In the absence of winning, the focus on quarterback Will Levis grows with every Titans game.
Does he have a chance at becoming the franchise’s long-term answer at quarterback?
Is the 2023 second-round pick making progress?
Levis offered at least some cause for further optimism in the Titans’ 23-13 loss to Minnesota on Sunday at Nissan Stadium.
He threw for a season-high 295 yards against the Vikings, a total that was second best among his 16 starts — surpassed only by the 327 yards he threw for last year against Miami. Levis completed 17-of-31 passes and threw a touchdown pass, posting an 84.7 quarterback rating.
The second-year quarterback tossed one inconsequential late interception, when the Titans were in desperation mode.
His performance came on top of a solid showing the previous week, when Levis threw for two touchdowns without an interception, posting a 127.4 quarterback rating in a loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.
So he seems to be trending in the right direction since returning from a right shoulder injury that cost him three starts.
“I thought Will did a really nice job today,” Titans coach Brian Callahan said. “That part was encouraging. I thought he stood in the pocket, played tough. He was accurate.
“There’s going to be things that we need to clean up, but managing that game against that defense, the complexity of it, all the things that we have in our plan that you have to have to handle, all the things that they do, I thought he did a really nice job. I thought that was another positive step for Will and I’m proud of the way he played. He fought, he battled.”
Levis’ stats got a big boost in the third quarter, when Nick Westbrook-Ikhine snuck behind Vikings safety Joshua Metellus — who played the ball terribly — and hauled in a 98-yard touchdown pass down the right sideline.
His numbers would have been even better had illegal formation calls on right tackle Isaiah Prince not negated a 51-yard touchdown pass to Calvin Ridley and a 23-yard completion to Westbrook-Ikhine.
“I mean, honestly, I felt like last week in terms of just how I threw the ball, I was more accurate, and I made some better decisions here and there,” Levis said. “I was a little frustrated with a couple of the balls that I’m going to be watching on tape.
“All I want to do is win man. Nothing else matters. And it’s been frustrating. It’s been tough. But I mean, I haven’t won a game this year. I’m chasing that feeling and I’m doing everything I can to get there.”
Here are nine more takeaways from the game:
Bottom Line: Though Levis did show some signs of progress, especially in the second half, he didn’t consistently guide the offense down the field against a very good Minnesota defense.
In the four series before the Westbrook-Ikhine on the 98-yard score, Levis led the Titans to just two first downs and a combined 40 yards.
In the Titans’ last two drives — not including the one-play desperation interception to Ridley — Tennessee never advanced beyond the Vikings’ 43-yard line. The Titans were in need of two scores at the time, trying to trim Minnesota’s 23-13 lead.
The Titans were held below 17 points for the eighth time in 10 games this season.
“I was able to make plays when I needed to at some points, but I missed some opportunities on others,” Levis said. “I’m really just focused on those, how I can get better in those situations, a couple of third downs where I feel like I could have either put a good — better ball — on or found a different answer.”
Sack City: The Vikings, who entered the game tied for sixth in the NFL with 30 sacks, pressured Levis regularly.
Minnesota recorded five sacks and hit Levis nine times.
There was no doubt the Titans’ shaky offensive line failed to protect Levis well enough at times.
But there were also times — as was the case last week in the loss to the Chargers — when Levis held onto the ball too long or moved himself into harm’s way in the pocket.
On one fourth-quarter, fourth-and-4 play, Levis took a sack — in the kind of situation when any kind of desperation attempt would have seemed to be worth taking.
“We were pretty well covered at that point, I think,” Callahan said. “And he was trying to make a play. I’d have to watch it. You’d like to get the ball at least in the air or try to get a shot at something … You don’t want to take a sack in that spot.”
Coming into the game, Levis had the second highest sack percentage in the league at 12.94 percent, nearly three times that of teammate Mason Rudolph’s 4.48 percent.
In Levis’ six complete games, he’s been sacked 27 times, while Rudolph — playing behind the same offensive linemen — has been sacked just five times in three complete games.
Nick’s Big Numbers: Westbrook-Ikhine’s 98-yard touchdown catch tied for the second longest reception in Titans/Oilers franchise history.
It was also the second longest play of any kind in franchise history, trailing only Derrick Henry’s 99-yard touchdown run against Jacksonville in December of 2018.
“It was a fantastic throw and catch and explosive play that we needed in that moment,” Callahan said. “I can’t say I’ve been a part of a whole lot of backed-up, 99-yard touchdowns or whatever it was, so that was encouraging. I thought we took momentum in that spot.”
Added Westbrook-Ikhine: “When we called the play, honestly, I was like, `Okay, I really like this play call.’ As I’m lining up, seeing the signal that the DBs were making, I was like, `Okay, I know what coverage this is. There’s a good chance this could go up to me.’ Sometimes you just have that feeling, and once the ball was in the air, it was like, `All right, this is about to be special.’”
The catch gave Westbrook-Ikhine a career-high five touchdowns this season. His previous four TD receptions this year had covered a combined total of 24 yards—nine yards against Indianapolis, four yards against Buffalo, five yards against Detroit and six yards against New England.
“That’s good company, to be with Derrick,” Westbrook-Ikhine said. “That was an awesome play, it’s definitely one I’ll remember.”
Flags Fly in Secondary: One of the more critical moments of Sunday’s game was when Titans safety Mike Brown was called for unnecessary roughness in the end zone, negating what would have been a fourth-down, red-zone stop for Tennessee.
We covered that call — and the Titans’ frustration with it — in this story.
But here’s one more bit of reaction, from Brown, who — needless to say — disagreed with the call.
“I mean, it’s like it happened so quick,” Brown said. “Like, you just try to think to not to go for the head. Like, it’s hard to aim perfectly when you’re playing football. Everything is about split-second decisions. The referee called what he called. You know I didn’t agree with it. I mean, it happened though.”
Titans rookie cornerback Jarvis Brownlee was also flagged twice on close calls—one for defensive pass interference against Justin Jefferson and one for illegal contact.
Both penalties were third-down calls that extended Minnesota drives and led to touchdowns.
“Got to get my hands more low,” Brownlee said. “And that’s it, really. I’m not going to change nothing that I do, because that’s who I am. I’m just aggressive and physical. But you know what? They’re physical. I just got to play with more low hands and that’s all.”
Brownlee has now been called for eight penalties this season — twice for pass interference, twice for illegal contact, twice for holding, once for illegal use of the hands and once for a face mask.
A fifth-round draft pick, Brownlee had a reputation as a physical, handsy player coming out of Louisville. But Callahan said he’s fine with Brownlee’s style.
“That’s the style you have to play with on the edge in the league,” Callahan said. “You can’t let these guys walk around, and you have to put a hands on them at the line of scrimmage. You got to be physical, you got to be sticky, you got to be on top of them and all those things.”
Prince’s Penalties: As referenced, Prince — who split time with starter Nicholas Petit-Frere at right tackle — was flagged three times for illegal formation, meaning officials didn’t believe he was close enough to the line of scrimmage.
It was a rough return to action for the 6-7, 305-pound Prince, who was signed to the Titans’ practice squad in late October. Prior to Sunday, Prince hadn’t been on the field since Sept. 17, 2023, and he hadn’t been on the field for an offensive snap since Jan. 9, 2022.
Referee Clete Blakeman said in a pool report after the game that Prince — like all players — had been warned once before the infractions started getting called.
Titans left tackle JC Latham said he got a warning on the game’s first play.
Callahan said the team tried to correct matters with Prince after the first penalty.
Did he respond to what had been asked of him?
“I would hope so,” Callahan said.
Just Missed: The Titans brought heavy pressure and nearly sacked Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold on a first-and-10 play from Tennessee’s 47-yard-line in the first quarter.
But when Brownlee was just a split second late in getting to Darnold, the Titans paid the price.
Darnold connected with Jordan Addison on a 47-yard touchdown pass, giving the Vikings a 7-3 lead.
Cornerback Darrell Baker was initially in coverage of Addison, but didn’t follow him when Addison cut toward the inside of the field. Safety Amani Hooker was covering Brandon Powell on a deep route, which meant that Addison had all kinds of space as he crossed the field.
“When you’re in those coverages, there’s lanes and when you don’t get home on those pressures, which we didn’t, there’s space in the defense and they found the void,” Callahan said. “I think it was just a dagger route on the inside. I can’t recall who was in position and who wasn’t. But then, [Addison] made a play with his feet after that. When you pressure like that, the idea is you’ve got to get home because there is a weakness in the coverage structure if you don’t.”
Ground Game Shackled: The Titans came into Sunday’s game with the league’s 10th-best rushing attack, averaging 126.3 yards per game on the ground.
In five of the last six games, the Titans had run for at least 130 yards.
But the Titans went nowhere in the run game against the Vikings, stifled by a Minnesota defense that began the day ranked second against the run—allowing an average of just 79 yards per contest.
Tennessee ran 19 times for just 33 yards against the Vikings, averaging 1.7 yards per carry. Levis was the leading ballcarrier with seven attempts for 18 yards, followed by Tony Pollard (nine carries, 15 yards) and Spears (three carries, 0 yards).
Levis’ 10-yard run in the first quarter was the Titans’ longest of the day, as neither Pollard nor Spears had a carry over four yards.
“I know our guys up front did a great job,” said Vikings safety Harrison Smith, a Knoxville Catholic High alum. “First, stopping the run, second, getting after the quarterback. That makes it hard no matter what at that point. You got guys trying to put pressure on you all day.”
Home Woes: The Titans fell to 1-4 at home this season, as the team had suffered previous Nissan Stadium losses to the New York Jets, Green Bay and Indianapolis.
Tennessee has just three home games remaining—Jacksonville on Dec. 8. Cincinnati on Dec. 15 and Houston in the final weekend of the season.
The Titans haven’t finished the home portion of their schedule with just one win since 2015.
Even when Tennessee struggled to poor overall records under Mike Vrabel in 2022 and 2023, the Titans were at least decent at home. The Titans were 5-3 in Nissan Stadium last season and 3-5 in 2022, despite winning a combined 13 games overall in those two seasons.
Of course, it’s worth noting that there appeared to be more Vikings fans in Nissan than Titans fans on Sunday.
“I think any time you’re on the road, it’s hard to win on the road, but I do want to say, I thought the turnout of our fans was unbelievable,” Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said. “One of the best parts about this job is seeing all the purple when we’re on the road like that. It’s an awesome feeling knowing we have the best fan base in the National Football League.”
Injury Update: Titans inside linebacker Jack Gibbens suffered what’s believed to be a season-ending right ankle injury during punt return coverage in the third quarter of the Minnesota contest.
Gibbens had racked up a combined 29 tackles in his two previous contests, 15 against the Los Angeles Chargers and 14 against New England. But against the Vikings, Gibbens had been splitting time with Jerome Baker, acquired from Seattle when Tennessee traded Ernest Jones IV.
Running back Tyjae Spears left the game and was evaluated for a concussion. Callahan said he’d know more about the situation on Monday.
Inside linebacker Otis Reese suffered a rib injury in the first half, but returned in the second half.