Titans Impress In First Preseason Home Game, Roll Past Patriots, 23-7

Despite a pair of interceptions, Tennessee Titans quarterback Malik Willis bounced back nicely Friday night, leading the Titans on two long scoring drives to beat the New England Patriots 23-7 at Nissan Stadium. He had two touchdown passes, and the Tennessee defense allowed only 112 yards in their final preseason game.

NASHVILLE — Tennessee Titans fans have been champing at the bit to get their eyes on their team this summer. And after two preseason road games, they finally got their wish on Friday night at Nissan Stadium.

And they liked what they saw.

The Titans defense was dominant all night long, and second-year quarterback Malik Willis did a lot of good things despite two interceptions. It all added up to an impressive 23-7 win over the New England Patriots to close out the preseason.

The Titans finished the preseason with a 2-1 record, and will now kick off things for real on Sept. 10, when the open the season in New Orleans against the Saints.

They seem ready to go, especially on the defensive end. And it was good to see Willis bounce back from a slow start and a few mistakes to lead them on several long drives to get the win.

"It was cool to get the pads back on and be back in live game situations, and it's cool to keep figuring it out,'' Willis said. "(Forgetting mistakes), more than anything you've got understand that the defense is getting paid, too, and it's going to be about who continues to keep going after the mistakes, and who fights the longest and the hardest.

"It's awesome (having long drives) because you get to see your guys wanting to finish it out, finish the fight. You see the defense getting tired and you talk to the this' let's finish this out. The offensive line, they just keep getting better and keep fighting.''

Veteran quarterback Ryan Tannehill started the game, which was a rarity. The Titans ran the ball twice and then, after a delay of game penalty, they ran it again on third and long. He left the game without throwing a pass.

With rookie Will Levis still out with a thigh injury, the rest of the game belonged to Willis. He had two bad interceptions and was just 1-for-5 at one point. But he completed 14-of-15 passes after that. He was 15-for-20 on the day for 211 yards. 

His first touchdown was a 12-yard score to Julius Chestnut that gave the Patriots a 13-7 lead just before halftime, capping a 10-play, 90-yard drive. His second score was a 26-yarder to rookie Kearis Jackson that made it 20-7.

Jackson had the game ball in his locker and said ''it's going to my mom,'' the rookie out of Georgia said. "Honestly, I've been manifesting that every day. I write every day, and write out my prayers and have a conversation with God. Sometimes dreams just come true. You don't know when, but He always comes when you want Him.

"I feel like I'm getting better each and every day. Every practice, it's competitive. ''

Fellow rookie Colton Dowell had a big day too in his first game in his hometown. He said it was surreal in pregame warmups looking up into the stands and remembering where he used to sit when the former UT-Martin star watched Titans games as a kid.

He had two catches for a team-high 49 yards, and he enjoyed watching Willis play so well.

"We all have unlimited faith in Malik and him keeping his composure and making that next play,'' Dowell said. "I've always dreamed of doing this, and it was great for it to become a reality.''

Now he'll have to wait out Tuesday's cuts to the 53-man roster and, possibly, a spot on the practice squad after that. It'll be a nerve-racking couple of days.

"There's definitely nerves there, but whenever you try really hard and put a lot of hard work into something, you've just got to accept the results,'' said Dowell, who missed last week's game in Minnesota with a minor injury. I am at peace with the work I put out there, and whatever happens, God's got me. 

"It really change the way I prepared. Even when I was out in Minnesota, I was still studying. I didn't feel any added pressure.  The outside pressure, it doesn't affect you. I'm fast, I'm a hard worker and you can put me at any spot and trust me.''

The Titans were great defensively all night long, allowing only 112 yards of total offense. A big chunk of that came on the one Patriots scoring drive from 38 yards out after the first Willis interception. The Titans had six sacks and pressured New England quarterbacks all night, even forcing a turnover early that led to a field goal. They were just 8-for-18 passing for 57 yards and they rushed for just 55 yards on 18 carries.

The Titans ran the ball well again, rolling up 164 yards on the ground after posting 281 a week ago in the win against Minnesota. Five different players had runs of 10 yards or more.

And now, it's on to the regular season. There's still plenty to work on, of course, but there's definitely been improvement over the course of the past three weeks.

Related stories on Titans-Patriots

•  TITANS DRIVE CHART: The Tennessee Titans capped off their 2023 preseason with a win against the New England Patriots. Here is a drive-by-drive recap of everything that happened on offense. CLICK HERE
• WATCH MALIK WILLIS TD THROW: The Tennessee Titans are in the fourth quarter of their final preseason game and currently have a 20-7 lead due to a 26-yard touchdown pass by Malik Willis. CLICK HERE
• WATCH MALIK WILLIS THROW INT: The Tennessee Titans were driving into Patriots territory in the third quarter, but Malik Willis threw his second interception on the night to end the drive. CLICK HERE
• WATCH CHESTNUT RUMBLE: The Tennessee Titans continue to get good runs from second-year back Julius Chestnut and that happened again in the second quarter against the New England Patriots. CLICK HERE
• WATCH AUTRY SACK: The Tennessee Titans first-team defense forced a turnover on their second drive of the game when Denico Autry stripped Bailey Zappe on a sack. CLICK HERE
• TITANS-PATS LIVE BLOG: The Tennessee Titans wrap up their 2023 preseason on Friday night with a home preseason game against the New England Patriots at Nissan Stadium. CLICK HERE