NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Falcons coach Arthur Smith warned anyone who would listen.
Smith didn’t care who was going to play quarterback back for the Titans. He knew that his old boss, Titans head coach Mike Vrabel, would have his team ready to play.
Rookie quarterback Will Levis got the start and guided the Titans to a 28-23 victory over the Falcons on Sunday before 68,008 fans at Nissan Stadium.
The Titans, who were coming off a bye week, improved to 3-4 on the season and the Falcons dropped to 4-4.
Levis, a rookie who played at Kentucky and Penn State, torched the Falcons for four touchdown passes. He completed 19 of 29 passes for 238 yards and finished with a passer rating of 130.5.
Titans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, who was having a quiet season, erupted for four catches for 128 yards and three touchdowns.
Desmond Ridder, who started for the Falcons, was benched in favor of Taylor Heinicke who played the entire second half.
“With Des, he needed to get checked out and so that’s why Taylor is here,” Smith said. “Taylor got in there and got going.”
Ridder was cleared, but Smith stayed with Heinicke.
“I thought that was the best thing right there,” Smith said. “We got going. We’re always going to be cautious and be conservative. We’ll listen to the medical experts.”
Ridder wanted to go back in.
“I got tested for a concussion and I got cleared,” Ridder said. “Everything that went down was good. These coaches know what it is like because we are with them so much time. They just felt I was a little off. So, yeah, Taylor went out there and did what he needed to do, and they rolled.”
Only two other quarterbacks, Fran Tarkenton (1961) and Marcus Mariota (2015), threw four touchdown passes in their NFL debuts.
The Falcons’ last-ditch drive ended with a dropped pass by wide receiver Van Jefferson on fourth down-and-1.
“I just dropped it,” Jefferson said. “Plan and simple. I can’t make any excuses. Taylor put a great pass right there. I have to be accountable.”
The Falcons’ secondary was torched for touchdown passes of 47, 16, 61 and 33 yards. Falcons free safety Jessie Bates III was not happy.
“We just can’t give up explosives for touchdowns,” Bates said.
When asked what they can draw from the loss, Bates said, “Don’t give up explosives for touchdowns.”
And finally, when asked how the defense can move forward, Bates added, “Don’t give up explosives for touchdowns.”
The Titans announced on Friday that Ryan Tannehill was out and that they planned to play two quarterbacks, Will Levis and Malik Willis.
Levis started and Willis, who played at Roswell High/Westlake came in on the first series but did not return after he fumbled a shotgun snap.
Levis guided the Titans to a 14-3 halftime lead.
After the Willis fumble that was recovered by Falcons defensive end Calais Campbell, the Falcons took the lead on a 29-yard field goal by Younghoe Koo to make it 3-0. It was the third straight game the Falcons scored points on the opening drive.
After an exchange of punts, Levis found Hopkins up the left side sidelines for a 47-yard touchdown. Hopkins and Falcons cornerback A.J. Terrell were tangled up on the play, but no penalty was called.
Midway through the second quarter, the Falcons were using tempo and finally moving the football.
Then disaster struck. Ridder, who had worked on ball security drills, fumbled. The ball was recovered by Titans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair at the Falcons’ 33.
It was Ridder’s ninth turnover over the past five games.
Five plays later, Levis found Hopkins on a crossing route for a 16-yard touchdown and the halftime margin.
Heinicke guided the Falcons on two field goal drives to make it 14-9 in the third quarter. Levis answered with a 61-yard bomb to Hopkins to make it 21-9 with 1:37 left in the third quarter.
Ridder, who had started 12 straight games, was ineffective and had a critical fumble that led to a Titans touchdown in the first half. He was 8 of 12 for 71 yards, with no touchdowns or interceptions. He had a passer rating of 82.3. He was sacked five times in the first half.
Heinicke guided the Falcons on a touchdown drive as Bijan Robinson scored on a 13-yard run to make it 21-16 with 14:17 left in the fourth quarter. Wide receiver KhaDarel Hodge had a 52-yard reception in the drive.
The Falcons finally decided to cover Hopkins and forced a punt.
After three incompletions, the Falcons were forced to punt, and the Titans had the ball back with 11:51 to play. The Falcons needed a stop or at least hold the Titans to a field goal.
But the defense did not come through.
After taking four minutes off the clock, Levis tossed his fourth touchdown pass of the day, a 33-yarder to Nick Westbrook-Ikhine. The extra point made it 28-16.
Heinicke swiftly led the Falcons back down the field and tossed an 8-yard touchdown pass to Scott Miller with 3:43 to play to make it 28-23.
The Falcons forced a punt and got the ball back with 2:19 to play and no timeouts. But the drive ended with Jefferson’s drop.
Heinicke completed 12 of 21 passes for 175 yards and a touchdown. He finished with 100.3 passing rating.
Tennessee’s Derrick Henry rushed 22 times for 101 yards. Levis passed over the Falcons’ secondary which was committed to stop Henry.
“The plan was just to be physical,” outside linebacker Arnold Ebiketie said. “Just not let him break loose. We knew he was going to be a volume runner. We knew we had to keep hitting him down after down.”
The Falcons suffered a major blow when defensive tackle Grady Jarrett suffered a knee injury on the first defensive series of the game and did not return.
“I’m good,” Jarrett to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution after the game.
Jarrett, one of the Falcons’ captains, has made 88 consecutive starts. He has not missed a game since Oct. 14, 2018, in a game against Tampa Bay. Backup tackle LaCale London received most of Jarrett’s snaps. He went down with a knee injury but returned to the game.
The Falcons are set to host the Vikings at 1 p.m. Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
The Bow Tie Chronicles
About the Author
