First overall pick Jameis Winston and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers faced second overall pick Marcus Mariota and the Tennessee Titans in week 1 of the 2015 NFL season, with interesting results, as both matched accomplishments from some of the best in NFL history.
Mariota came out on top, with a four touchdown performance–the first rookie quarterback to throw four touchdowns in a season opener since Fran Tarkenton did it for the Vikings in week one of 1961. Mariota also finished the game with a perfect passer rating of 158.3–the only other rookie quarterback to complete more than 10 passes in his debut and maintain a perfect passer rating was Robert Griffin III, in 2012.
On the other side of the ball, Winston did match another future Hall of Famer’s footnote in history–his first pass attempt was intercepted and returned for a touchdown. The last player to have that happen? Brett Favre, playing for the Atlanta Falcons back in 1991.