NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The day after his team’s 24-17 loss to the New York Jets on Sunday, Titans coach Brian Callahan was clearly still bothered by quarterback Will Levis once again committing an egregious mistake that contributed to the loss.
Callahan was caught on the TV broadcast yelling, “What the f— are you doing?!” to Levis as he came off the field after a costly fumble deep in Jets territory. Callahan went on to say he regretted that moment being caught on TV because he didn’t want to make it about one player and not the team. But Callahan didn’t regret the emotion after the play.
“I don’t regret my feelings about it and how I felt in the moment,” Callahan said Monday. “I am generally pretty composed. That one just set me off, and I, I’m human like everybody else. I have blackout moments where I’ll lose my mind.”
The fumble came one week after Levis threw an errant pass that was intercepted and returned for a touchdown that led to the Titans’ 24-17 loss to the Chicago Bears last week.
Levis vowed to learn from the mistake in the season opener, yet he still made an unnecessary mistake that cost the Titans points and momentum against New York.
“He’s a grown-up, and he knows better,” Callahan said Sunday after the game. “So I was really irritated that he cost us three points in a game that we probably needed it.”
Ill-advised mistakes that give the ball to the other team are magnified when the defense isn’t unable to generate turnovers. Through two weeks, the Titans’ defense has created zero turnovers despite it being a focus since defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson’s arrival.
“Take care of the ball and get takeaways,” Titans defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons said. “We didn’t get a takeaway on defense. The things that we keep talking about, taking care of the ball and get turnovers, are not happening.”
The lack of turnovers caused and the carelessness with the football weren’t the only two negatives that resurfaced. The Titans once again had a punt blocked, but this time it led to a field goal instead of being returned for a touchdown.
According to ESPN Research, Tennessee became the first team to have a punt blocked, throw an interception and lose a fumble in consecutive games since the 2002 Chargers. Losing another game in similar fashion to the season-opening loss to the Bears dropped the Titans to 0-2 on the season.
If the Titans expect to get their first win when they host the Green Bay Packers at Nissan Stadium on Sunday, it starts with better decision-making from Levis.
“It’s got to be something that’s more second nature to me,” Levis said. “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.”
Added Callahan, “I’d like to see what a game would look like when we don’t turn the ball over.”