There was a time where the Tennessee Titans expressed confidence in QB Will Levis. That time may have run out. After throwing a pick-six for his third interception of the day, the Titans have benched Levis and replaced him with Mason Rudolph to finish Sunday’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Despite Bengals QB Joe Burrow having three turnovers of his own that could’ve kept the game close, Levis’ continued costly mistakes have shrunk any chance Tennessee had of winning this game. His last mistake was a brutal one, throwing over the middle only to be picked by S Geno Stone, who ran it back for a touchdown. It put Cincinnati up 31-14 in the third quarter.
Levis went 8-of-12 for 89 yards, zero touchdowns, three picks, and one sack before getting yanked. Tennessee went up 14-7 in the first quarter thanks to an early Burrow interception. Levis’ best play was a sideline throw to veteran WR Tyler Boyd for 40 yards. Beyond that, Levis did little to help the cause, and often he put the team in harm’s way.
Blunders and mistakes have been a theme of Levis’ season. He now has 12 interceptions to match the 12 touchdowns he’s thrown this year and has thrown at least one pick in eight of his 11 starts.
Mason Rudolph served as starter earlier in the season as Levis recovered from a shoulder injury. Despite some belief that the Titans would keep Rudolph in the lineup even once Levis got healthy, first-year head coach Brian Callahan stood by Levis and committed to him returning to the starting lineup once healthy. Levis became the starter again in Week 10. But the Titans have lost four of their last five games with him at the helm and are on pace to drop their sixth. That would send them to 3-11 on the season, equaling the number of losses they had last year, which led to head coach Mike Vrabel’s firing.
Entering today, Rudolph had thrown four touchdowns and four interceptions across four games, three starts. As of this writing, Rudolph had completed his first two passes today for 13-yards.
Like in 2023 with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Rudolph could get the chance to finish the season in the starting lineup. He signed a one-year deal with the Titans this offseason and a good showing could have him again vying for top backup jobs come free agency.
