Analysis: What Marcus Mariota brings to Raiders offense

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Monday, Dec. 21, 2020 | 2 a.m.

The Raiders offense has been tailored around the strengths of franchise quarterback Derek Carr, so when he went down with a groin injury early in Thursday’s loss to the Los Angeles Chargers it was a sure bet that things would look different under the direction of backup Marcus Mariota.

To his credit, Mariota showed that “different” does not necessarily mean “worse,” as he looked sharp in his first game action of the season and nearly pulled off the win in overtime. In his relief outing, Mariota completed 17-of-28 passes for 226 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He also carried nine times for 88 yards and a score.

After the game, Mariota fulfilled his duty as a backup by saying the Raiders are “Derek’s team,” but coach Jon Gruden classified Carr as 50/50 to play Saturday, when Las Vegas will try to stave off elimination from the playoff race in a home game against Miami.

If Carr cannot play in that game, can Mariota rise to the challenge and give the Raiders a chance to win?

If Mariota starts, it’s safe to say the offense will look different again. His running ability is a big weapon, and though he hadn’t played all year, Gruden had some packages ready to take advantage of his speed.

On this play, Mariota lines up in a shotgun formation and feigns a handoff, but this could be a designed quarterback run as tight end Darren Waller comes across the formation and serves as a lead blocker as Mariota runs a sweep to the right side:

That play went for 26 yards, and had Waller actually put in some effort to block his man downfield Mariota might have broken it for a touchdown.

The Raiders also ran some pure read-options, like this play. Mariota reads the unblocked defensive end at the mesh point, and once the DE commits to crashing down on the running back Mariota pulls the ball out and swings outside:

Asking Mariota to run the read-option is like dropping Aquaman in the middle of the ocean — it’s just what he does. And his instincts and athleticism showed on that play. Instead of turning it upfield off-tackle for a nice little 5- or 6-yard gain, he stretches it outside, sets up a block by Jason Witten and then turns the corner for 12 yards.

In his Friday press conference, Gruden confirmed that Las Vegas will continue to utilize Mariota in the running game if he gets the start on Sunday.

“If Derek can’t go, we’re always going to try and do what our quarterback does best and this guy can really run,” Gruden said. “He’s a dual threat, and he really proved that [on Thursday].”

Mariota’s athleticism also helped him in the passing game, as he moved outside the pocket with ease and kept plays alive.

His internal clock is wound correctly on this play, as he drops back, makes his first two reads, and then breaks the pocket when neither is open. Mariota keeps his eyes downfield and makes a very accurate throw to the sideline for a first down:

That’s the kind of play that made Mariota the No. 2 overall pick once upon a time.

This is not a replay, but it’s close. Here, defensive end Joey Bosa actually gets a hand on Mariota in the pocket, but Mariota shucks free and again escapes through an open lane. He throws on the move again and makes another accurate throw to move the chains:

Pocket presence was Mariota’s biggest weakness during his time in Tennessee. He took too many sacks and never seemed to understand where pressure was coming from or how much time he had to throw, so seeing his clock tick on time on Thursday was a good sign.

Mariota said he felt natural outside the pocket.

“I think of myself as a point guard and try to distribute and give our guys an opportunity to just go out there and play,” Mariota said. “Sometimes the defense is going to give you some scrambling lanes, and I just try to execute and make first downs and keep the rhythm going.”

And when the Raiders asked him to work from the pocket he was able to connect at a high rate. He hit Waller in stride down the sideline for a long touchdown, he tucked in a perfect low-and-away ball to Nelson Agholor to convert a 4^th-and-2, and he worked the middle of the field with confidence.

On this play, he knows he’s got Waller working a crossing route against single coverage and he knows Waller is going to win that matchup every time. So even though a pass rusher is coming right down the barrel, Mariota stands in and makes a beautiful throw to lead Waller for a sizable gain:

Mariota was not perfect. He started making some mistakes toward the end of the fourth quarter and overtime, most obviously on his interception, which was thrown way behind his receiver. But there was enough good stuff to believe Mariota can give the team a shot against Miami with the season on the line next weekend, even if it looks a little different than what the Raiders are used to.

Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.