The Tennessee Titans won in ugly fashion against the Carolina Panthers in Week 12, winning by a score of 17-10 in a game that was largely ignored by anybody who isn’t a fan of either of these teams.
As they always tend to do, the Titans made things much closer than they should have been.
Tennessee had the opportunity to produce a statement win against a bad team. Unfortunately, the only statement that was made was how the Titans essentially confirmed that they aren’t a very good team in their own right.
Regardless, a win is a win, and those have been very hard to come by this season. Therefore, I can’t blame any fan for being excited just to see their favorite team emerge victorious.
With all that said, let’s take a look at three truths and one overreaction after the Titans notched their first win in the month of November.
Truth: Will Levis still has a lot of room to grow
Will Levis admitted after the game that he wasn’t pleased with the performance of the offense in the second half. Tennessee looked lifeless after halftime, en route to being held scoreless over the final 30 minutes of play.
This was a disappointing development because Levis looked borderline phenomenal in the first half. Prior to halftime, the Kentucky product constantly used different arm angles to get the ball to his targets, making tight-window throws with ease while consistently getting the ball out on time. He isn’t perfect by any means, but his arm talent is undeniable.
The next step is for Levis to start putting complete games together. Outside of his debut, it seems like Levis only plays well in spurts, often looking better in one half as opposed to being stout for four quarters.
Regardless, the potential is obviously there, and his flashes of brilliance should have Titans fans salivating over what the future could look like with him under center.
Overreaction: The Titans are about to go on a run
I’ve seen some people talking about how this could’ve been the spark the team needed to get things going, but I simply don’t believe it.
Granted, the defense looked awesome today — and more specifically the front seven — but that’s hardly anything to write home about when facing this particular team.
Had the Titans replicated their first-half performance over the second half, I would at least somewhat understand why some fans would feel optimistic.
But the truth of the matter is, this team narrowly squeaked out a win against a terrible team in a game Tennessee very well could’ve lost.
I would love to be proven wrong, but this felt like a game that could end up being one of their final victories of the year. I personally wouldn’t get my hopes up for any semblance of a run late in the season.
Truth: Jaelyn Duncan should remain the starter at LT
In his first career start at left tackle, Jaelyn Duncan looked much more stable and reliable than the offensive tackle the Titans gave a $29 million contract to. Granted, there is a lot of room for improvement, but this was a solid first start for the sixth-round rookie tackle.
Duncan had several impressive reps throughout the contest in both the run and passing games. It wasn’t always pretty, and he certainly had his fair share of low moments, but the Maryland product played himself into the starting lineup at least for the duration of the 2023 season.
There’s no way of telling whether or not Duncan is going to be a long-term starter, but he’s probably going to be a part of the team’s future in some capacity, whether that be as a starter or backup.
That’s more than you can say about Andre Dillard right now, so Tennessee must continue to give Duncan the nod over the veteran.
Truth: This win didn't accomplish much
Although the Titans picked up a much-needed victory, they did so in ugly fashion over the worst team in the NFL, which only further proves how bad Tennessee is.
The Titans nearly losing to the 1-10 Panthers was a humble realization of just how far this team has fallen. To make matters worse, you could argue that this ugly victory ended up hurting them more than helping.
If the Titans were going to win, you wanted to see them dominate a horrible Panthers team. Instead, they barely squeaked out a victory, subsequently all but ending any slim chance of securing the first overall pick in the process. Adding to that, Levis didn’t have a good game.
A loss today would’ve had the Titans within one game of the first pick. At the very least, they likely would have a strong chance of picking inside the top five.
Tennessee could still land in that range, but it will probably have to lose out to do so. Only time will tell whether or not that happens, but this was hardly the type of victory that sparked excitement into the fanbase.
