NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The best ovation Will Levis got Sunday came when first-year Tennessee coach Brian Callahan benched the second-year quarterback.
That sums up not just Levis’ performance in a 37-27 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, but the dilemma the Titans find themselves in right now.
They need to play the 33rd pick overall from the 2023 draft to see what they have to work with before what is likely to be their highest draft selection since No. 5 in 2017 next April.
Levis had shown signs of improvement. He came into Sunday without being intercepted once the past two games, though both were losses.
“We’re not getting enough positive plays in a row from the quarterback position and that, to me, is the hard part,” Callahan said of Levis.
Levis was at his worst Sunday.
He lost a fumble when Bengals end Trey Hendrickson came in untouched. Then Levis was picked off three times — the last returned 39 yards by Geno Stone for a pick-6. It’s the fourth off Levis this season, which leads the NFL. Those turnovers led to 24 points for Cincinnati.
Callahan said Levis struggled, which is why he pulled the quarterback hoping for a spark from backup Mason Rudolph. The veteran was 21 of 26 for 209 yards and two touchdown passes, but also had an interception inside the Cincinnati 20.
“Those things happen,” said Callahan who helped coach Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow the past five seasons in Cincinnati. “I’ve been a part of them before. Just a bad half, a bad series that kind of spiraled on him, and you need to take a seat for a little bit and let somebody else do it.”
With three games left for the Titans (3-11), Levis already has matched the four pick-6s Sam Howell had last season and Matthew Stafford had in 2021. He’s in good company over the past 10 years for quarterbacks with at least four pick-6s in a season.
But Levis is the first Tennessee quarterback since the team relocated to this state in 1997 with four in a season. Matt Hasselbeck (2011, 2012) and Steve McNair (2000, 2005) each had a pair of seasons with three.
Levis knows a quarterback who turns it over four times is going to get pulled. Now he has to watch the video and see how to fix his mistakes.
“I know what I’m capable of,” Levis said. “The ball was coming out of my hand well. There’s things we could do at all positions to help us out with a couple of those turnovers. There’s nothing discouraging about it. It was just one of those days, and I’m going to keep swinging that’s for sure.”
Rudolph has been benched in his career. He said while it’s not fun, a quarterback can learn from the experience.
“It hardens you as a man and as a human being,” Rudolph said. “It’s all about how you respond, and I know he’ll respond well.”
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