The Titans wrapped up preseason week no. 2 on Saturday night, beating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a brutal 13-3 game. Honestly, not much stood out, but here’s what we’ve got.
The Starters
As expected, it was Malik Willis getting the go tonight, with Dontrell Hilliard in the backfield. Taylor Lewan got some work tonight, and Nicholas Petit-Frere got the go at right tackle. Nick Westbrook-Ikhine and Racey McMath got the start at receiver.
.@Titans starters on offense:
QB Malik Willis
RB Dontrell Hilliard
FB Tory Carter
WR Nick Westbrook-Ikhine
WR Racey McMath
LT Taylor Lewan
LG Aaron Brewer
C Corey Levin
RG Jordan Roos
RT Nicholas Petit-Frere
TE Geoff Swaim— Jim Wyatt (@jwyattsports) August 20, 2022
.@Titans starters on defense:
DL DaMarcus Walker
DL, Da’Shawn Hand
DL Naquan Jones
OLB Bud Dupree
OLB Ola Adeniyi
ILB Chance Campbell
ILB Jack Gibbens
CB Christian Fulton
CB Roger McCreary
S Amani Hooker
S Josh Kalu— Jim Wyatt (@jwyattsports) August 20, 2022
Malik Willis (Part 2)
Malik got the bulk of the work over Logan Woodside, and it’s becoming clear that there’s not much point in keeping Woodside around.
With that said, Willis still feels like a guy who has more talent than polish at this point, which is completely expected. He continued to settle in on Saturday night, flashing a little more comfort than he did last week.
You want progression? You got it here. Malik Willis went through his reads and eventually found Chig Okonkwo for the touchdown to close out the first half. It was a strike from the rookie, who has struggled to let it rip so far in this preseason. This time he stayed in the pocket and let it play out. Chig catching it, who has had a strong camp, is an added bonus.
Willis finished 7-17 for 80 yards and a touchdown. He added five carries for 42 yards. It was a clear step forward for Willis tonight, but again with plenty of room to grow.
Quick Hitters
- Chance Campbell had an impressive start to his night, forcing a deflection. He was active tonight, adding three solo tackles.
- Newly signed Lonnie Johnson forced a fumble and Rashad Weaver recovered it. Nice hustle play from Weaver. It was another great performance from Weaver, who registered a sack, two QB hits, one tackle for loss, and a pass deflection.
- Linebacker Joe Jones had a huge interception to flip the field before halftime. It set the Titans up for a score before the break, and Willis cashed in.
- Caleb Farley played a bunch in the first half — 26 snaps to be exact. He had an overall good showing, although he was beaten by Scotty Miller deep on a rep in the second quarter. Overall, it was good to see Farley get work, with a mostly good showing.
- Logan Woodside continued his terrible preseason. He took a shot deep to Treylon Burks in the fourth quarter and missed way short, and was picked off. Burks appeared to have his man beat, but the throw just wasn’t on target. Woodside finished 7-11 for 56 yards and a pick.
Count Willis is officially ahead of Woodside in the QB2 battle.
- Receiver Reggie Roberson had a nice night, catching four passes for 47 yards. That led the team for the night.
- Rookie punter Ryan Stonehouse made something out of nothing, mishandling a punt and running for a first down instead. Unfortunately, Woodside couldn’t do anything with the added conversion.
- Treylon Burks finished with one catch for four yards on three targets. Willis missed him on an easy crosser, where he was wide open. It’s been disappointing to see Burks not get involved to this point, despite playing deep into each game. However, it remains to be seen how his chemistry is with Ryan Tannehill.
- David Anenih continued his strong preseason, notching three tackles, a sack and a forced fumble late.
The Titans will wrap up their preseason next week against the Cardinals — next Saturday night at 6 pm central.