NASHVILLE — Left guard Peter Skoronski summed up the Tennessee Titans ‘ biggest motivation to better protect quarterback Will Levis — and do so as quickly as possible.
“No one’s coming to save us,” the second-year left guard said Wednesday. “I mean, it’s going to be us and what we do, and we’ve got to get better. And that’s the only way to fix it, is by working hard and getting better.
“I think everyone’s had a great attitude this week in terms of guys are just really, really hungry for a win and are going to do what it takes to get that.”
Among the reasons why Tennessee remains winless through three games has been its inability to keep Levis upright. So far this NFL season, only the Cleveland Browns have allowed more sacks, 16, than the Titans’ 15 — and Levis has thrown 22 fewer passes than their quarterback, Deshaun Watson.
The Browns also at least have a victory, while Tennessee will visit the Miami Dolphins (1-2) on Monday night not only looking for a win but coming off its worst loss of the three, a 30-14 setback against the Green Bay Packers last Sunday at home.
The Titans knew they would face growing pains even as first-year coach Brian Callahan cautioned putting the pieces together would take time, and five of 24 new players are starting on offense. The line’s new starters are free-agent signee Lloyd Cushenberry at center and rookie left tackle JC Latham, the No. 7 pick of April’s draft.
Tennessee also had an unexpected retirement during preseason camp. Free-agent signee Saahdiq Charles was working at right guard when he surprisingly left in early August and was placed on the reserve/retired list. Tennessee turned to Dillon Radunz, a second-round pick in 2021 who this year alone has matched the three starts at right guard he had combined in his first three seasons.
Nicholas Petit-Frere, a third-round pick in 2022, started at right tackle the first three games but was pulled during the loss to the Packers and replaced by Jaelyn Duncan, a sixth-round selection in 2023, for the final 19 snaps.
Who starts at that position on Monday night will depend on practice, and the Titans still may switch during the game as they adjust to the Dolphins.
“Sometimes when guys get pulled from games, it’s not always necessarily that their starting job is gone. It just means that they weren’t playing very well in that game,” said Callahan, the offensive coordinator for the Cincinnati Bengals the past five seasons who has his father Bill, a former NFL head coach, as the position coach for Tennessee’s offensive line.
“So we’ll see. We’ll let them both practice, they’re both going to get reps, and they might even both play. We’ll see how that looks. I don’t have any real definitive answer on that at the current moment.”
No matter what, the Titans have to give Levis more time to throw. He led the Titans to a thrilling comeback at Miami last December for one of his three victories as a rookie, but his record as a starter now is 3-9, and nobody in the NFL has turned it over more this season than Levis, selected by the Titans early in the second round of the 2023 draft.
Levis, who was intercepted only four times as a rookie after taking over as the starter at midseason, has been picked off five times this season, with two of those returned for touchdowns. He also has lost three fumbles, including two when sacked and stripped of the ball.
Callahan said he has learned a lot about his players, especially how they react on game days. That includes what schemes suit Levis better and what helps the offensive line.
“I don’t want to give away too much, because that process is still ongoing,” Callahan said. “But there’s definitely things that I’ve learned every week and refined our process, refined my own process. I felt more confident calling plays Sunday than I did the Sunday before, and about putting our guys in the right spot.”