NASHVILLE — The 2023 Tennessee Titans are almost halfway through their 17-game schedule.
So far, they’ve been unable to win outside of Nashville, with all three of their victories through eight contests coming at Nissan Stadium. And they’ve yet to win in those five games elsewhere despite four of those being decided by eight or fewer points.
One thing is clear, though: Will Levis has shown enough in his first two starts as an NFL rookie to be their starting quarterback moving forward, because he gives the Titans their best chance to win now and in the future.
The 33rd pick overall out of Kentucky has twice as many touchdown passes (four) as veteran Ryan Tannehill, who started the first six games before an ankle injury forced him out of Tennessee’s 24-16 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Oct. 15 in London. The first turnover for Levis as a pro came Thursday night while throwing into the end zone in the final minute of a a 20-16 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers; Tannehill has six interceptions this season.
Tennessee coach Mike Vrabel said Friday he isn’t ready to name Levis the starting quarterback yet, wanting to see Tannehill healthy first. Vrabel also wants to check the health of his team after four of Tennessee’s five starting offensive linemen went down with injuries in Pittsburgh. The secondary is also banged up, and wide receiver Treylon Burks is in the concussion protocol after getting hurt Thursday.
The Titans (3-5) sit at the bottom of the AFC South Division standings with the weekend off and nine games remaining. Vrabel said there will be talks about the depth chart while the focus remains trying to win now.
“Winning is critical …,” Vrabel said. “I think that that’s what you have to focus on, today and what’s best for us today. And then obviously, on the other hand, there are long-term implications for decisions that we make.”
The Titans have one blowout win (27-3 against the Cincinnati Bengals on Oct. 1) and one blowout loss (27-3 to the Cleveland Browns on Sept. 24) this season, while the other games have been close affairs. Tennessee beat the Los Angeles Chargers 27-24 in overtime on Sept. 17, and the most recent win was 28-23 against the Atlanta Falcons last Sunday.
Making the playoffs wouldn’t be easy, but the first step would be to turn some of those close losses into wins.
“We’ve got some ground to make up, but you do it one game at a time to do it, you do it one practice at a time,” Vrabel said. “I’m confident that we’ll do that and figure out a way to win on the road, which has avoided us up until this point for a number of reasons.”
AP photo by Matt Freed / Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel argues with an official about a call during the first half of Thursday’s game against the host Pittsburgh Steelers.WHAT’S WORKING
The trade for veteran kicker Nick Folk, made with the New England Patriots shortly before the start of the season, was helpful. That fixed an area that has been a major problem for the Titans since the start of the 2019 season. Not only is Folk perfect on 19 field-goal attempts and 13 PATs this season, he leads the team with 70 points. Folk has also set an NFL record for most consecutive field goals made at 40 yards or less at 72.
WHAT NEEDS HELP
The team’s most recent road victory was last Nov. 17 against the Green Bay Packers. The Titans have lost seven straight away games, eight if counting the loss against Baltimore last month at Wembley Stadium, where the Titans were designated the “home” team at the London venue. Only two of those losses were blowouts, though, with the other six all by one score each or a combined 31 points.
The NFL’s best run defense in 2022 also must figure out how to tackle again. The Titans have allowed at least 139 rushing yards in four straight games.
STOCK UP
DeAndre Hopkins has produced in his first year with the Titans. The five-time Pro Bowl selection, a free-agent signee this past summer, already has more receiving yards (564) and more touchdown catches (three) through eight games on just 35 catches than the Titans’ top target last season. Robert Woods had 527 yards on 53 catches with two touchdowns in 2022.
STOCK DOWN
Left tackle Andre Dillard needs to improve. A key free-agent signee by new general manager Ran Carthon in March, Dillard was benched during the loss to the Ravens. An injury Thursday night to his replacement, Nicholas Petit-Frere, forced Dillard back on the field. Dillard, who also exited at one point due to getting hurt, wound up allowing nine quarterback pressures to Pittsburgh’s Alex Highsmith, according to Next Gen Stats.
INJURIES
Vrabel said Burks briefly lost consciousness after trying to make a catch on the sideline with 2:06 left against the Steelers. Burks was carted off the field but traveled home with the team.
Vrabel said right guard Daniel Brunskill missed only one play after getting his right ankle heavily taped. Petit-Frere returned but was limited to 14 plays by an injured shoulder, while left guard Peter Skoronski missed seven plays. On the other side of the ball, Sean Murphy-Bunting was limited to eight plays after injuring a thumb against Pittsburgh, and fellow cornerback Roger McCreary missed a second straight game with an injured hamstring.
KEY NUMBER
31: Undrafted players used this season by the Titans, which is most in the NFL as they pay the price for the personnel missteps by former general manager Jon Robinson, who was fired in December. They lead the league with 13 of those players starting and also with seven starting six or more games. No other team has started more than four undrafted players.
NEXT STEPS
Name Levis the starter before visiting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Nov. 12 and wrapping up a three-game road swing with an AFC South match up against the Jacksonville Jaguars, the division’s reigning champion. After that, five of Tennessee’s last seven regular-season games are at home, and the Titans have only played one of their six games against division competition — they lost 23-16 to the Indianapolis Colts on Oct. 8 — which means they still have a chance to impress inside the AFC South.