When the Tennessee Titans got the extremely disappointing news that starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill was expected to miss the rest of the season with an ankle injury, it was clear that the team would be relying on rookie quarterback Malik Willis for the duration of their playoff push.
Unfortunately for the Titans, Malik Willis did not have a particularly strong performance in his first start following Tannehill’s injury, going 14-for-23 through the air for just 99 yards and two interceptions. They’ll need him to be much better if he’s going to lead the team to and through the playoffs, and head coach Mike Vrabel had quite an honest assessment of the rookie’s performance.
“I think he’s gotten better,” Vrabel said according to Nick Suss of The Tennessean. “He’s gotten better. He’s done some things that were positive and there are things that we’re continuing to try to work on and correct. Work on progression and speeding up things and communication and all the things that go with playing quarterback.”
The Titans face the Dallas Cowboys this week. But regardless of the outcome of that game, Tennessee will have to beat the Jacksonville Jaguars in the season-ending showdown in order to earn a playoff spot.
