Marcus Mariota threw four touchdown passes in the first half of his debut appearance for the Tennessee Titans to put his side 35-7 up at the break in their game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
For the first time in the history of the NFL, the top two picks in this year's Draft met in the opening week of the season, with top pick Jameis Winston starting for the Buccaneers, while the Titans started Mariota at quarterback.
It did not take Mariota long to have an impact as he connected with Kendall Wright with his first pass, leaving the wide receiver to run in for a 52-yard touchdown less than two minutes into the game.
The Titans extended their lead moments later when Winston's first NFL pass was intercepted by Coty Sensabaugh, who ran it back for another Tennessee touchdown.
The AFC South side continued their bright start when Mariota connected with Bishop Sankey for the Titans' third touchdown of the opening quarter, but Winston started to find his receivers at the start of the second, making his first career touchdown pass with a throw to the back of the endzone for Austin Seferian-Jenkins.
The Titans continued to look strong on offense though, with Sankey getting them back into a good field position before Mariota found Harry Douglas for his third touchdown pass of the first half.
Winston's patchy debut continued as he made a second interception to give the ball back to Tennessee just before half time, allowing the rookie quarterback to strike again with a quick pass to Delanie Walker, leaving the visiting side with a 28-point advantage at the end of the second quarter.
Sian Cowper
