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Marcus Mariota 'got an earful' from his mom for being rude to the media

Marcus Mariota’s mom wasn’t happy with her son after his game Sunday. And it had nothing to do with his play on the field.

The Tennessee Titans quarterback struggled in a 12-7 loss to the Arizona Cardinals, completing 16 of 31 passes for just 159 yards and two interceptions. Following that performance, Mariota was short with reporters during his postgame news conference. He heard about it from his mom and apologized to the horde of beat writers after practice Wednesday.

“Real quick, I want to say I am sorry for the way handled the press conference,” Mariota said per the Titans team website. “I know not everybody that was there is here. But I was rude and inappropriate, and I just want to say I apologize for it.

“It’s funny, because I got an earful of it from my mom, so that’s how I was raised and I appreciate you guys understanding.”

Mariota said he was “pissed” after the loss and reiterated Wednesday how upset he was with the way he played. In his third season with Tennessee after being selected No. 2 overall in 2015, Mariota has a career-high 14 interceptions and just 10 touchdown passes on the year. Eight of those interceptions have come in his last four games as the 8-5 Titans battle with the Jacksonville Jaguars (9-4) for the AFC South crown.

His up-and-down performance, plus a sprained knee, boiled over when he addressed the media, but it’s nothing compared to how other players could have handled the situation. Dating back to his time at Oregon, where he won the Heisman Trophy, Mariota has been known as one of the more cordial and polite players.

Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota had a rough performance against Arizona. (AP)
Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota had a rough performance against Arizona. (AP)

Mariota said Wednesday the knee is “good” and he was listed as a full participant in at practice with another road game, this time against the San Francisco 49ers, on the horizon. It’s probably safe to say, win or lose, he’ll be a little more courteous toward the media after the game.

If not, he’ll hear from mom again.

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Sam Cooper is a writer for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!