My Two Cents: Will Levis Era Has Arrived For Titans, And It Better Not Stop

NASHVILLE — The high-arching pass drifted down the left sideline at Nissan Stadium, and once Tennessee Titans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins shed his defender, he hauled in the ball for a 47-yard score.

It was 12:30 on a Sunday afternoon in Nashville, on Oct. 29, 2023. Mark it down, because that was the start of the Will Levis era.

And let's hope it lasts a long, long time.

There were many good reasons why the Titans scrambled like mad men after the first round of the 2023 NFL draft ended with Levis still on the board last April. They was a lot to like about his career at Kentucky, especially his junior year when he had weapons and an offensive line. The Titans traded up to grab the hard-throwing right-hander with the 33rd overall pick, hoping they had their quarterback of the future.

That future? It's here.

Levis was spectacular in his NFL debut on Sunday, throwing four touchdown passes — and no interceptions. He threw for 238 yards, and looked very comfortable doing it. It was an incredible day,

It was incredible mostly because of the comparisons that had to be made. In Tennessee's first six games, veteran quarterback Ryan Tannehill had only two touchdowns. Two in six games! Levis had four in 60 minutes in the 28-23 win over the Falcons, who came into the game leading the NFC South and sporting one of the better defenses in the game.

Levis shredded them. And now he'll hope to do the same thing on a short week, with a now-critical Thursday night in Pittsburgh.

There should be zero doubt that Levis is the starting quarterback going forward for this team. And that's why all of the Mike Vrabel smokescreens are a little silly. I know it's part coach-speak and part defending a veteran, but to me, Vrabel's talk on Monday about Tannehill playing if he's healthy is just foolish.

It's time to move on with Levis. And right now.

Not in September of 2024, but right damn now.

Vrabel praised Levis for his debut, but then talked more about Tannehill and when he might be able to play.

Really? Why?

"We'll see where Ryan is. We haven't done anything with him yet today," Vrabel said Monday. "So, we'll see how he is. But I think we'd probably say if Ryan can't go, we'll move forward with Will, and then we'll see where Ryan is. It is a short week, but also, we'll have to see who is available to us at every position."

Come on, really?

We have to look big picture here with the Titans. About the future, for sure, but also about the present. Look at the Tannehill tape through six games. He hasn't been good. Look at the Levis tape from Sunday. It was sweet.

Let's go forward.

Tannehill, who's 35 and in the last year of his contract, will not be the Titans' quarterback in 2024. And though it's probably true that Tannehill gave the Titans the best chance to win when the season started, that's not the case right now. I'm not trying make a big deal out of just one game, but Levis' ability to push the ball downfield changes the Tennessee offense completely.

What I loved most about Levis' game on Sunday was that he wasn't afraid to throw the ball downfield. He had the TD pass to Hopkins early, plus two more scoring strikes to Hopkins from 16 and 61 yards. His fourth TD pass was a 33-yarder Nick Westbrook-Ikhine that he probably threw 50 yards in the air off his back foot while under pressure.

It was beautiful.

He also came close to connecting on big plays several other times. Such as:

He threw deep over the middle to tight end Chig Okonkwo and hit him right in the hands, but he dropped it.
He threw deep down the left sideline to second-year wide receiver Treylon Burks, and he caught it but could only get one foot down inbounds.
He threw deep to Westbrook-Ikhine in the end zone, and the ball was just long. It might have been his only deep ball that didn't have enough air underneath it.

It was just as encouraging, of course, that he he the time to throw deep. The much-maligned Tennessee offensive line gave him that time. He had just one sack all day, other than a late-game takedown that he did intentionally to keep the clock running.

This was the first game of three touchdowns or more since the final game of the 2021 season when Tannehill passed for four scores in a 28-25 win over the Houston Texans on Jan. 9, 2022. That was 25 games ago.

And before that? You have to go 27 games further — to mid-October of 2020 — to find another four-touchdown game. So before today, that was ONCE in 52 games.

So, hell yes, there is a reason to be excited.

Titans fans should be thrilled to be moving on with Levis, but Vrabel keeps throwing in all these downers.

"Until Ryan is healthy, I don't think I am ready to make a determination,'' on whether Levis starts ahead of Tannehill if both are healthy. "We're talking about hypotheticals. We'll get Ryan healthy and see where things are at then."

True coach-speak, of course.

But to me, it's crystal clear. As long as Levis continues to play well, and stay healthy, this job should be his. We've already learned what Ryan Tannehill can — and cannot — do in the last year of his contract. I think we also know what second-year man Malik Willis can't do, too. Levis deserves to be the guy.

Today, tomorrow and for a very long time.

Related Titans-Falcons stories

WEEK 8 OFFENSIVE GRADES: The Tennessee Titans offense got a tremendous performance from rookie quarterback Will Levis and DeAndre Hopkins in their Week 8 win over the Atlanta Falcons, so it is no surprise those two players top the list of offensive grades. CLICK HERE
WEEK 8 SNAP COUNTS: The Tennessee Titans got their season back on track against the Atlanta Falcons and they did it while having some interesting players making contributions. We see that in the snaps counts on the offensive and defensive side of the ball. CLICK HERE
TITAN UP-TITAN DOWN: The Tennessee Titans got a huge win over the Atlanta Falcons that featured a fantastic debut for Will Levis, but other good and bad performances as well. Here are the top three winners and losers from the 28-23 victory. CLICK HERE
WEEK 8 PHOTO GALLERY: The Tennessee Titans beat the Atlanta Falcons 28-23 on Sunday, with rookie quarterback Will Levis throwing four touchdown passes in his NFL debut. Our photographers had a great day, too. Here are 20 images from the game at Nissan Stadium. CLICK HERE
WEEK 8 DRIVE CHART: The Tennessee Titans were led by rookie quarterback Will Levis on Sunday and beat the Atlanta Falcons 28-23. Levis had an incredible debut and here is a recap of what happened on every offensive drive. CLICK HERE

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