Analysis of the Tennessee Titans’ 30-14 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday at Nissan Stadium:
Discussion points
What a humiliating afternoon for the Titans: They won’t soon forget the fact that quarterback Malik Willis returned with the Packers, humiliating the franchise that used him as a backup and traded him a few weeks ago. Backed by a large, loud group of Packers fans at Nissan Stadium, Willis threw and ran the ball effectively (especially on third down), allowing Green Bay to jump out to a 13-point halftime lead.
The Packers’ coaches deserve credit for quickly unleashing something in Willis that two Titans teams failed to do. Willis was the best quarterback on the field on Sunday, which also showed how much …
. . .the Will Levis experiment fails: And it’s taking the season with it. After an encouraging first touchdown drive, Levis threw a pick-six to Jaire Alexander to start the next possession, staring down DeAndre Hopkins the entire time. Another play, another critical mistake for a young quarterback who has eight turnovers in the first three games this season.
It wasn’t just Levis: Overall, the pass defense is still abysmal. Levis was sacked eight times on Sunday. Right tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere was benched after not bothering to block the rusher on a third-quarter strip sack. On top of that, the Titans’ running game was completely irrelevant. Special teams hurt the cause more than they help. And the Titans’ defense slacked after a strong start to the season, struggling to handle an inexperienced quarterback they knew well.
Questionable decision: Trailing 20-7 early in the second half, Titans coach Brian Callahan attempted a fourth-and-two at the Titans 37-yard line. Levis tried to run. He couldn’t. It was a questionable decision to make the attempt, especially because Callahan initially sent the punt team out, but then changed his mind and called a timeout. The Packers converted the short field into a touchdown and a 27-7 lead that was too much to overcome by a late rally.
Where the game turned
It was the opening drive. The Titans won the coin toss and sent Willis onto the field. On the first play, he threw a 30-yard pass to a completely free Jayden Reed. On third and six, he found Christian Watson with a beautiful throw for another 30 yards. And when Willis ran over Roger McCreary for a 5-yard touchdown, he set the tone for the game.
Key number
202: Passing yards for Willis, who had 158 yards at halftime, and he also had 73 rushing yards on six attempts. Willis never topped 100 passing yards in a game for the Titans.
What I liked
Like the first two weeks, everyone will remember the fumbles and sacks. But on paper, Levis didn’t have a terrible Sunday. He got into his stride with Hopkins in the second half, completing 26 of 34 passes for 260 yards and a couple of touchdowns. On the rare possessions when the Titans offense gets something going, it’s been pretty good at turning those attacks into touchdowns.
What I didn’t like
How much time do you have? Three games in, it’s hard to find anything these Titans can rely on to perform consistently well. The quarterbacking is shaky at best. The same goes for the offensive line. Highly paid talent on the perimeter isn’t making enough of an impact on both sides of the ball. The defense, which has been a bright spot, still can’t win balls and was shockingly bad against the Packers.
It’s still early, but this is a recipe for a dreary fall spent thinking about next year’s NFL Draft.
Reach Tennessean sports columnist Gentry Estes at [email protected] and on the X-Platform (formerly known as Twitter) @Gentry_Estes.
