MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Nine months ago Will Levis led the Titans to 15 points in :51 in a stirring comeback against the Dolphins in the biggest upset of the NFL season.
On Monday’s return trip to Miami Gardens Levis watched most of the game from the sidelines with an ailing shoulder as Tennessee beat Miami again 31-12, breaking through for its first win of the season.
It’s a big win for a desperate team that wanted to avoid an 0-4 start and provide Brian Callahan his first win as a NFL head coach. It will also raise a conversation about Levis as the team enters its bye week.
The organization and the coaching staff believe in the second-year QB, but Levis once again had a bad turnover. He threw directly to big Emmanuel Ogbah who had dropped in zone coverage on the game’s first possession.
It was Levis’s sixth interception already on the young season, two more than he had in nine games as a rookie.
The competitive, if not reckless, side of Levis emerged on the Titans next drive as Levis dove towards the sideline with outstretched arms trying to reach the first down marker. He landed hard on his right shoulder and immediately felt discomfort.
To add insult to injury, he was ruled short of the line to gain due to a questionable spot.
But Levis, who spent much of the next couple of series being looked at on the sideline by the training staff, was unable to return, giving way to Mason Rudolph.
The 29-year-old veteran didn’t do anything flashy.
Rudolph, who won the final three games last season as a substitute starter for the Steelers to help them reach the playoffs, stepped in to go 9-17 for just 85 yards, but he didn’t make a mistake and was only sacked once as the Titans relied on their defense to win a field position game and take advantage of Nick Folk’s reliable right leg for five field goals.
Rudolph’s best play came just before halftime following a fourth down stand by the defense.
The Titans took over at their own 44-yard line with just :16 left and no timeouts. Rudolph fired a strike to Tyler Boyd own the middle for 26 yards an the offense did a textbook job of sprinting into possession to get set and clock the ball with :01 left.
Folk’s 47-yard field goal gave Tennessee a 9-3 lead at the half.
With the lead, a strong rushing attack and Rudolph playing steady, the Titans turned to their defense.
Even playing without star Jeffery Simmons, Tennessee was able to stifle a Miami offense that is just a figment of its former self without Tua Tagovailoa.
Newly installed quarterback Tyler Huntley went 14-22 for just 96 yards while being sacked twice.
The Titans defense contained speedy receivers Tyreke Hill and Jaylen Waddle and held the Dolphins rushing attack to just 106 yards while extending their touchdown drought to more than 173:00 before Huntley finally scored in the fourth quarter.
Tennessee was also rewarded with the game-changing plays it’s been striving for defensively. After Levis’s interception, the Titans D got the ball right back when Arden Key scooped up a backwards pass that Hill couldn’t corral.
The play was ruled dead live or Key might have returned it for a touchdown, but the Titans were awarded their first defensive turnover of the season upon review.
The defense also stopped the Dolphins on a pair of fourth and one attempts and recorded a safety when pressure forced Huntley to wildly throw a ball out of his end zone with no receivers in the area code.
Tyjae Spears ran for the night’s first touchdown out of the Wildcat to give the Titans what seemed like an insurmountable16-6 lead considering the way the game was going.
Tony Pollard had 88 of Tennessee’s 142 yards on the ground, including the four-yard touchdown run in the final minute for the final margin.
It was the first time since January 2nd, 2022 and a 34-3 win over these Dolphins in Nashville that the Titans scored more than 30 points in a game. That’s a span of 41 largely futile offensive performances dating back to week 17 of the 2021 season.
And offense and his work with successful quarterbacks are the reasons Callahan was brought to Tennessee.
The system has not paid off in immediate results either in points or wins, but Monday night the Titans found a way to make the most of their chances and leave south Florida with an impressive and, potentially, season-saving win with Rudolph at quarterback.
Levis will get another chance as soon as he is healthy, hopefully with a fresh perspective after watching the last three and a half quarters Monday from the sideline. Who knows? Maybe this will calm him down and allow him to play with a little less pressure so he can focus on just doing his job the way Rudolph did against the Dolphins.
If he’s able to do that, Levis’s God-given talent has the potential to shine through.
If not, the real conversation about whether or not Levis can be a franchise quarterback will come quickly and grow louder. The Titans have a good enough defense to win, an elite kicker and enough offensive weapons to be dangerous.
They just need their quarterback; one that most importantly doesn’t make the game-changing mistakes that cost them in the first three weeks of the season.
In game four that guy was Rudolph. He didn’t stuff the stat sheet or do anything fancy, but he did what he needed to do to get this team and his head coach their first win.