Mariota Makes History in Rookie Debut

History Published on : 10/25/2015

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.
 


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
 
Scoring Summary
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)
 
Individual Statistics
         
Rushing
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  
 
Passing
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
 
Receiving
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