The Tennessee Titans suffered a heartbreaking, 20-17 overtime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on “Sunday Night Football” in Week 9, but we did see some really good things from rookie quarterback Malik Willis.
Per usual, the Titans’ defense made its presence felt throughout this one. However, it was a tale of two halves for Willis and the offense.
At one point, he showed legitimate flashes of what type of quarterback he’s capable of becoming down the line.
Early on, the Titans rookie displayed how lethal the offense can be with an effective read-option with Derrick Henry and Willis in the backfield.
In fact, one of the more frustrating aspects of the evening was how Tennessee seemingly went away from it when the Chiefs were struggling to defend it.
Malik Willis + Derrick Henry Read-Option = Unfair
— PlayerProfiler (@rotounderworld) November 7, 2022
Another positive is the fact that Willis threw the ball with much more confidence, anticipation and accuracy, at least in the first half.
One of his best plays was throwing a beautiful back-shoulder pass to tight end Austin Hooper, a throw that had perfect ball placement.
Malik Willis finally the NFL QB who leverages Austin Hooper the way Stanford used Hooper. #Titans pic.twitter.com/M6xTYHNYYA
— Matt Waldman (@MattWaldman) November 7, 2022
The pass gave Hooper a chance to box out the defender, allowing the tight end to secure a crucial first down inside the five-yard line that setup a touchdown.
Unfortunately, the young quarterback was frequently let down by his pass-catchers after that. To be perfectly honest, it was often the surrounding pieces that prevented Willis from truly flourishing, especially in the first half.
The Liberty product dealt with a plethora of penalties, dropped passes, and receivers who couldn’t get open.
The most egregious of the dropped passes came on a beautiful bomb to Chris Conley down the sideline that would have had Tennessee in a position to get at least three more points before the half.
Instead, the Titans punted and missed a golden opportunity to add more points in a game where they came at a premium.
This was sadly the end of Willis’ noteworthy positive moments.
Tennessee’s entire offense struggled in the second half, but the passing game went from a budding bright spot in the first half to completely invisible and irrelevant after the intermission.
It definitely wasn’t all on Willis, though, as the protection wasn’t consistent, his wide receivers weren’t separating, and the play-calling was often suspect at best.
The Titans’ offense went from producing 82 first-half passing yards to an embarrassing -2 yards over the last two quarters.
Willis did get the ball in overtime for one last chance at a storybook ending, but it wasn’t meant to be, as the drive was a disaster from the start.
3 receivers blocking 20 yards downfield pic.twitter.com/F9zjoXrsgu
— Official Elon Musk Account. (parody) (@Robbie_gr) November 7, 2022
In the end, the Titans lost a close game to an elite football team without their starting quarterback or wide receiver.
This wasn’t a perfect performance by any means, but it was a step in the right direction for the young quarterback, who clearly got better after his first start.
These last few weeks have undoubtedly produced invaluable experience for Willis’ long-term development, but it’s clear the Titans need their real starting quarterback if they’re going to maximize their potential in 2022.