Jameis Winston On Showdown With Marcus Mariota: ‘Like Two Horses At The Racetrack’

USA Today

Week 1 of the 2015 NFL season will have plenty of intriguing matchups. Although the showdown between the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers will draw a lot of viewers, one matchup on Sunday could be compelling in terms of what it means for the future of the NFL.

The two top rookies of the 2015 NFL Draft will go head-to-head on Sunday with Marcus Mariota and Jameis Wintson looking to earn bragging rights. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will play host to the Tennessee Titans and the two rookies recently spoke about their upcoming showdown, via Pat Yasinskas of ESPN:

“It’s like two horses at the racetrack,” Winston said Wednesday. “When the alpha sees another alpha, they go on about their business.

“It’s not about us,” Winston said. “It’s about our teams. It’s just the Bucs versus the Titans. I’d rather the headline be the score than something about individual players.”

Both rookies appear to have nothing but respect for one another with Mariota saying the following about his fellow rookie opponent with the matchup looming, via Yasinskas:

“People will continue to debate one and two and if it’s really important to Jameis and I,” Mariota said in a conference call with reporters. “I think, for us, we’re just really focused on doing our best with our teams and focus on what we have to take care of. It doesn’t matter who our opponent is, we just want to focus on what our objectives are as an offense and move forward.”

As of right now, the Bucs are the favorites to come out on top in this showdown between the top two rookie quarterbacks from April’s draft. Tampa Bay is favored with a -3 point spread as the home team, according to Sportsbook.ag.