NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Marcus Mariota was named the AFC's Player of the Week following his Week 1 performance against the Buccaneers.
The Titans quarterback was named the NFL's Offensive Rookie of the Month in September.
Four games into his first season, however, Mariota has celebrated just one victory so far. Mariota said the slow start has only added to the thirst to win.
"I think the team understands you are going to go through some trials and tribulations. I think guys are anxious,'' Mariota said. "But I think that just fuels the fire, fuels the motivation and gets us ready for Sunday."
The Titans (1-3) face the Dolphins (1-3) at Nissan Stadium on Sunday.
The Titans have lost three straight following a season-opening win against the Buccaneers.
This past Sunday, Mariota completed 21-of-32 passes for 187 yards in a 14-13 loss to Buffalo. He threw an interception on the game's final offensive play in the closing minutes, but Titans receiver Justin Hunter said "that's on me" on Wednesday when discussing the interception.
Hunter ran an improper route on the ball intended for Kendall Wright, which put Bills cornerback Stephon Gilmore in the area to intercept the pass.
On Wednesday, Mariota blamed himself for underthrowing a deep ball to Wright earlier in the game.
"I can do a better job for sure,'' Mariota said. "For instance, Kendall was open on one of the deep balls this past weekend and I missed it. But I'll fix it, I'll correct that and hopefully we improve in that area."
Mariota leads all NFL rookies in touchdown passes (8) and passer rating (99.7) in the first four games, and he has two touchdown passes in three of his first four NFL starts.
Mariota said the Titans "can't get down on ourselves" after a slow start.
"You can always learn from your mistakes, and I think as a group this team continues to learn from their mistakes. We are improving. We have been in all these games and we just have to figure out a way to close it out,'' Mariota said.
"I do believe that this team is very confident, that hasn't wavered. We are going to hopefully get back on track this weekend, and look forward to using at as momentum."
