Will Levis with "good and bad" preseason debut for Titans

Will Levis performed about how you’d expect for a rookie quarterback making his preseason debut in the NFL. The Tennessee Titans gunslinger showed some good things while also making some mistakes, highlighted by a loss-sealing interception in the final seconds.

Trading series with Malik Willis in the backup quarterback competition, Levis went 9-for-14 overall for 85 yards with zero touchdowns and one pick — his last throw of the day. The former Wildcat also took four sacks, struggling with pocket awareness as Tennessee’s backup offensive line welcomed pass rushers into the backfield.

As for Willis, the second-year quarterback went 16-for-25 overall, throwing for 189 yards with no touchdowns and a pick of his own. He also added 22 rushing yards and a score on the ground on three carries.

Some good, some bad for Levis

Levis was outplayed overall in the battle, but hardly a bad outing overall — certainly not to the extent social media would suggest. His head coach for the day, Titans defensive line coach and assistant head coach Terrell Williams, liked what he saw out of both quarterbacks.

“It’s just like a football game, it was good and bad,” Williams said after the 23-17 loss. “Both of them had opportunities in two-minute situations, which was great. This is training camp. I see these preseason games as still a prt of training camp. The difference is we were able to get some live situations. They were able to, from a rush standpoint, to really feel what it’s like without the coaches telling the (defense) to stay away from the quarterback.

“That’s stuff you can’t do in practice. It was good to get those guys in those situations. Both of them have things, like everybody, to clean up. But this experience is priceless for those guys.”

Learning and getting better

Levis’ best throw came on a 21-yard dart to Mason Kinsey, dropping it in stride between three defenders on 2nd & 10 to open the second quarter. He then converted a nice 3rd & 13 attempt later in the second, another 21-yard gain to Racey McMath. The former Wildcat was sharp on quick-decision situations but struggled when the pocket collapsed going through his reads. Take out the end-of-game pick and it’s a strong overall debut with room for improvement when dealing with pressure.

“I think we did a pretty good job operationally, getting in and out of the huddle, making sure we got the right IDs and looks,” Levis said after the loss. “Decision-making-wise, thought I did a decent job. At the end, I had a chance to win the game and had a throw to win the game. It’s a shame that didn’t happen, but we’re going to learn from it and get better.”

Improving pocket awareness

Levis knows the majority of attention will be on his pocket awareness (or lack thereof) in his debut. And he knows it’s got to improve.

Through his time in rookie minicamp and training camp, though, he feels he’s grown in that area — with plenty of room for improvement, obviously.

“Mentally, that’s the part of the game that takes your game to the next level once you get to the NFL. In college, I got a decent understanding of it. And I feel that just in the last few months, I’ve gotten a lot better at it,” Levis said. “… To have those reaffirming plays, seeing what you could possibly get from a pressure standpoint and affirming that and reacting, it’s what you gotta do in this league. I feel like I did a decent job of that.”

One down, two to go this preseason for Levis. Plenty of good and bad to work with as he goes back to the drawing board.