Quarterback Bryce Young is being benched by the Carolina Panthers (0-2). With the latest news on the 2023 first overall pick, Will Levis' struggles for the Tennessee Titans (0-2) will no longer be a primary NFL headline.
Young's benching, however, does open a window for Tennessee to do the same if their second-year starter continues to make critical errors.
Will Levis Still Has Titans Staff's Trust
Levis continues to have the confidence and trust of his coaching staff as expressed by Brian Callahan repeatedly.
After their most recent loss to the New York Jets (1-1), Levis has completed 63.3% of his passes for 319 yards with two touchdowns, three interceptions and two fumbles lost.
"Yeah, just keep coaching him," Callahan said of Levis on Monday. "Sometimes—that one surprised me. Again, I just thought we had coached that one. And then just to see his instincts take over in that moment and that to happen the way it did was—obviously, clearly, I was pretty upset about it. I still am. It's not something that I think is an acceptable way to play. But I think, on the flip side, is that Will (Levis) did have a much better game than last week. I thought a lot of things he did, we saw improvement. That part was positive.
"I coach Will hard, but I do love him pretty hard too, and I think that that's okay. I think we can have those moments, and unfortunately an intense moment got captured because I'm also the head coach, not just the offensive coordinator. And so those conversations don't always get caught on television. That happens a lot, but mine happened to be in front of everybody. I don't regret it, but I do coach Will hard, and I think he's accepting of that coaching. I thought he did a lot of things a lot better."
Will Levis Is Significantly Better Than Bryce Young
Levis passes the "eye test" far more than Young did in Carolina's offense in new coach Dave Canalaes.
A Pick Six against the Chicago defined Levis in Week 1. The turnover allowed the opposition to complete a comeback of 24 unanswered points without scoring an offensive touchdown. It was strictly on Tennessee's quarterback. There were incremental improvements from Levis against the Jets in Week 2, but the performance was still marred by the fact that Levis' first turnover on Sunday looked almost exactly like the Bears game.
Levis finished the Jets game 19-of-28 for 192 passing yards with one touchdown, one interception and an incredibly costly fumble.
Young, though, had a historically bad day in Sunday's 26-3 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, passing for only 84 yards. He became the third player in the past 20 seasons to average 4 yards or under per dropback in four straight starts, according to ESPN. He has three interceptions and no touchdowns in two starts this season.
The Panthers have a point differential of -60.
Levis should get two more starts to legitimately improve his decision-making before the Titans Week 5 bye. Eight quarters of football is a reasonable enough ask before the team gives real consideration to benching him.
Tennessee hosts the Green Bay Packers (1-1) in Week 3 at Nissan Stadium. Watch/listen to Titans Radio's pregame coverage starting at 9am CT on 104.5 The Zone in Nashville.
