NASHVILLE — Brian Callahan has seen winless starts finish as winning records in the NFL, so the first-year head coach of the Tennessee Titans has reminded his players the season is long enough to reward those who correct their mistakes fast enough.
They’ll have to respond quickly to avoid the franchise’s worst start to a season since losing the first six games in 2009.
Callahan was hired by the Nashville club in January after five years as offensive coordinator of the Cincinnati Bengals, and he helped them post winning records the past two seasons after dropping the first two games each time. And in the AFC South, which includes Tennessee, the Houston Texans won the division title last season after bouncing back from an 0-2 start.
The Titans see their stingy defense and early leads as proof they easily could be undefeated. Untimely mistakes, including second-year quarterback Will Levis turning the ball over too much, are why the Titans are 0-2 as they prepare to host the Green Bay Packers (1-1) on Sunday afternoon at Nissan Stadium.
“We’ve got a lot of guys that have played a lot of football,” Titans safety Amani Hooker said of Callahan’s message. “So we’re able to understand what it’s going to take to win.”
What the Titans don’t know is whether they’ll face regular starter Jordan Love or recent teammate Malik Willis at quarterback. Green Bay coach Matt LaFleur, who spent the 2018 season as Tennessee’s offensive coordinator under Callahan’s predecessor Mike Vrabel, said Love’s status will be decided Sunday when the Packers have to hand in their list of inactive players.
The Packers ran their way to a 16-10 win over the Indianapolis Colts to ease Willis into his first start with a team he joined at the end of August. Love is testing a brace to protect the medial collateral ligament in his left knee after getting hurt in a season-opening loss 34-29 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
He said the brace affects his mobility, which is a huge part of his game.
“You’d love to be able to just sit in the pocket and be a pocket passer, but it’s just not realistic,” Love said. “There’s things that happen in the pocket where you’ve got to get out of there, avoid pressure, and sometimes you’ve got to move the (yardage) sticks with your legs.”
The Titans have lost each of their first two games by the same 24-17 score, on the road to the Chicago Bears and at home against the New York Jets. Defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons said it doesn’t matter to the Titans who starts at quarterback for Green Bay, with Tennessee’s defense preparing to face both Love and Willis.
“We just have to prepare to win,” Simmons said.
The Packers lead the NFL with 21 “explosive plays” of a run of at least 12 yards or a pass of 16 yards or more. That won’t be as easy against the Titans, who have allowed a league-low 413 total yards and an average of 114 passing yards per game. The Titans aren’t as easy to prepare for with new defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson having given opponents only two regular-season games to review.
“He’s an experienced guy in this league, and then when you couple that with really good players, you have a chance to be a really good defense,” LaFleur said. “And they do all the little things the right way, in terms of the effort and physicality that they play with.”
Green Bay leads the league in rushing at 212 yards per game after using that run-heavy approach last week for 261 yards on the ground.
Josh Jacobs has 48 carries, tied with the San Francisco 49ers’ Jordan Mason for the league lead through the first two weeks, and Jacobs had 32 of those runs against the Colts, just one off his career high. However, he is the only Green Bay player with more than nine carries so far, even as the Packers have mixed in rushing attempts by receivers Bo Melton and Jayden Reed.
The Packers have AJ Dillon and rookie MarShawn Lloyd on injured reserve, which has forced them to rely more on Jacobs. Dillon (neck) is out for the season, while Lloyd (ankle) will miss at least the next four games.
Green Bay’s defense has five interceptions and six total takeaways this season to lead the NFL in both categories. The Titans have committed five turnovers already to match the Denver Broncos for the most of any NFL team — all by Levis (three interceptions, two fumbles), which the Packers have noticed.
“We just hope he gives us some more this week,” cornerback Keisean Nixon said.
The Packers have several Tennessee ties in addition to LaFleur and Willis. Green Bay claimed rookie kicker Brayden Narveson off waivers from the Titans after he went 6-for-7 in the preseason with a long field goal of 59 yards. Narveson is 6-of-8 for the Packers, missing one kick in each of the first two games.
As for Willis, he has no hard feelings toward the Titans, who traded him after deciding Mason Rudolph would back up Levis. Willis started three games as a rookie for the Titans after they traded up in the third round to draft the former Liberty University star in 2022.
Said Willis: “They took a shot on me.”