 1 run (Mercer kick) |
| Vikings | Middleton 2 pass from Tarkenton (kick blocked) |
| Bears | Galimore 10 pass from Wade (LeClerc kick) |
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Individual Statistics
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Rushing
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| Bears | ||||
| No. | Yards | TD | ||
| E. Brown | 4 | 29 | 0 | |
| Galimore | 12 | 47 | 0 | |
| Casares | 11 | 38 | 1 | |
| Wade | 2 | 30 | 0 | |
| B. Brown | 2 | 14 | 0 | |
| Adams | 4 | -24 | 0 | |
| Vikings | ||||
| No. | Yards | TD | ||
| Triplett | 8 | 26 | 0 | |
| McElhenny | 6 | 25 | 0 | |
| Tarkenton | 4 | 11 | 1 | |
| Mason | 4 | 8 | 0 | |
| Mayberry | 4 | 8 | 0 | |
| Shaw | 3 | 1 | 0 | |
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Passing
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| Bears | |||||
| Att | Comp | Yards | TD | Int | |
| E. Brown | 7 | 2 | 37 | 0 | 2 |
| Wade | 10 | 6 | 109 | 1 | 2 |
| Vikings | |||||
| Att | Comp | Yards | TD | Int | |
| Tarkenton | 23 | 17 | 250 | 4 | 0 |
| Shaw | 3 | 2 | 22 | 0 | 0 |
| McElhenny | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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Receiving
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| Bears | ||||
| No. | Yards | TD | ||
| Morris | 4 | 92 | 0 | |
| Coia | 2 | 26 | 0 | |
| Ditka | 1 | 18 | 0 | |
| Galimore | 1 | 10 | 1 | |
| Vikings | ||||
| No. | Yards | TD | ||
| McElhenny | 6 | 54 | 1 | |
| Middleton | 4 | 50 | 1 | |
| Reichow | 3 | 103 | 1 | |
| Triplett | 2 | 27 | 0 | |
| Schnelker | 2 | 22 | 1 | |
| Mason | 2 | 16 | 0 | |
Thomas and Williams Part of Black College HOF's Class of '16
Gold Jackets Emmitt Thomas and Aeneas Williams were recently elected to the Black College Football Hall of Fame's Class of '16.
Talking with Tarkenton
Listen to Tarkenton's interview about his life changing visit to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, his special moment with his former center and Class of 2015 member Mick Tingelhoff and about his inspirational book.