By BLAKE BEDDINGFIELD, special correspondent

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Thursday is a quick turnaround for the Titans. 

The Titans played well in all phases on Sunday versus the Falcons but get very little time to enjoy it. That may be a good thing because it also gives the opponent a short window to dissect and plan against the Titans’ new offensive look under rookie quarterback Will Levis.

The Steelers and Falcons have a lot of similarities to their offensive units. They’ve been low-scoring teams with average-to-poor quarterback play.

But that is where the similarities stop. The Steelers have a pass rush which the Falcons did not. The Steelers have arguably the best edge pass rusher in the league in T.J Watt and with his bookend rush partner Alex Highsmith, Pittsburgh has the best duo in the NFL. Watt has 8.5 sacks; Watt and Highsmith each have two fumbles caused.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The win over Atlanta wasn't just a win, it was a recharging win.

Will Levis isn't likely to duplicate his debut performance Thursday night in Pittsburgh. But he didn't just re-energize a fan base, he reinvigorated a locker room. I talked to a lot of guys about that new vibe, because it's so important. And that's where The Paul Kuharsky Podcast kicks off this week.

The new episode awaits you on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, iHeart and YouTube, which is below.

Other subjects I dive into:

By JAKE DOWNARD

Jake Downard is a law student who creates NFL and NBA content focused on analytics on Twitter as @JakeAndBall. He also works with fanspo.com. A glossary of the analytics terms he uses is at the bottom of the piece.

I am naturally optimistic. If you watched the first six games this season, you understand that it is easy to latch onto the positives, even if they were few and far between. In my Ravens review, I discussed the similarities between Kentucky’s offense and the offense that Tim Kelly is working to implement in Nashville. Will Levis’ time to throw, average depth of target, and completion percentage in 2021 were very similar to that of Ryan Tannehill this season. My conclusion was: why not give the young guy a shot against Arthur Smith and the Atlanta Falcons? 

Here is a fun question to get things started: how many quarterbacks have thrown for 230 passing yards, 4 touchdowns, and no interceptions in their NFL debut in the Super Bowl Era? The correct answer is one quarterback. His name is William Donovan Levis, he is the quarterback of the Tennessee Titans for the foreseeable future, and he boat-raced expectations against a very good Falcons defense on Sunday. The only other quarterback in the history of the NFL to put up those numbers or better in a debut was Fran Tarkenton way back in 1961. [Unlocked]

By BLAKE BEDDINGFIELD, special correspondent

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Titans were in desperate need of a game like they had on Sunday.

The offensive explosion couldn’t have been scripted any better.

Derrick Henry had 22 carries for 101 yards. DeAndre Hopkins: Four receptions for 128 yards and three touchdowns.

Supplemental players: Chig Okonkwo with four receptions while Kyle Phillips had three. The Titans’ offensive line gave up only two sacks.  

There is still more potential ahead with Treylon Burks and Tyjae Spears not having productive days in terms of final stat production. Both had successful moments throughout the game.

None of the team’s veteran players’ success compared to the positive play of rookie quarterback Will Levis.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The best quarterback ever to wear the Houston Oilers oil derrick logo was at Nissan Stadium, one of an expected 170 franchise alumni expected to watch the Titans play the Falcons in throwback uniforms.

Warren Moon may have seen the organization's next great quarterback's debut, with Will Levis wearing the same threads while throwing four touchdowns in his NFL debut, a 28-23 win.

"Very impressive performance by Will in his first start," Moon told me by text. "He showed great poise in the pocket, nice pace and command of the huddle and showed off his big arm several times for explosive plays. Excellent confidence booster game for Will and the team."

Did Levis remind Moon, a Pro Football Hall of Famer of anybody?

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The conversation has changed.

There remains a lot wrong with the Tennessee Titans, but we all know what a great performing quarterback can do for a franchise and boy did Will Levis alter a lot.

As the third quarterback in league history to throw four touchdowns in his first game, Levis paced the Titans to a 28-23 win over the Falcons, impressing a home crowd, a TV audience and as many as 170 franchise alumni who watched some effortless deep balls settle into the hands of DeAndre Hopkins and Nick Westbrook-Ikhine.

Many of our post-game chats have been vent sessions. This time around I was impressed I didn't have to hold you back from sizing Levis for a gold jacket and measuring his face for a bronze bust.

There is plenty of reason for excitement as a new era kicks off and we discussed all that and a lot more.

Check out a quality re-watch at the private Facebook page or on YouTube below.

By BLAKE BEDDINGFIELD, special correspondent
 
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Over the bye week the Titans front office decided to explore the trade market and found at least one player with value to other teams around the league. All-Pro safety Kevin Byard was traded to the Eagles for fifth and sixth-round picks as well as safety Terrell Edmunds.

This is exactly what this front office needed to do to start the rebuilding process of this roster, but the trading shouldn’t stop until all expiring contracts and players that aren’t in the 2024 plan are shopped.  
 
The other piece of news that should be exciting for the Titans is that second-round pick Will Levis will reportedly start at quarterback versus the Falcons.
 
What can Will Levis bring to the team?

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Mike Vrabel has created quarterback confusion this week, which is his goal.

It;'s worked on the fan base. The question is, has it worked on the Falcons? Vrabel wants Atlanta to spend time preparing for Ryan Tannehill, Will Levis and Malik Willis.

So the coach has left open the possibility of Tannehill playing two weeks after he suffered a high right ankle sprain. If he can't go, Vrabel is talking about going so far as to rotate the two young quarterbacks.

It's a wildly unpopular idea.

One would imagine if the Titans really did that, they'd have stuff built in to feature Levis, more of a pocket passer, and Willis, more of a runner. But Levis said they can both do the same things and it's the same plan for both.

I think we need to reserve judgment. It's fine to hash through all the talk and how things are handled now. But let's see what the Titans actually do before we indict Vrabel's plan.

We start the new episode of The Paul Kuharsky Podcast considering Levis.

It awaits you on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, iHeart and YouTube, which is below.

We also delve into:

• Compensatory draft picks
• The limits on dropback passing
• The best-case scenario for the rest of the season
• Mike Vrabel's weekend in New England
• Kevin Byard's forecast in Philadelphia

The podcast is the front door to PaulKuharsky.com. Step right in.

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