Mason Rudolph replaced Will Levis on Monday Night Football
Tennessee Titans starting quarterback Will Levis exited the team's 31-12 Monday Night Football victory over the Miami Dolphins with a shoulder injury. Veteran backup Mason Rudolph entered the game and oversaw Tennessee's first win of the season. Levis spent the majority of the second half wearing his helmet on the sideline. He appeared anxious to re-enter the game, but the Titans stuck with Rudolph, who played efficiently.
Rudolph completed 9-of-17 passing attempts for 85 yards, zero touchdowns, and zero interceptions. He was unspectacular, but the bar for quarterback play in Tennessee is extremely low right now. Rudolph protected the football, took just one sack behind an improved offensive line (coincidence?), cycled through his progressions and routinely made good decisions. It's more than Levis has done this season.
Despite that, Titans head coach Brian Callahan was quick to announce a decision regarding his future starting quarterback as the team prepares for a Week 5 bye.
"100%, if Will [Levis] is healthy, he's our quarterback," Callahan told reporters during his post-game press conference. "It was not a decision based on anything other than his health and protecting him, especially with the bye week. His shoulder didn't feel great, so I didn't want to put him back out there. He's our starter when he's healthy."
Levis was 3-of-4 for 25 yards with an interception when he suffered the shoulder injury. The mistake-prone quarterback committed his league-leading ninth turnover on Tennessee's first possession. With the Titans driving at Miami's 43 yard line, Levis threw an interception to Dolphins defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah. He could be heard saying "I didn't see him" on the sidelines following the turnover, which was incredible because Ogbah had dropped into zone coverage, and the decision was so poor that the pass looked intended for him.
On Tennessee's next drive, Levis dove for the first-down marker on a 3rd-and-4 near the sideline. Levis landed hard on his shoulder. The refs questionably marked him down short, the Titans punted, and Rudolph was the quarterback for the next series.
Rudolph oversaw Tennessee's first 30-point performance in 1,002 days, though he dropped back 17 times versus 40 rushing attempts for the Titans. Rudolph's best play occurred near the conclusion of the second quarter. After a shanked Dolphins punt awarded the Titans possession at their own 44 with 16 seconds and zero timeouts, the veteran quarterback stepped up into an excellent throw to Tyler Boyd that showed anticipation and gained 27 yards. Tennessee quickly got to the line of scrimmage and executed the spike with one second remaining, allowing Nick Folk to make a 47 yard field goal.
The Titans' 2024 campaign is all about learning whether or not Levis is the long-term answer at quarterback. Rudolph proved more mature as a better immediate fit to win games. Levis remains the starter with Callahan keeping an eye pointed towards the future.
