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Titans beat Dolphins for first win, but Will Levi’s injury looms

Vaseline October 1, 2024

MIAMI – For the first time all season, the Tennessee Titans won a football game after performing for the ages defensively. However, the cost of that victory has yet to be determined.

The Titans survived a slow, grinding battle against the Miami Dolphins in a 31-12 victory at Hard Rock Stadium on Monday night to earn their first victory. But coach Brian Callahan got his first win without quarterback Will Levis. Levis left in the first quarter with a shoulder injury and did not return, making way for backup Mason Rudolph. Rudolph didn’t light up the scoreboard, throwing for 85 yards on 17 attempts, but he didn’t endanger the ball and kept the Titans’ offense moving forward in a game where a few field goals were enough because of how good he was. the defense played.

Led by an always-active pass rush and impressive performances in the secondary, the Titans (1-3) limited Miami (1-3) to 184 yards of total offense, the second time this season the Titans defense has held an opponent down. 200 meters. This also marked the first time the Titans scored 30 points in a game since Week 17 of the 2021 season.

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Will Levis Suffer Injury: What Happened to Titans QB?

Levis scrambled to his right on a third down in the Titans’ second possession of the night, diving for the sideline pylon to stretch for a first down. He landed awkwardly on his shoulder and gestured to it as he left the field after coming up short. The quarterback was examined in the medical tent after the injury. Shortly afterwards, he rejoined his teammates on the sidelines, without leaving for the locker room. He made a few throws to test his shoulder, but did not re-enter the game in the first half.

Levis went 3-for-4 passing for 25 yards and gained 5 yards on two carries before departing, but his only incompletion was an interception, his sixth of the season.

Mason Rudolph takes over. How did he do it?

Rudolph largely lived up to his reputation as a game manager, limiting mistakes and keeping the Titans moving forward in a balanced attack built around the run game and rhythm passing. He made some nice throws, most notably a 26-yard completion to receiver Tyler Boyd in the final seconds before halftime to set up a half-finishing field goal. But other than those types of situational plays, Rudolph’s job was to keep the Titans in position to win while the defense played well, and he did his part in that regard.

Running backs Tyjae Spears and Tony Pollard, meanwhile, accounted for 147 yards from scrimmage on 41 touches.

What about that Titans defense?

The caveat is obvious: the Dolphins started a quarterback who has been on the roster for less than a month. But…the same was true in Week 3 against the Green Bay Packers and the defense took a hit. Eight days later, these Titans showed up and stifled quarterback Tyler Huntley with constant pressure and kept star Dolphins receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle from making plays in space. Hill caught just four passes for 23 yards, and Waddle caught four passes for 36 yards.

For the first time this season, the Titans’ defense caused a turnover, with Arden Key recovering a fumble on a botched lateral. But the story of the game was the impressive pursuit of players like safeties Amani Hooker and Quandre Diggs. The Titans struggled to contain speed on the perimeter through the first three weeks of the season, and the Dolphins have as much team speed as any team in the league, but the efforts of the Titans’ crashing safeties helped boost that speed .

What’s next?

The Titans don’t have a game next week heading into their only open date of the season. They’ll be back in action in Nashville on Oct. 13 for their first AFC South game of the season against the Indianapolis Colts (noon, CBS).

Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at [email protected]. Follow Nick on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @nicksuss.