The Tennessee Titans (0-1) will go as far as quarterback Will Levis takes them this season. On Sunday in a Week 1 collapse against the Chicago Bears (1-0), Levis was awful.
His team lost 24-17 as a result.
Will Levis Takes Ownership of Titans Disaster
"Its gut-wrenching," Levis said postgame. "Its tough, having a 17-point lead and giving them the game. I can't remember a loss in my career where it felt like I blatantly handed it over to them. Its hard for me to deal with that."
Deal with it he must.
Levis finished the game 19-of-32 for 127 yards passing with one touchdown and two interceptions. How he got to that statistical output was even uglier than it reads. Tennessee jumped out to the 17-0 first-half lead on a Tony Pollard 26-yard score, a field goal from kicker Nick Folk and a second-quarter, 17-yard touchdown pass to tight end Chig Okonkwo. Chicago got on the board with 26 seconds remaining in the second quarter, but the Titans were out-gaining them with a total net yardage differential of 179-50.
Effective, if not overwhelmingly special.
The third and fourth quarters were anything but. The Bears blocked one of Ryan Stonehouse's punts in the third quarter to claw back into the game at 17-10. Kicker Cario Santos added two more field goals to the total to get Chicago back within one point of Tennessee. Clinging to a 17-16 lead in the fourth quarter with the ball, 7:45 left in the game and an opportunity to secure the win, Levis threw an errant pass towards the sideline as he was getting hit by a defender in an attempt to get the ball out of bounds instead of taking a sack.
It was not his only miss of the day, but his most costly one for certain.
Corner Tyrique Stevenson intercepted the pass and hauled off towards the end zone for a Pick Six and the Bears first lead of the game.
The Bears totaled one defensive touchdown, one special teams touchdown, a two-point conversion and three field goals in the victory. First overall pick and Chicago starting quarterback Caleb Williams was pedestrian at best. The rookie finished the game 14-of-29 for 93 yards with a quarterback rating of 55.7.
It was still good enough to send the Titans back to Nashville as losers.
Football is a team sport and Levis is, of course, not the only reason that Tennessee came up short. Special teams flubs and poor pass protection certainly contributed. Defensively, coordinator Dennard Wilson's group did their part. The quarterback, however, is the most important position in all of organized sports.
The Titans quarterback let his team down in a massive spot on Sunday.
Tennessee hosts the New York Jets in Week 2 at Nissan Stadium. Watch/listen to Titans Radio's pregame coverage starting at 9am CT on 104.5 The Zone in Nashville.
