Vrabel on QB Situation: Wait Until Wednesday

A day after Malik Willis' first start ended with a 17-10 victory over the Houston Texans there was no word about who will play Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Troy Taormina/USA Today Sports

NASHVILLE – Even Malik Willis didn’t know very much ahead of time that he would be the Tennessee Titans’ starting quarterback Sunday at Houston.

"Probably when you all found out,” Willis said about when he was informed.

That, of course, was on Saturday.

A similar scenario could play out this week as the Titans (5-2) prepare for a Sunday night showdown with the Kansas City Chiefs (5-2).

Coach Mike Vrabel on Monday offered nothing in the way of a meaningful update on Ryan Tannehill’s condition. An ankle injury limited Tannehill’s ability to practice early last week, and then an illness later in the week compounded the situation. Finally, the decision was made to leave Tannehill behind when the team flew to Houston.

The decision snapped Tannehill’s franchise record-streak of 49 consecutive starts at quarterback and cleared the way for Willis, a third-round draft pick out of Liberty University, to make his first career start.

“We’ll know more when we practice on Wednesday,” Vrabel said.

Without Tannehill, Tennessee’s offense relied heavily in running back Derrick Henry, who carried 32 times for 219 yards and two touchdowns in the 17-10 victory. It was the sixth 200-yard game of his career, which tied an NFL record, and his fourth against the Texans.

Willis attempted just 10 passes and completed six for 55 yards. He threw one interception and was sacked three times.

Houston (1-5-1) came into the game with the NFL’s worst run defense, and now its average of 186 yards per game allowed is at least 30 yards more than every other team.

Kansas City, of course, presents a different challenge. Most notably, its offense led by quarterback Patrick Mahomes leads the league in scoring at 31.9 points per game and is one of two (Buffalo’s is the other) that averages better than 400 yards per contest.

The Chiefs’ run defense is ranked third, just behind Tennessee’s, which means the Titans probably should expect to throw the ball a little more often – regardless of who is at quarterback.

“We’ll continue to progress through and take a look and see where we are this week at practice,” Vrabel said. “I think it’s a good opportunity that (Willis) got his first start. I know he’ll learn a lot more. He’ll learn from the things that he can correct and fix.

“That’s the way that we’ll approach it. We’ll try to make sure that there’s a plan in place and that everybody’s confident in it and see how the game goes.”