The counting numbers don’t tell the story of Levis’ night. The rookie showed fearlessness standing in versus the Steelers pass rushers despite a banged-up Titans offensive line that shuffled bodies in and out throughout the game. The ball leaps out of his hands, with an arm cannon that allows him to fit the ball into tight windows and get away with some throws other QBs have no shot at. In his second start, the rookie displayed solid processing and good pre-snap recognition.
It wasn’t all pretty. His willingness to sit in the pocket and wait for routes led to a few sacks that could have been avoided, including one on the final drive. He had a few misfires and got away with several would-be interceptions. Then came the game-sealing INT in the end zone with six seconds remaining.
“You don’t lose it late — there’s always other things that go into it, opportunities missed, or their ability to make a play when they needed to,” Titans head coach Mike Vrabel said. “It’s good to see us continue to fight … and have an opportunity.”
After allowing an opening drive TD, the Titans held the lead for the bulk of the second half, but a few missed plays on defense and an end zone holding penalty allowed Pittsburgh to take the lead with under four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
Tennessee’s 1-of-4 red zone conversions heavily factored into the loss as they outgained Pittsburgh 340 yards to 326 and generated more first downs. The Titans got the ball back twice with a chance to take the lead late. On the first, Tennessee called a third-and-4 run instead of putting the ball in Levis’ hands, which led to a low-percentage fourth-down throw and a turnover on downs. The game’s only interception ultimately ended the threat.
“It sucks to lose,” receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine said. “We really wanted this one, we really wanted to get the momentum going. And now it’s back to work, and we have to fight to get that momentum back.”
The Titans fell to 3-5 on the season, currently last in the AFC South, but even in the loss, there is good news: Levis looks legit through eight quarters.
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