National Football League

Titans rookie Will Levis flashing franchise QB attributes amid rough season

Published Dec. 7, 2023 5:53 p.m. ET

Will Levis showed visible frustration with DeAndre Hopkins.

In the first quarter of Tennessee's overtime loss to the Colts on Sunday, the two had a miscommunication on a deep third-and-8 throw down the sideline that sailed incomplete. Levis then followed Hopkins to the sideline and got in his ear. It's an interaction that made waves on social media — a rookie quarterback, in his sixth career NFL game, with the audacity to talk to a perennial Pro Bowl receiver like that.

"We hold each other to a high standard," Levis said postgame. "I allow him to express his feelings toward me and vice versa. I'm just getting more comfortable with my relationship with him and everybody else on the team. I'm just trying to get us in a spot to win games. If that means getting on somebody, that might be how it is."

On Wednesday, Levis said he would've handled the situation differently looking back on it — "I would've been more neutral about it, for sure," he said — but Hopkins acknowledged that he loved the rookie's passion.

"Love the way he plays the game," Hopkins said. "I wouldn't tell him to do anything different but be himself."

It's part of what has endeared the former Kentucky star to his teammates.

In a disappointing season for the Titans, who are 4-8 with fading playoff hopes, Levis' demeanor and play have provided many reasons for optimism that he can be the team's long-term quarterback.

In six starts, the second-round rookie has completed 57.8% of his passes for 1,266 yards and seven touchdowns with two interceptions. He currently leads the NFL with a 1.1% interception rate. He was an extra point away from leading his first game-winning drive Sunday vs. Indianapolis. Kicker Nick Folk, with backup quarterback Ryan Tannehill as the holder with punter Ryan Stonehouse injured, missed an extra point late in the fourth quarter that would've given Tennessee a 26-25 lead with 5:26 left.

Levis' overall numbers may be average — he's had several ups and downs since his dazzling debut against the Falcons on Oct. 29, when he threw for four touchdowns — but he has flashed promise in spite of issues around him, particularly on the offensive line. The Titans are allowing a 41.1% pressure rate, third-worst in the league, according to Next Gen Stats.

Levis has a 107.5 passer rating when not pressured, sixth-highest in the league, per NGS — higher than the likes of Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, Justin Herbert, Josh Allen and Jalen Hurts. His EPA per dropback is 0.27 when not pressured, ranking sixth in the league.

It makes Titans observers think of what's possible long term with offensive-line reinforcements.

In the present, Levis has shown toughness at the quarterback position, a quality all teams value but especially one coached by Mike Vrabel, a former 12-year linebacker in the league.

In the first quarter of Sunday's game, Levis put his body on the line for a third-down conversion — jumping and getting hit and spun like a helicopter before slamming to the ground, then pointing for a first down, getting to his feet and flexing his muscles. The Nissan Stadium crowd erupted.

Later in the period, Colts edge rusher Samson Ebukam forced a fumble on a Levis pass attempt, but the QB didn't give up on the play. He forced the fumble right back and recovered the ball to keep the Titans' possession alive.

"That he competes his ass off like everybody else," Vrabel said Sunday about what he's learned about Levis. "But seeing him finishing and going to cause the fumble and all the things that you preach and you talk about finishing longer than the guy with the ball. Somebody made a mistake. Will went and made up for it and had a positive play. We've got a lot of guys like that. Something to rally around and build around."

His leadership is something to rally around, too.

It's not uncommon for young quarterbacks, especially rookies, to be a bit timid about stepping into a leadership role. But Levis hasn't been, according to receiver Chris Moore. He's been vocal from Day 1.

He has held himself to account publicly.

"I've got to attribute those stagnant drives to my play, especially the second and third ones," Levis said Sunday of the Titans' slow start in the second half. "Had opportunities to convert there with either getting my eyes back and progressing a little faster. I had Hop on both of those and it just sucks when you miss those and you watch it and you see the picture."

Edge rusher Arden Key last month said Levis is the one who broke the team down ahead of Week 12 vs. the Panthers, whom the Titans beat for Levis' second win as a starter.

"Not Jeff [Jeffery Simmons]. Not one of the older guys that have been here. Him, as a rookie [broke us down]," Key said Nov. 27. "The things he said, he got us going. He definitely got us going. He brought it back to us. He said, ‘In this huddle, I see a lot of dawgs. So go out there and play like a dawg no matter what.'"

Moore added that Levis brings a lot of energy.

"Before that [Colts] game, he was speaking to us in the locker room," Moore told FOX Sports. "And the energy that he brings, you can hear it in his voice. He just loves to play football. He's just excited to be out there."

The Titans should be too — for Levis' future as QB1.

Ben Arthur is the AFC South reporter for FOX Sports. He previously worked for The Tennessean/USA TODAY Network, where he was the Titans beat writer for a year and a half. He covered the Seattle Seahawks for SeattlePI.com for three seasons (2018-20) prior to moving to Tennessee. You can follow Ben on Twitter at @benyarthur.