NASHVILLE — The butterflies Tennessee Titans rookie Will Levis felt over the past two weeks disappeared Sunday at Nissan Stadium.
It showed as he threw four touchdown passes for a performance that matched what only two other quarterbacks have done in their NFL debuts.
Levis, who celebrated the last score on his back with his arms in the air, helped the Titans produce their most points in a single game since 2021 as they beat the Atlanta Falcons 28-23.
“I’ve been dreaming of this moment as a kid my entire life,” said Levis, who completed 19 of 29 passes for 238 yards and was sacked twice for a total loss of 12 yards. “Even to just touch the field in an NFL game, let alone get a win, is incredible.”
The Titans (3-4), coming off back-to-back losses and an open date and sitting at the bottom of the AFC South Division standings, won in their lone stop at home in a seven-week span. They have a three-game road swing ahead to complete that stretch, starting with Thursday night’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers (4-3).
“This was a big win for us, important win at this point in the season,” Titans coach Mike Vrabel said.
It came on alumni weekend as the Titans wore Houston Oilers throwback uniforms and celebrated their history, down to an oil derrick logo at midfield with the old nickname in each end zone. The Oilers moved from Texas to Tennessee after the 1996 season and became the Titans in 1999.
Levis was cheered when introduced as the starter. He became the seventh rookie quarterback to start this season, the most to start in the first eight weeks since the AFL-NFL merger more than a half-century ago, excluding the 1987 strike season in which replacement players were used. Six rookie quarterbacks started in that span in both 1971 and 2021.
Levis is the third rookie to start this season in the AFC South, joining Anthony Richardson of the Indianapolis Colts and C.J. Stroud of the Houston Texans, who were both top-five draft picks this past April. But it was Levis who joined Marcus Mariota (2015 Titans) and Pro Football Hall of Famer Fran Tarkenton (1961 Minnesota Vikings) as the only quarterbacks in league history to throw four touchdown passes in their professional debuts.
“We obviously knew he could do what he did today,” Titans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins said despite not practicing much with Levis. “And that’s how he practices. That’s how he approaches the game.”
Two-time Pro Bowl defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons had two of Tennessee’s six sacks, including a strip-sack of Desmond Ridder that the Titans turned into a touchdown. Harold Landry had two sacks as well.
A three-time All-Pro first-team selection who signed with the Titans this past summer, Hopkins finished with 128 yards and three touchdowns on four catches. He did not have a touchdown reception with the Titans before Sunday. Nick Westbrook-Ikhine caught the fourth touchdown pass from Levis, a 33-yarder in the final quarter with the rookie throwing off his back foot.
Titans running back Derrick Henry had 101 yards on 22 carries, just the third time this season the two-time NFL rushing leader has had that many runs in a game and the second time he has reached 100 yards this season.
AP photo by George Walker IV / Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Scotty Miller hangs on for a touchdown catch with Tennessee Titans cornerback Eric Garror on top of him in the corner of the end zone during Sunday’s game in Nashville.Atlanta (4-4), which came in atop the NFC South, dropped to 1-3 on the road this season.
Ridder was evaluated for a concussion after being sacked five times before halftime. He was announced as having been cleared, but he didn’t return as the Falcons switched to journeyman Taylor Heinicke in the third quarter.
Atlanta coach Arthur Smith, who spent 10 seasons in various roles with the Titans and worked his way up to offensive coordinator under Vrabel before the Falcons hired him in 2021, said this is why Heinicke is on the roster.
“We’re always going to be cautious, and I’ll be conservative,” Smith said of a player’s health.
Heinicke threw for 175 yards, driving Atlanta to points on four of his first five possessions. He pulled the Falcons within 28-23 with 3:46 left with an 8-yard touchdown pass to Scotty Miller. When the Falcons got the ball back with 2:19 left and no timeouts, they turned it over on downs.
Meanwhile, Vrabel stuck to his promise, playing second-year quarterback Malik Willis even after Levis got the nod to start with veteran Ryan Tannehill out with an ankle injury sustained during a loss to the Baltimore Ravens in London two weeks earlier.
Willis came in on the fifth play of Tennessee’s opening series Sunday and fumbled the snap, Calais Campbell recovered for Atlanta at the Tennessee 28, and the Falcons were held to the first of three field goals by Younghoe Koo.
The Titans stuck with Levis — the No. 33 overall draft pick this year — and the former Kentucky standout showed why they traded up for him by throwing more touchdown passes through three quarters than Tannehill (two) has this season while starting the first six games. Tannehill is in the final year of his contract, and after adding a quarterback in each of the past two drafts, they have decisions to make about their future behind center.
The Titans made clear they didn’t appreciate Willis being booed when he came out for a run out of the shotgun just before Levis’ second touchdown pass. Vrabel was seen trying to quiet the fans.
Levis said that left a “sour taste in all of our mouths” and that Willis will be a big part of helping them win this season.
“So let’s just come correct next time as fans and treat him correctly,” Levis said.
By catching Levis’ first NFL touchdown pass, Hopkins has done that for four quarterbacks, tying Joey Galloway and Marvin Harrison for the most such receptions in league history.
Hopkins was wide open for a 61-yard catch, putting the Titans up 21-9 late in the third quarter, becoming the first Tennessee receiver with three or more touchdown catches in a game since Kenny Britt on Oct. 24, 2010, against the Philadelphia Eagles. That also tied Hopkins’ career high for touchdown catches in a game.
The Falcons, who host the Vikings (4-4) next Sunday, headed home with multiple injuries to address beyond Ridder’s situation.
Defensive lineman Grady Jarrett (knee) got hurt early and didn’t return, and his replacement, LaCale London, went down early in the third quarter with a knee injury as well. Fullback Keith Smith (concussion) did not return after exiting, and wide receiver Drake London sustained a groin injury.