With there being a crucial intra-conference game on Thursday, the Tennessee Titans have to put their emotions and excitement from Sunday’s awesome 28-23 victory over the Atlanta Falcons aside very quickly.
There was a lot to be excited about after the Titans’ win over Atlanta in which they produced their highest-scoring output since the 2021 season. Tennessee will now be tasked with going into a tough environment in Pittsburgh and trying to win its first game away from Nissan Stadium this season.
However, before we completely shift our focus toward the Steelers, it’s time to quickly reflect on Sunday’s performance by talking about which players or position groups raised their stock after Week 8, and which players ultimately had their stock lowered. I also decided to throw in a bonus section at the very end that doesn’t have to do with any specific player or coach on the team.
Having said all of that, let’s take a look at this week’s stock report.
Stock up: QB Will Levis
There isn’t much we can say about Will Levis that hasn’t already been stated in previous articles.
Levis was the shot in the arm this franchise desperately needed. Whether he continues to stack positive performances remains to be seen, but there’s no denying that he raised his stock astronomically after Week 8.
Stock down: QB Ryan Tannehill
Head coach Mike Vrabel continues to try to be secretive and/or respectful to Ryan Tannehill by saying that he’s not ready to declare Will Levis the full-time starter going forward.
With that said, it’s hardly an exaggeration when I say I think the fanbase would riot if No. 8 isn’t the guy under center going forward.
I think there’s a better chance that we see Tannehill traded at the deadline than there is for him to go back under center, barring something dramatic happening with Levis.
Stock up: WR DeAndre Hopkins
DeAndre Hopkins is already over halfway to one thousand yards on the year, and he finally found the end zone in Week 8 — not once, not twice, but three times, en route to recording 128 yards on the day.
Having a quarterback that is willing and able to push the ball downfield has completely unlocked DHop, and that should have Titans fans everywhere salivating over what we could potentially see over the second half of the season.
Stock down: WR Treylon Burks
Arguably the most unfair thing about Treylon Burks is how he’s constantly being compared to a bona fide superstar in A.J. Brown. Unfortunately, that’s the position he was thrown into when the Titans decided to make that trade on draft night last April.
Brown has just set an NFL record for most consecutive games with at least 125 or receiving yards while Burks doesn’t even have 100 yards on the year.
The Arkansas product finished with zero catches Sunday, with two close calls on a couple of deep shots that likely would’ve landed him in the stock-up section had they connected.
Vrabel also admitted that Burks lined up wrong at times, which likely led to some unnecessary confusion for his young quarterback.
For everybody’s sake, let’s hope that the second-year wideout can get back on track over the second half of the season to take some pressure off Hopkins and give Tennessee another reliable target.
Stock up: Offensive line
With all things considered, the Titans’ offensive line played a solid game on Sunday. Right tackle Chris Hubbard was knocked out in the first half, which subsequently caused chaos within the lineup.
Nicholas Petit-Frere was then moved back to the right side after spending the last few weeks preparing to play left tackle, while recently benched Andre Dillard was thrown back into the starting lineup on the left side.
To his credit, Dillard played a solid game and looked to be motivated by the benching.
As a whole, the unit only gave up two sacks on the day, one of which was at the end of the game where Levis essentially ate the sack instead of throwing it away to ensure the Falcons were forced to use their last time out. The run-blocking was much better than most weeks, also.
Things weren’t perfect, but it was a massive upgrade from what we had been seeing out of the group more often than not.
Stock up: DT Jeffery Simmons
Ever since Jeffery Simmons hurt his shoulder back in Week 5, he looked like a shell of himself, only totaling five combined tackles over the previous two games.
Thankfully, the week off from the bye appears to have gotten him back to his disruptive self. Simmons recorded six tackles, two sacks, two tackles for loss, two quarterback hits and one forced fumble while absolutely dominating in the first half.
Whenever No. 98 is wreaking havoc in the middle of the Titans’ defense, it makes the entire unit better.
Stock up: OLB Harold Landry
It took seven games, but we finally got a glimpse of seeing the explosive and productive version of Harold Landry again. The Boston College product recorded five tackles and two sacks on the day, with a third getting called back for a penalty.
He admitted that he feels better, much more comfortable and confident in his knee with each passing week. That is starting to show on the field, as Landry has slowly started to find his way into the backfield more frequently.
Over the last two games, Landry has recorded a combined three sacks after tallying just one in the five games prior.
Stock up: Hope, team morale and expectations
Before Sunday’s game, the narrative everyone was seemingly going with revolved around the team needing to sell its veteran players to prepare for a long-term rebuild.
Needless to say, what a difference 24 hours can make.
Now, you genuinely have some who think this Titans team is about to go on an incredible run to the playoffs, similar to how they did in 2019. While I’m not ready to go that far just yet, the difference from how fans felt on Sunday before kickoff to now couldn’t be more different.
Only time will tell how this season will play out, but there’s no denying that the excitement level and hope are real after what everyone saw from Levis on Sunday.
