Tennessee Titans' Brian Callahan blunt on 'dumb' Will Levis turnover: 'He knows better'

Brian Callahan knew the TV cameras captured his moment of frustration.

The coach was visibly irate with quarterback Will Levis in the second quarter of the Tennessee Titans' 24-17 loss Sunday to the New York Jets. For the second week in a row , Levis blundered away a turnover instead of taking a sack, this time lateraling a ball in running back Tyjae Spears' direction when Levis could've gone to the ground and guaranteed his team an opportunity for a chip-shot field goal inside the red zone.

As an angry Levis jogged off the field, Callahan was caught on TV saying: "Hey, what the (expletive) are you doing?"

"Yeah, I was upset. It was dumb," Callahan said after the game. "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. He knows better. I was really irritated that he cost us three points in a game that we really needed it."

ESTES: Titans seemingly in repeat mode

Levis' postgame news conference was somber. Though the quarterback completed 68% of his passes for 192 yards and a touchdown, he also turned the ball over twice and failed to punch in a score on four goal-to-go snaps in the final minute to potentially tie the game.

Speaking about the recurring mistake of not accepting sacks to keep the ball safe, Levis said drastic measures need to be taken to ensure he fixes the errors.

"It’s got to be something that’s got to be more second-nature to me. I’m going to do everything I can to rewire my brain to make sure that when I’m in those situations I’m not making those decisions," Levis said. "I think throughout my career I’ve gotten a lot better at not forcing things, or at least not forcing balls into windows. But that’s a different kind of play. It’s something that’s not going to show up as much but it’s obviously much more important because the ball is put in jeopardy and it’s an opportunity for the other team to get the ball."

Callahan said he has told Levis "a million times" that he doesn't need to play "hero ball" and win games on his own. He's one of 11 players who can make a play at any given moment, and he needs to execute within those parameters.

That said, Callahan said he isn't shaken in his confidence in Levis. He says he saw improvements in the young quarterback between Week 1 and 2, though he didn't expand on what those were.

Asked what his answer would be to Callahan's pointed question after the fact, Levis said he'd say "just take the sack" in retrospect.

"It’s tough, but everything’s tough about this sport and this position," Levis added about why the mistake is recurring. "It’s just something that might not have crossed my brain in the offseason when I’m preparing mentally. I’m more so focused on the playbook and watching film to see how guys are playing and running games. I just can’t let that happen."

Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at nsuss@gannett.com . Follow Nick on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @nicksuss.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee Titans' Brian Callahan blunt on 'dumb' Will Levis turnover: 'He knows better'