NASHVILLE - The Tennessee Titans fell to 0-2 on Sunday with a 24-17 loss to the New York Jets (1-1) in the home opener at Nissan Stadium.
The Jets are a tough opponent with a talented defense and future Hall of Famer at quarterback. There's no shame in losing a one-score game to Aaron Rodgers and New York, especially when the Titans were one play away from forcing overtime .
But it's the way in which Tennessee lost that has Titans fans smashing the panic button after the Week 2 defeat. Will Levis had another careless turnover that cost his team points. For a second straight week, a blocked punt directly led to points for the Titans' opponent. Tennessee got called for some big penalties at inopportune times, failed to create turnovers on defense, and let another game slip away after being in control.
It's eerily similar to the way things went in Chicago in Week 1. While there were some (small) improvements, this was the same old story from the opener. Titans head coach Brian Callahan admitted as much in his postgame press conference.
"Kind of the same story as the last one. We had a had solid first half and then we lose the turnover battle 2-0. We give up another blocked punt. We haven't got a turnover yet on defense. We go five three-and-outs on offense," said Callahan after the game. "We were okay running the ball. Wasn't great, wasn't terrible. Defense played well in the first half and then when we needed to stop, we couldn't get one. That's partially on our offense for not sustaining many drives, that was difficult to overcome. I thought we played better than last week, but the mistakes were critical."
It's always frustrating to lose. But when you lose in the same manner two weeks in a row after harping on fixing the mistakes, it gets downright discouraging. A clearly devastated Will Levis spoke to the media and called Sunday's loss "déjà vu" for Tennessee.
"It's kind of weird. Cally (Brian Callahan) came in and said the same thing. It's like déjà vu, twice in a row shooting ourselves in the foot, not going to win football games like that. [We] talked heavily about winning the turnover battle, and it's something we can't do right now," said Levis.
When it comes to the turnover battle, Levis has nobody to blame but himself. For a second straight game, a careless and unnecessary play cost the Titans points. When you play one-score games, that can be what breaks you.
"It was dumb. It was the same exact thing he did last week, and it cost us points in the red zone. That is what it is. He's a grown-up and he knows better. I was really irritated that he cost us three points in a game that we probably needed it," Callahan told the media when asked bout Levis' second quarter "fumble."
The good news for the Titans right now is that many of these mistakes are, in theory, fixable. Perhaps I'm giving Levis a little too much credit, but I feel like there has to be some sort of correction coming. We've seen a lot of the positive flashes and really just need to avoid the big mistakes.
Outside of the fumble, there was a lot to like about the way Levis played on Sunday. The interception he threw probably should have been caught by Treylon Burks, who had the ball wrestled away from him by an undersized corner.
This one is going to sting, though. And it won't go away unless the Titans really turn the corner over the next few weeks. Green Bay and Miami are both beatable teams with the injuries to Jordan Love and Tua Tagovailoa. These quickly have become must-win games for the Titans.
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