The Tennessee Titans notched their first victory of the 2022 preseason when they topped the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Nissan Stadium in Nashville on Saturday night, 13-3.
Poor offensive play was the story of the evening. Neither team did much on that side of the ball, while both defenses continuously made plays and put pressure on their opponent’s quarterbacks.
The good news for Tennessee’s offense is that multiple rookies made their presence felt, including quarterback Malik Willis, wide receiver Kyle Philips and tight end Chigoziem Okonkwo.
Unfortunately, Treylon Burks was quiet once again, but it was hard to blame him for that, as he was missed on multiple throws and Tennessee did a horrible job by not trying to manufacture more touches for him.
While there were several winners for the Titans on Saturday night, there were also some losers. Here’s a look at the players making up both sides of the spectrum after preseason Week 2.
Winner: QB Malik Willis
Final stats: 7-17, 80 yards, TD; 5 carries, 42 yards
Willis had his fair share of miscues but also flashed once again on Saturday night. The rookie looked a bit more decisive and comfortable in his second start of the preseason.
On a night where the offensive line did him no favors, Willis was able to evade multiple sacks with his dynamic athleticism, and he finished with 52 yards on the ground, including a long gain of 25 yards. He was an absolute wizard when it came to extending plays.
Malik WHEELlis 💨 @malikwillis
📺: Watch #TBvsTEN on @WKRN pic.twitter.com/FwERaHjQZW
— Tennessee Titans (@Titans) August 21, 2022
He struggled with accuracy on multiple passes and had a little too much mustard on others, but he showed a great sign of progress on his touchdown pass to Chigoziem Okonkwo. Willis hung in the pocket, went through his progressions and found Chig in the end zone after he worked his way open.
Malik Willis TD to Chig Okonkwo
– 3rd read
– from the pocket
– over the middleDevelopment happening in real time pic.twitter.com/zwEH8nG9x9
— James Foster (@NoFlagsFilm) August 21, 2022
Willis is still very much a work in progress, but all we can ask for is to see flashes of what he can become. We definitely saw that again on Saturday.
Loser: QB Logan Woodside
Final stats: 7-11, 56 yards, INT; 4 carries, 10 yards
Like Willis, Woodside had poor blocking upfront, but unlike Willis, Woodside wasn’t able to evade it as well due to his inferior mobility.
Woodside also tossed his third pick of the preseason after taking a big hit in the pocket, and he failed to lead Tennessee’s offense to a single point once again.
Woodside needed to outperform Willis this week in order to regain his grasp on the No. 2 job, but failed to do so. As things stand right now, Willis is the better option for the backup quarterback job.
Winner: CB Caleb Farley
Farley desperately needed a strong showing in preseason Week 2, and he delivered. However, it’s important to note Roger McCreary started over him but moved to the slot in favor of Farley on the outside when the Titans brought in an extra corner on the second play of the game.
Farley notched a pass break-up and was improved in coverage overall. He also flashed great awareness by breaking off coverage quickly to make a tackle on one play, and then he adjusted in coverage on another to take away a short outlet from Bucs quarterback Kyle Trask, which ultimately helped lead to an interception.
Loser: WR Mason Kinsey
Kinsey had outshined the other receivers on the roster bubble for the most part going into preseason Week 2, but that was not the case on Saturday night.
Kinsey failed to reel in his lone target. Making matters worse, he didn’t see any looks in the return game, where Kyle Philips shined, and he was out-produced by Dez Fitzpatrick and Reggie Roberson.
You can certainly argue Kinsey is now behind Roberson and Fitzpatrick ahead of the final preseason game.
Winner: OLB Rashad Weaver
Weaver was an absolute menace. He had multiple pressures and QB hits, notched a sack, had a pass defensed that led to an interception and he tallied a fumble recovery.
SaAaAaAcK @RashadWeaver 🤩
📺: Watch #TBvsTEN on @WKRN pic.twitter.com/VxBB9wLpwM
— Tennessee Titans (@Titans) August 20, 2022
All signs are pointing to Weaver making an impact in 2022. Ola Adeniyi had a good night, also, but it’s clear Weaver should be the first player off the bench in relief of the starters
Loser: OT Dillon Radunz
The Titans deployed Nicholas Petit-Frere at right tackle to start the game, but then moved him over to left tackle once Dillon Radunz was came into the contest.
That was to be expected after the Titans have been rotating the two in practice and Radunz got the start at right tackle last week.
Radunz allowed multiple pressures and committed a penalty in what was a bad night for him overall. He simply does not look like a starting-caliber offensive lineman, even against backups.
Nicholas Petit-Frere didn’t exactly shine, but more is expected of Radunz being that this is his second year. At this point, it wouldn’t be surprising if Radunz loses to Petit-Frere or if the Titans decide to bring someone else in.
Winner: WR Dez Fitzpatrick
After logging just one catch in preseason Week 1, Fitzpatrick had a pair of catches for 29 yards this week, the second-most on the team. More importantly, he outshined Mason Kinsey, who figures to be his top competition for a roster spot.
Loser: Offensive line
As we touched on with both Willis and Woodside, the offensive line, which featured backups for much of the contest, was putrid as a whole.
Both quarterbacks were under duress all night, and the Titans might have been held out of the end zone entirely if not for Willis’ dynamic mobility, which helped avoid even more than the four sacks allowed.
None of the guys vying for a roster spot upfront did themselves any favors on Saturday night.
Winner: WR Reggie Roberson
Roberson paced all Titans pass-catchers with four catches for 47 yards, all of which came in the second half. Making it more impressive was the fact that this was Roberson’s first live-game action after missing last week’s game.
With his performance on Saturday, Roberson might have put himself ahead of Kinsey for a potential roster spot, also.
Winner: WR Kyle Philips
Philips flashed in multiple areas. He returned three punts for 77 yards, including an electric 35-yard return, and he showed great awareness as a receiver with an impressive toe drag to reel in an 11-yard catch near the sideline.
Kyle Philips makin' them miss 😮pic.twitter.com/F6wjgrBWSl
— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) August 20, 2022
As far as we’re concerned, Philips has secured a role on offense and the starting punt return job.
Winner: Titans ILBs
Chance Campbell bad a pass break-up and a tackle for loss, Jack Gibbens tied for the team high with five tackles and also flashed in coverage, and Joe Jones was in the right place at the right time for an interception.
Winner: Secondary depth options
After a putrid showing in preseason Week 1, the Titans’ secondary was much better in coverage overall. Bucs quarterbacks were a combined 14-of-29 for 81 yards and zero touchdowns to one interception.
Adrian Colbert (two), Joshua Kalu, Tyree Gillespie, Tre Swilling and Tre Avery all had pass break-ups, Greg Mabin had a fumble recovery, and Lonnie Johnson played tight coverage and added a pair of tackles.
Winner: TE Chigoziem Okonkwo
Chig is on the board!
Okonkwo was responsible for Tennessee’s lone touchdown of the night on a six-yard reception from Malik Willis. Okonkwo did a great job working his way open and was ready to reel in the catch once Willis progressed to him.
Winner: DL Teair Tart
Tart is trying to fend off Naquan Jones for playing time, and he made strides towards that goal on Saturday night. While Jones was quiet, Tart was blowing up plays in the backfield. He finished with two tackles, one of which went for a loss.
