What we learned from Tennessee Titans’ 27-17 loss to Chargers

The Tennessee Titans fell to the Los Angeles Chargers, 27-17, on Sunday at SoFi Stadium.

The return of Will Levis did not have the desired impact or outcome the Titans’ hoped, although he did look better in his return than he did at the beginning of the season. Levis didn’t throw a single interception on Sunday, and the one fumble he had was recovered by JC Latham, resulting in a zero-turnover game for the Titans.

None of that was enough to overcome what the Chargers brought, though. Let’s take a look at what we learned from the Titans’ loss to the Chargers in Week 10.

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After spending a couple of weeks watching Mason Rudolph run Brian Callahan’s offense, it seems that Will Levis is more comfortable in the pocket. His decision-making was better, and when he came under pressure on Sunday he took off when he could, but he did not force any throws he shouldn’t have taken. That may have resulted in him taking seven sacks, although not all of those are on him, but a sack is a better alternative than a turnover. Levis is learning, and it showed on Sunday.

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The only players to rotate on the offensive line on Sunday were Leroy Watson IV and John Ojukwu. Peter Skoronski, Dillon Radunz, Daniel Brunskill, and JC Latham all played 100 percent of the offensive snaps. On defense, it was slightly better with linebackers Jack Gibbens and Kenneth Murray Jr., as well as safety Amani Hooker were the only guys who played 100 percent of the snaps.

Jeffery Simmons played the most on the line, appearing for 78 percent of snaps. T’Vondre Sweat and Keondre Coburn switched out at nose tackle, although Coburn killed the Titans with his penalties. The defense didn’t manage a single sack or turnover this week, either.

The depth along the offensive and defensive lines is slim, this is true. But they are getting tired and it’s showing on the field. JC Latham was so fatigued in the fourth quarter that he allowed a sack, committed a penalty (false start) and allowed a QB hit that saw Levis fumble the ball. Latham recovered it, but it could have been so much worse.

There has to be more rotation for these guys. It doesn’t even have to be a lot, but they need breaks if they’re going to last for the rest of the season.

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Despite having five catches for 84 yards and two touchdowns on Sunday, wide receiver Calvin Ridley was not shy about sharing his frustration with losing after the game. And if one player is saying it, there are at least 10 others thinking it. Ridley is handling his frustration well, answering questions as politically correct as possible without throwing anyone under the bus, but if you watch his body language, he is definitely holding back.

Something has to change in Tennessee because what they are doing isn’t working. And if it’s as Ridley indicates, they do the same things regardless of a win or a loss, that is an even bigger problem that the Titans need to address. Brian Callahan has to figure out something different with this team and adjust his game plan and scheme to the strengths of the players he has on his team.

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Head coach Brian Callahan may believe that his job is safe because Amy Adam Strunk says she believes in Callahan’s and Ran Carthon’s plan for Will Levis, but Callahan also needs to understand that a lot can happen in seven weeks. His job is not safe and he can still lose it if the Titans don’t turn their season around.

Not many people expected the Titans to have a winning season this year, that is not the problem here. The problem is that Callahan isn’t making enough adjustments during the week to impact the next game. As indicated in the Ridley interview, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. It simply doesn’t work that way.

So, while Callahan focuses on hosting the Minnesota Vikings next week, he might want to look into changing things up somewhere on the field, anywhere on the field, to change the expected outcome of that game. Because right now, no one expects the Titans to win. And that’s the mentality Callahan needs to change.

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The Titans didn’t have a single turnover on Sunday, which shows that this team is capable of keeping possession of the ball. Now, Will Levis did take seven sacks and the Titans’ defense didn’t create any turnovers either. Well. Technically Roger McCreary recovered a fumble for a touchdown, but it was reversed when the review showed it was a forward pass, not a fumble. Regardless, the Titans can manage turnovers. Levis is the key to starting that, and he took a couple of sacks on Sunday instead of throwing an ill-advised pass, which is an improvement. This is one area they have to keep up with, it may not have helped them win on Sunday, but controlling turnovers is a huge part of the game these days, and the Titans did that this week.

Read all the best Titans coverage at The Tennessean and Titans Wire.

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