Quarterback Malik Willis helped the Tennessee Titans notch their first win of the 2023 preseason on Saturday night in a game in which he played the whole way thanks to an injury to fellow signal-caller, Will Levis.
Willis completed 10-of-17 passes for 85 yards and had one passing score and one interception. Three of those incompletions were drops, with two by tight end Chig Okonkwo and one by running back Julius Chestnut.
He really shined on the ground, though, with 11 carries for 91 yards and another touchdown. Willis took off out of necessity in some instances in order to escape a sack, but other times he hung in the pocket and kept his eyes down the field before committing to running.
“At first, I was trying to make sure I was staying in the pocket,” Willis said, according to ESPN’s Turron Davenport. “Just making sure I give everybody an opportunity and sometimes [head coach Mike Vrabel] is telling me maybe me getting out of there is better than throwing a checkdown. That’s just going to be me finding a balance between that.”
Willis still had some issues taking care of the football, which included the aforementioned interception that came on what looked like a predetermined throw that went right to a Vikings defender.
Willis clearly expected LB Troy Dye to continue carrying Reggie Roberson up the seam. LB sits down, Willis throws right to him #TENvsMIN pic.twitter.com/Lb6VxgLWhf
— Justin Graver (@titansfilmroom) August 20, 2023
“[The Vikings linebacker] was running with the vertical route and there was supposed to be a window there but he made a great play. It happens sometimes,” Willis explained.
“[The linebacker’s] back was turned. Racey [McMath] was supposed to come right into that window but he kind of throttled a little bit and [the linebacker] turned around after he seen him and it just was a bad play. I’ve just got to get that to my checkdown.”
Head coach Mike Vrabel pointed to some good things Willis did but also noted how he has to do a better job of taking care of the football.
“There were some good things,” Vrabel said, per Jim Wyatt. “I think, obviously, he put the ball in harm’s way but I saw him progress through, I saw him make some plays when there was some time. We had some drops that hurt him. There’s a collective group when you talk about quarterback play, especially young quarterback play.
“But there were some cool things in the second half where guys gave him some time, hit Racey there on third down. I liked his decisiveness in using his athletic ability and committing when he did decide to scramble, which has to be part of his game… A lot of things to improve, but I thought sitting there and getting those guys operating in the four-minute was really good.”
Willis will have another week of practice before getting his final opportunity to secure the backup quarterback job in preseason Week 3. Right now, he’s ahead of Levis, but this competition is anything but over.
