Ranking Josh Allen among dual-threat QBs Bill Belichick has faced in playoffs

6. Marcus Mariota

It wasn’t that long ago when Marcus Mariota was considered a generational quarterback and one of the best dual-threat signal-callers in the game. Who can forget his time in college? Step into the time machine with us as we go back to 2014.

A younger, more slender Mariota had the college football world on edge every time he played. His junior season at Oregon will forever go down as one of the best ever. He threw for 4,454 yards, 42 touchdowns, and only four interceptions, adding 770 rushing yards and an additional 15 scores on the ground.

It didn’t appear to be conjecture when his name was brought up as a future superstar QB at the next level. By now, we all know that isn’t true, Mariota simply hasn’t lived up to the hype. But while many were ultimately disappointed in what he eventually became, he did have his best season in 2017.

The former number two overall pick threw for 3,232 passing yards and rushed for 357 on the ground. Although he was an underachiever, Belichick didn’t take him lightly, and it showed during their 2017 divisional matchup.

Belichick threw the kitchen sink at Mariota and, as a result, he couldn’t handle it. He completed just 22 of his 37 passes for 254 yards and rushed for only 37 yards. Belichick was completely apathetic towards the well-being of Mariota as the dual-threat QB was running for his life all night.

With Mariota getting sacked eight times, it was a miracle he survived. Still, while he did live to fight another day, he was never the same and now spends his time languishing on the bench as a backup.