The Steelers will welcome the Tennessee Titans for a primetime showdown Thursday night at Acrisure Stadium. Here are five things to know about the AFC South foe:
Will Levis looked great in his first look – The rookie from Penn State and Kentucky, who infamously plummeted from the top of many draft boards into the second round this past April, was forced to make his NFL debut against Atlanta on Sunday following an injury to starter Ryan Tannehill last week. And he did not disappoint, completing 19 of 29 passes for 238 yards and four touchdowns against zero interceptions. His passer rating for the afternoon was a very solid 130.5, and he showed some downfield chops in averaging 8.2 yards per attempt. For context, Steelers starter Kenny Pickett has never thrown three, let alone four touchdown passes in a single game. And he’s never posted a passer rating as good as the one Levis did on Saturday. In fact, he’s only cracked 100 once in far more action than Levis. Steelers coach Mike Tomlin’s defenses have traditionally performed well against rookies, and that trend may well continue if Levis sees extended action on a short week this week. Nonetheless, this was the type of performance that should get his unit’s attention.
DeAndre Hopkins might be finding his top form – It was reasonable to expect the now 31-year-old former Pro Bowl receiver to start dropping off. That’s why he signed a relatively modest two-year, $26 million contract in the offseason. And yet, he’s shown flashes of his past dominance thus far in October. He was a big reason Levis was able to have success on Sunday, catching six passes for 128 yards and three of the four touchdowns. And back on Oct. 8 against Indianapolis, he went off for 11 catches on 14 targets for 140 yards. His season average is an explosive 16.3 yards per reception. And he’s on pace to total over 1,200 yards, which he hasn’t done since 2020. It will be interesting to see how he matches up against this Steelers secondary. The bad news for the Titans is they don’t have many other viable options in the passing game. Nick Westbrook-Ikhine is No. 2 on the team with just 201 yards this season – an average of 28.7 per game. Everyone else is at 145 yards or fewer.
Tannehill was having a rough year before his injury – That tends to happen when a quarterback only has one consistent target to throw to. And it definitely shows up in his stat line. The veteran QB had just two touchdown passes for the entire season entering Week 8. Compare that to 19 sacks and six interceptions, and you understand the theme of the Titans’ season pretty quickly. They enter Week 9 at 29th in the NFL at 180.7 passing yards per game. For context, the Steelers are 25th at 192.0. And you know how much criticism their offense has understandably received. Through that lens, it will be interesting to see what choice coach Mike Vrabel makes if Tannehill is healthy enough to play. Does he stick with his veteran who’s guided them to a lot of wins in the past? Or does he stick with the rookie who’s given his sputtering offense a spark? It’s an angle to this matchup to keep an eye on.
Derrick Henry has been effective, but limited – Negative game scripts have been to blame for the veteran back’s reduced workload this season. He is on pace for just 291 carries, which would be his fewest over a mostly full, healthy campaign since 2018 when he received 215 attempts. He’s been pretty much the same back when the Titans have been able to get him the ball, though. He averages 4.4 yards per carry, which is just a few hairs off his career average of 4.7. So if the Steelers fail to get a lead and force the Titans to throw more often, it’s possible they could get a heavy dose of Henry at close to his best. Backup Tyjae Spears is another name worth knowing. He’s also eaten into Henry’s touches by averaging 5.8 yards per carry and catching 18 passes out of the backfield. Together, they form a potent 1-2 punch that could bury the Steelers quickly if they’re not careful.
This pass rush will test the Steelers – Believe it or not, the Titans have posted the second-highest sack total of any team the Steelers have faced in 2023 at 21. More than Nick Bosa and the 49ers. More than Maxx Crosby and the Raiders. More than Myles Garrett and the Browns. There’s no one guy the Steelers can gear up to try to stop, either. Denico Autry (5), Jeffery Simmons (4.5), Harold Landry III (4), Arden Key (2.5) and Roger McCreary (2) all have at least two sacks on the campaign. That cohort also has 20 combined tackles for a loss, so they’ve proven dangerous to opposing ball carriers as well. So this will be a good test for tackles Dan Moore Jr. and Chuks Okorafor. If they have a solid effort on Sunday, there will be reason to believe the offensive line as a whole has made substantial progress. If they fail, the calls for first-round pick Broderick Jones will likely become deafening.
Adam Bittner: abittner@post-gazette.com and Twitter @fugimaster24
First Published: October 31, 2023, 9:30 a.m.
Updated: November 1, 2023, 6:05 p.m.