NASHVILLE, Tenn. — “Against whom?” is the question that must be asked when an NFL player does something of note in a preseason game, but it doesn’t always apply.
Think Simone Biles, the greatest American athlete of all time. Her Olympic feats have been uncontested. The flipping, twisting, contorting, balancing and landing need no interference from a Brazilian or Romanian rival to be amazing. Likewise, when Tennessee Titans receiver Calvin Ridley took a short pass from Will Levis on Saturday at Nissan Stadium and turned it into a 22-yard gain, it did not matter who was chasing him — the instant acceleration was extraordinary.
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That’s Ridley: a special talent, a key to this Titans season and now the subject of a sports analogy so cringeworthy that it could only be allowed to fly in the account of an NFL preseason game. Here are seven other observations of note from that 17-13 Titans win over the San Francisco 49ers, sans Olympic parallels and with an eye toward the actual football that starts in four weeks.
1. Will Levis kept it simple and smart, except when it came to his own body. Levis engineered two touchdown drives in two tries, one of 15 yards and one of 64, though apart from the Ridley catch-and-run he had just 13 yards passing. The fans never got to see him let one fly. They did see him lunge for the end zone on a scramble and take a gigantic shot from linebacker Dee Winters.
Watch out for 2nd year #49ers LB Dee Winters laying the BOOM on Will Levis 💥 pic.twitter.com/ae8ymoc4qz
— 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙎𝙁𝙉𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙨 (@TheSFNiners) August 10, 2024
Three weeks of preseason camp have seen Levis make strides, despite a familiar Titans issue — pass protection — but he can still further his embrace of self-preservation. Plays like that should be saved for crucial moments in games that count. Titans first-year coach Brian Callahan said Levis’ decision to go for it there “wasn’t anything egregious,” but Levis said: “Third down, I was trying to make something happen, but I’ve got to be smart.”
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2. Operationally, the Titans were clean. Just as you aren’t getting tons of information on a team’s most important players in a preseason game, you aren’t pegging any coaches. Callahan’s chops as a head coach and play caller will be assessed starting Sept. 8 in Chicago. But zero penalties in the first half, with most healthy regulars getting work, was a good sign.
The Titans ended up with just three penalties for 15 yards and one turnover, on a botched pitch attempt from backup quarterback Mason Rudolph to Julius Chestnut.
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3. T’Vondre Sweat is just a practice wrecker so far, not a game wrecker yet. Yes, the rookie second-round pick from Texas was doubled often in his dozen snaps. But this is when “Against whom?” matters.
The defending NFC champion 49ers were heavy on the backups Saturday as expected, with left guard Aaron Banks the only interior starter who saw any action. Sweat’s quiet night isn’t a concern, but it is a tap of the brakes on the hype train after weeks of consistently befuddling Titans blockers in practice.
Remember, Sweat has been working next to this team’s best football player, Jeffery Simmons, who was a healthy scratch Saturday. Simmons was joined on the sideline by Harold Landry, Quandre Diggs, L’Jarius Sneed, Chidobe Awuzie and Jamal Adams. They were all missed as a Niners offense led by backup quarterback Brandon Allen cruised 74 yards for a touchdown on its first possession.
4. Tony Pollard and Tyjae Spears will be a nice backfield pairing. That’s not really an observation off the game, but the game reiterated what we’ve been watching in practice. Pollard looks like he has for most of his career, other than fresh off surgery — his 24-yard run was full of burst — and Spears has improved. The Titans are going to run the ball plenty, sorry to say for those of you who wanted no traces of Vra-ball left in Nashville.
But Callahan has said as much, and it makes sense even with Ridley, Tyler Boyd and DeAndre Hopkins — the one offensive starter who was hurt and out — on hand to catch passes from Levis. Which brings us to the offensive line.
Tony Pollard looks extremely explosive. 24 yard gain here into the red zone #TENvsSF pic.twitter.com/HMsbr9sh0M
— Justin Graver (@titansfilmroom) August 10, 2024
5. The tackle tandem of JC Latham and Nicholas Petit-Frere looked OK. “Against whom?” Well, Nick Bosa and Leonard Floyd weren’t out there. Robert Beal and Yetur Gross-Matos were. Both tackles got beat rather quickly on different pass plays. Both won, too.
Latham gave himself a “C” for his effort, saying: “I could have done a lot better in pass protection.”
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“I think it was fine,” Petit-Frere said. “I still have a lot of things to work on with my technique.”
The offensive line’s best work came on running plays. Against mostly backups, yes. Also, as seen recently in practices against the Titans’ defensive starters. Balance and running the ball always matter in this sport, and even with Derrick Henry off to Baltimore, the Titans’ ability to get push on opponents may be as important as anything in protecting Levis and giving him opportunities to throw downfield.
6. There’s no backup quarterback competition. Again, this game wasn’t necessary as a tell. But it hammered home the reality. Mason Rudolph has caught fire a bit in practice and looks like a nice signing as QB2. Malik Willis has improved, no doubt, but the past week was a bit rough for him and he’s not on Rudolph’s level. The question is whether Callahan values him enough to keep a third quarterback (the guess here is yes).
7. Jha’Quan Jackson helped himself, as did others. Jackson’s 26-yard punt return was impressive, and that might be how the rookie distinguishes himself from Mason Kinsey and Kyle Philips in the battle to be this team’s sixth receiver. Kearis Jackson had an even better return, 63 yards on a kickoff, but it’s still hard to see his pathway to the 53-man roster.
🕹️ @king_kearis takes the kick 63 yards!
📺: Watch #SFvsTEN on @WKRN and NFL+ pic.twitter.com/RwjNMNHuiq
— Tennessee Titans (@Titans) August 10, 2024
Kinsey continues to show up as a fearless receiver over the middle. Chance Campbell (eight tackles, game-clinching interception of Joshua Dobbs) keeps making plays as a reserve linebacker and should make this team. Tight end David Martin-Robinson is impossible to ignore with his size and physicality. Gabe Jeudy-Lally keeps showing up at cornerback.
And if you want to go up the roster a bit, rookie fifth-round pick Jarvis Brownlee Jr. stands out every chance he gets to play football for the Titans. He’s not perfect, but he’s not a fifth-round talent, either. Considering the health questions all over this secondary, it does not require mental gymnastics to envision him as a key player for this defense in 2024.
(Photo of Calvin Ridley: Justin Ford / Getty Images)
Joe Rexrode is a senior staff writer for The Athletic covering all things Nashville and some things outside Nashville. He previously worked at The Tennessean, the Detroit Free Press and the Lansing State Journal, spending the past three years as sports columnist at The Tennessean. Follow Joe on Twitter @joerexrode
