The Tennessee Titans suffered a humbling overseas loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, 24-16. This was the Titans’ second loss in as many weeks while also technically being their first home loss on the season.
Tennessee constantly talks about wanting to stack wins together, but instead it was a pair of losses that ended up being stacked together. And because of it, Tennessee now enters its bye week with a disappointing 2-4 record.
The Titans have tons of questions that need to be answered going forward, most notably when it comes to the starting quarterback job. Ryan Tannehill left the game early with an ankle injury and the team is still awaiting the results of his MRI.
That is one of the topics I touch on more in-depth below, while also going over a few other narratives I’ve seen surrounding the Titans now that the team is two games below .500.
Let’s not waste anymore time as we dive right into this week’s overreactions and truths article following Sunday’s eight-point loss to the Ravens.
Truth: Titans should strongly consider using these next two weeks to get Will Levis ready
Simply put, it’s time.
This Titans team is 2-4 heading into their bye week, their starting quarterback is now hurt, and when he does play, he’s only thrown two touchdown passes over the first six games of the season.
That’s nothing a rookie quarterback can’t do, especially one that had been playing in a pro-style offense in college. Will Levis isn’t like Malik Willis in the sense that he doesn’t have to learn how to operate an NFL offense from scratch.
Willis had the chance to solidify the job going forward when he came in in relief of Tannehill, but he looked horrendous, constantly displaying zero-pocket presence, and a lack of timing and rhythm paired with irrational decision-making.
That blend is a recipe for losing when it comes to the most important position on the field. Even the passes that Willis did complete were often inaccurate throws that didn’t allow the receivers to make a play after the catch.
Unless the Titans genuinely believe Tannehill — hobbled or not — can get them back into playoff contention, Tennessee has to find out what it has in Levis before next year’s draft that should have several big-time quarterback prospects available for the taking.
The Titans now have two weeks to prepare the Kentucky product for his NFL debut, and for that reason, this may be the perfect time to make the switch.
Best-case scenario, Levis takes this opportunity, runs with it, and saves the Titans’ season. If not, then hopefully he at least shows enough that the team feels comfortable with him moving forward.
Absolute worst-case scenario is he also looks horrible and the Titans’ season is beyond hopeless. However, the silver lining at that point would be that the Titans will have more clarity on their quarterback situation going forward.
Overreaction: Titans’ season is officially over
As doom and gloom as this season feels right now, the Titans’ season isn’t over just yet; although, we’re certainly getting close.
Tennessee crawled out of a 2-4 hole just a few years ago after making a quarterback switch and they ended up making it to the AFC Championship game.
Nobody is expecting that type of result this year, but the Titans certainly can get a few wins after the bye week and at least be competitive the rest of the year. They’ll have a few weeks to figure out how to do that.
A few more losses will definitely put this in the ‘truths’ section, but I’m not there just yet. Tennessee has one of the easier schedules going forward, and maybe its young quarterback can provide a much-needed spark to an offense that desperately needs one.
Only time will tell, but the Titans are rapidly finding themselves with little room for error for the rest of the 2023 season.
Truth: Nicholas Petit-Frere should start at LT going forward
The Titans benched Andre Dillard at left tackle, and the offense looked much better without him on the blindside up until the point where Tannehill got hurt.
Once that happened, the offense largely became a stale product that couldn’t do anything right, outside of a fantastic play from Tyjae Spears.
Petit-Frere wasn’t perfect, nor was he expected to be, considering he was thrown in at a moment’s notice. However, he held his own for the most part.
This opinion could certainly change after I watch the All-22 tape later this week, but as of right now, I have a hard time believing the team will go back to Dillard after the bye. It’s time to accept the loss by ending the Dillard experiment before it gets any worse.
Overreaction: The Titans should trade Henry and Hopkins
I’ve seen this narrative floating around after this game, and I strongly disagree with the logic.
If the Titans do in fact plan to make a switch to their rookie quarterback, they need to give him as much help as possible. Trading some of their best players who often require a ton of attention by the opposing defense isn’t going to help put Levis in a position to succeed.
The second Henry is gone, the boxes will stop being so loaded, and defenses will now add those extra guys into coverage, which will then make Levis’ job that much harder.
The same can be said when it comes to DeAndre Hopkins. He’s literally the only consistent passing threat they have. Getting rid of him is setting the young quarterback up for inevitable failure.
Unless the Titans get an offer they simply cannot refuse on either of them, they need to just ride this one out and allow their veteran playmakers to help out what is hopefully the future of the franchise.
As for other veterans such as Kevin Byard, Tannehill, etc., I would at least realistically consider those much more than I would Henry or Hopkins.
Truth: Kyle Philips should be done as a returner
During his time in college, Kyle Philips was an electric playmaker in the return game. Unfortunately, it’s time to let those memories go because he is completely unreliable when it comes to fielding punts.
The UCLA product muffed a punt inside his own 10-yard line with only one second remaining in the first half, subsequently allowing the Ravens to add an extra three points they otherwise wouldn’t have.
Special teams coach Craig Aukerman certainly deserves some blame as well for not emphasizing to Philips how there was more harm than good that could be caused by fielding the ball in that scenario.
Nonetheless, the team strongly needs to consider letting Philips solely focus on being a slot receiver and allow someone else to field punts. Mason Kinsey was much more reliable back there and you have the option to elevate him on game days without sacrificing a roster spot. That will at least buy you enough time until Kearis Jackson returns, if he does at all.
But for now, I’m over Philips fielding punts.
