NASHVILLE — A couple of NFL defenders have advice for Will Levis, if the Tennessee Titans quarterback will listen: Sometimes taking the sack can be the best play.
That’s what Chicago Bears defensive lineman DeMarcus Walker said after Levis threw an interception with the defender’s arms wrapped around the quarterback’s legs and Tyrique Stevenson returned the pick 43 yards to the end zone during Sunday’s season opener for both teams at Soldier Field. The Titans led 17-0 before the host Bears rallied to win 24-17, with Stevenson’s score at the 7:35 mark of the fourth quarter the go-ahead touchdown before a 2-point conversion provided the final margin.
Up next for the Titans is Sunday’s home opener against the New York Jets (0-1) at Nissan Stadium. Jets edge rusher Jermaine Johnson called Levis a passionate and talented athlete who can throw the ball well, but he also said the second-year pro can “panic” a little when plays aren’t going his way.
“He was trying to do it for the right reason,” Johnson said. “But sometimes it’s just better to take the sack.”
Practice and video study can do only so much, with the best learning on game day, and the opener was just the 10th NFL start for Levis, a second-round pick in the 2023 draft who took over behind center for Tennessee midway through last season. The loss to Chicago exposed problems with his footwork, something Tennessee first-year head coach Brian Callahan thought he and his assistants had helped Levis fix. Callahan, the offensive coordinator for the Cincinnati Bengals before being hired by the Titans in January, called those mistakes “hard lessons” that have to be learned.
When he spoke after practice Wednesday, Levis said he has matured enough not to let bad plays or games linger. He also said he actually slept fine Sunday night, believing he’s a good NFL quarterback despite the mistakes.
Tennessee’s best stat against Chicago was scoring 17 straight points, with Levis finishing 19-of-32 passing for 127 yards with two interceptions, one touchdown and a 52.5 rating. He also ran four times for 36 yards and had a fumble lost.
“Obviously a lot of things to get better on,” Levis said. “But watching that tape, I still have confidence and knowing that it’s just kind of a fluke play that I can definitely learn from.”
Levis said he got away with a similar throwaway earlier in that game, leading him to try it once again.
Lesson learned.
Callahan, who calls the plays for Tennessee’s offense, was impressed by his starting quarterback’s calm demeanor, crediting Levis with recognizing what Chicago was doing on defense — extra impressive to the coach because Levis did that on the road in a loud stadium in a new system.
All three of his turnovers, though, came in the fourth quarter. He was stripped when sacked from behind, which was followed by the pick-six, and the second interception came with 65 seconds left. Levis, who went 3-6 as a rookie with eight touchdown passes and only four interceptions now has two picks in the span of six minutes.
During his time as an assistant, Callahan worked with quarterbacks Peyton Manning in Denver and Matthew Stafford in Detroit before helping Joe Burrow’s growth in Cincinnati, and he knows anyone who plays in the NFL long enough will be humbled.
“That’s part of playing in the NFL and part of being a leader and part of being the face of a franchise,” Callahan said.
Wide receiver Calvin Ridley, who caught three of the seven passes thrown to him for a team-high 50 yards against Chicago, signed with Tennessee in part to work with Levis. He doesn’t think Levis had that bad of a game.
“Everyone has bad plays, does bad things,” Ridley said. “… The next day, I knew he was going to be fine.”
Jets coach Robert Saleh complimented Levis as a young quarterback improving with every passing day: “He’s another one that the sky’s the limit for him.”