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Titans QB Will Levis and WR DeAndre Hopkins celebrate a touchdown in the quarterback's NFL debut.
Photo: Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK
Welcome to the NFL Will Levis! What a debut for the 2nd-round pick out of Kentucky, from Madison, CT, and what a huge win for the boys in Oiler Blue and Red this week! Coming off a bye week, sitting at 2-4, having just traded away a franchise cornerstone in S Kevin Byard, and playing a backup rookie, the odds were stacked against them. But Levis delivered a game to remember, and the defense did enough to keep them in the game, and the Tennessee (Houston) Titans (Oilers) got a win on Oilers Week.
Game Observations
The Levis-Hopkins connection was on point. The duo connected for 4 passes, 3 of them for touchdowns, and were on point all day long. While I would have liked to see more of Treylon Burks (he only got 2 targets), he was coming off injury, so naturally he was rusty. Another big thing to note was the offensive line’s play. The line gave up just 2 sacks, and let Derrick Henry scamper for 101 yards on the ground. A big bounce back game from that unit as a whole. The defense was once again a very solid unit as a whole. 6 sacks, a strip-sack, and a perfect bend-but-don’t-break mentality, with 3 field goals forced and just 2 TD’s allowed. Also, Amani Hooker converted a fake punt to keep a drive alive, which was nice to see Mike Vrabel mix it up on special teams. Star punter Ryan Stonehouse had a monster day as well, with 6 punts inside the 20, 1 inside the 10, and another at the 5, with his long being 72. He continues to be a field-flipping weapon for the team. I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but Levis is the franchise guy. He had more passing TD’s today than Tannehill had in 6 games, and more in one drive than Malik Willis has had his whole career. He’s a stud.
Stats and Fantasy
Will Levis: 19-29, 238 yards, 4 TD, 0 INT, 7 carries, 11 yards
Derrick Henry: 22 carries, 101 yards, 4.6 avg. long of 14
DeAndre Hopkins: 4 catches, 128 yards, 3 TD, 32 avg. long of 61
Nick Westbrook-Ikhine: 1 catch, 33 yards, 1 TD
Is it too early to say pick up Will Levis (he got 26 points today)? Too bad I already put in a waiver claim. Other than adding Will the Thrill, adding Treylon Burks as depth would be wise, as he has had big games late in the year. Dropping the Titans defense would be an option too, as they are a good real life defense, but haven’t provided much fantasy value recently.
Final Thoughts
This is a big win, as it proves that we aren’t dead, and the momentum can propel Tennessee to reach new heights, like in 2019, when they started 2-4, but made the AFC Championship. It is a hard hill to traverse, but it is doable. Their next test comes on Thursday Night Football, when the Titans travel to Pittsburgh to play the Steelers. Until then, #TitanUp!
