The Tennessee Titans were yet again without starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill on Sunday, resulting in the second career start for rookie quarterback Malik Willis on Sunday night against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Willis flashed some extremely impressive throws in the game but simply was not able to establish any sort of connection with the Titans’ pass catchers.
Malik Willis with a DIME… dropped. 🏈 #SNF pic.twitter.com/FedYFRAlMe
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) November 7, 2022
While there were some bright spots in the game for Willis, he ultimately looked extremely gun-shy, completing just 5 of 16 pass attempts for only 80 yards.
Despite these struggles, the Titans had a chance to tie or win the game in overtime after the Chiefs were held to a field goal on their overtime possession.
This is where Willis’ youth and inexperience drastically hurt the Titans, with Willis taking two brutal sacks on second and third down to force a 4th-and-26.
3rd-and-21… Malik Willis runs around a lot and is finally sacked for a loss of 5 yards.
(He'd then throw an incomplete pass on 4th-and-26; Chiefs win) 🏈 #SNF pic.twitter.com/Z9JsNK4rBG
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) November 7, 2022
The Titans’ fourth down attempt would fall incomplete, resulting in a 20-17 victory for the Chiefs.
This game could be a great learning moment for Willis, but many around the NFL world certainly don’t seem to think that he is ready to be a competent NFL quarterback following his performance on Sunday night.
Malik Willis is simply not ready to play yet. Nothing really to make of this performance good or bad.
— Ted Nguyen (@FB_FilmAnalysis) November 7, 2022
Malik Willis every time he drop back to pass pic.twitter.com/mkq5iFWknw
— Josiah Johnson (@KingJosiah54) November 7, 2022
I appreciate that Malik Willis avoided throwing an interception. And I understand without AJBrown, his receiving corps is more of a corpse. But at some point late in that game, he just needed to let it fly. He threw a couple of nice balls, but 5 completions won't beat Mahomes.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) November 7, 2022
I’m sure Malik Willis is a fine human being but he has no business playing in the NFL right now.
— Matt Lindner (@mattlindner) November 7, 2022
A pair of starts from Malik Willis that might keep Ryan Tannehill in Tennessee beyond this season
— Kevin Walsh Jr. (@TheKevinWalsh) November 7, 2022
I think we’re now seeing why 31 other teams passed on Malik Willis more than once
— John “Supi” Supowitz (@ImThatSupi) November 7, 2022
Tennessee’s wide receivers certainly did not help Willis all that much in the game, and the Titans are certainly missing former wide receiver A.J. Brown, who took to social media to point out his former team’s deficiencies during the game.
No wide receiver caught a ball in the game for the Titans despite some very catchable passes coming from Malik Willis.
In comparison, Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes had a whopping 43 completions in the game on 68 pass attempts, with 20 completions going to wide receivers.
Mahomes attempted 43 more pass attempts than Willis in the game, which is the largest disparity between starting quarterbacks in any game in NFL history.
Patrick Mahomes completed 43 passes on #SundayNightFootball, while Malik Willis completed only 5.
That gap of 38 completions is the largest in a game in the Super Bowl era, breaking the previous record of 36 from the 59-0 Patriots win over the Titans in Week 6, 2009.
— NFL Research (@NFLResearch) November 7, 2022
It appears very clear that there is no quarterback controversy for the Titans and that Ryan Tannehill gives the team the best chance to win at the moment.
Tannehill was close to playing in Sunday’s matchup, so he will likely be under center for Tennessee again very shortly.
