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00:00 Welcome to another Tic Tac Titans film breakdown.
00:02 I'm Tyler Rowland, host of the Locked on Titans podcast,
00:05 staff writer for Sports Illustrated over at alltitans.com.
00:08 The Titans pulled off one of the craziest comebacks we have seen in recent NFL history
00:13 on Monday Night Football against the Miami Dolphins.
00:15 I want to take a look at the final two touchdown drives of the game for the Titans
00:19 and how Will Levis led the Titans to a miracle in Miami.
00:24 Here, the Titans are down 14 points with a little more than four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
00:30 We're going to look at the first play on the Titans penultimate scoring drive.
00:34 We're going to start the Miami Dolphins defense comes out in a two high shell.
00:39 So they're going to have deep safety here, deep safety here, two safeties deep.
00:44 But what they're going to do is they're actually going to roll one of their safeties
00:50 on DeAndre Hopkins' side into the middle of the field,
00:53 and this is going to turn into a cover three coverage
00:56 where the two boundary cornerbacks have deep third.
00:59 And when the outside cornerback has deep third, that's going to leave them susceptible
01:04 underneath and to the outside where they don't have any help.
01:08 And that's exactly where the Titans are going to attack.
01:10 But Will Levis doesn't know that yet.
01:13 He sees the two high safety look and watch Will Levis right here as he watches the safety.
01:18 His vision is in the middle of the field, and he's looking at that safety coming down into the box.
01:23 Okay, if the safety comes up, then I know it's cover three.
01:26 And if I know it's cover three, then that means that I know I have the DeAndre Hopkins quick out here.
01:33 And that's exactly where Will Levis goes.
01:36 So a great job reading the defense post-snap, getting the ball out on time, accurate.
01:41 And look, this isn't some incredible explosive pass play that showcases Will Levis' arm strength,
01:48 but this is a great first down play to get a drive going and get some rhythm.
01:52 You know what I mean? In credit to the blocking here, Dylan Radens, one-on-one, got some help from Brunskill to start,
01:57 but then Brunskill goes to help Aaron Brewer.
01:59 Peter Skowronski, one-on-one win.
02:01 Jalen Duncan gets some help from Tajay Spears, but wins against Bradley Chubb.
02:04 That's a great pocket, gives Levis a ton of time and a ton of room to make this nice throw.
02:09 And the Titans need more efficient, quick passing plays on first down like this to give themselves a little bit of help.
02:15 But a good start to the drive there.
02:17 Now, this is a third and four, so critical situation where the Titans have to pick up a first down.
02:23 I want to highlight Chigga Conqua, who's going to come over here.
02:25 He's going to chip on Andrew Van Ginkle, and then he's just going to run a short drag route.
02:30 And there's not much open here.
02:33 The Dolphins do a really good job with their coverage of kind of cleaning everything up.
02:37 There's really nowhere to go right now.
02:40 So I want to highlight at this point what Will Levis does in the pocket,
02:43 because Bradley Chubb is right behind him and coming for him. He beats Jalen Duncan.
02:48 He looks like he is about to get to Will Levis, but Levis just takes a gentle step up to give himself some room.
02:55 The problem is, at that time, Aaron Brewer is being driven back into Will Levis.
03:00 And Levis does a great job here of literally taking a step up and jumping to get this ball out to Chigga Conqua,
03:07 who is just now coming free on the drag route.
03:10 So this is excellent quarterback play, even if it's not a big, flashy throw.
03:15 And this is on 3rd and 4th.
03:17 Gets a first down and allows the Titans to continue their drive.
03:21 Just an excellent job. Look at this.
03:23 Nimble step up, and he makes a jump throw here to get it over the defensive tackle.
03:28 Will Levis is 6'4". If he's not that size, he may not be able to make that throw.
03:33 There are quarterbacks that are not able to make that throw.
03:36 So great pocket presence, great quarterback play on 3rd and 4th.
03:39 This next one is another play where I really want to showcase Will Levis' pocket presence.
03:43 So, come out here. There's not really anybody open right now.
03:48 The Dolphins do a good job of covering it up with their zone defense.
03:51 And again, Jalen Duncan beat by Bradley Chubb.
03:54 Looks like he is about to sack Will Levis.
03:57 Like, if you look at it right now, it's hard to believe that Will Levis doesn't get sacked.
04:01 And again, like last play, at the same time, Aaron Brewer is getting beat.
04:04 So there is pressure coming from the backside for Will Levis that he doesn't even know about,
04:08 about to sack him. And then coming from the interior, like, it looks like,
04:12 it's hard to believe that Will Levis doesn't get sacked here, from this view right here.
04:17 But he's able to move forward, step up in the pocket, keep his eyes down,
04:21 and the underhand flip to get underneath the hand of the Dolphins' defensive lineman
04:26 and get that to Tajay Spears who bobbles it but catches it,
04:29 gets upfield for a 10-11 yard gain on 1st down.
04:33 These are nice, quick chunks.
04:35 And this is what you need to come back in the way that the Titans did.
04:39 So again, the pocket presence here, step up, step up again, get through, underhand.
04:43 This reminds me of Brett Favre.
04:45 This playmaking, this craftiness, this awareness, these instincts.
04:49 Levis takes the hit and gets it out. I mean,
04:52 everybody wants to talk about Will Levis' arm strength
04:57 and how he could throw the ball down the field and the velocity,
04:59 but the things that impressed me most in this game against the Dolphins
05:02 and in this stretch, these weren't long throws. These were all mental things
05:06 that Will Levis was really doing well in,
05:09 and craftiness and instincts and understanding everything
05:12 but the big-time arm strength that everybody's drooling over.
05:15 And this one, this isn't the most miraculous throw that we're going to look back,
05:19 but watch Will Levis here.
05:20 Okay, it's 2nd and 15, and the Titans get a really good gain here,
05:24 I believe 19 yards from Tajay Spears.
05:27 But this could have been a penalty.
05:28 This could have been a penalty.
05:30 Look at Traylen Burks.
05:32 He looks like he's on the line of scrimmage, and you have a tight end right here
05:37 in Kevin Rader.
05:38 This would have been a penalty.
05:40 Okay?
05:42 But Will Levis looks at Traylen Burks.
05:45 Hey, scoot back a little bit.
05:47 Burks puts his hands up like, "Yeah, I checked. I'm off the line of scrimmage."
05:50 But Will Levis just wants to be safe.
05:52 And Burks backs up a step.
05:55 And that prevents a penalty.
05:57 And then
06:00 Levis is able to get the screen pass to Tajay Spears, who--
06:03 And great block from Aaron Brewer here.
06:05 I want to give him credit right here.
06:07 Aaron Brewer, great block to seal this.
06:10 Daniel Brunskill gets a seal here.
06:12 And NWI, as he always is, blocking downfield does a great job.
06:15 So credit to those three dudes who did a great job and gave room for Tajay Spears to get up the field,
06:20 get the first down on 2nd and 15,
06:22 and get out of bounds.
06:23 Look, back up a little bit, Traylen.
06:25 Thank you.
06:26 Appreciate that.
06:27 Now we're good to go.
06:28 Let's roll.
06:29 Hit the screen pass on an aggressive pass rush.
06:31 Get a big explosive pass play and get out of bounds on another quick one.
06:35 This is how you operate a comeback drive.
06:38 Now,
06:39 another play here that may not be the most impressive throw that we've ever seen,
06:45 but a nice dump pass to Tajay Spears.
06:48 And I want to point this out because
06:50 right here,
06:52 Will Levis wants to go to DeAndre Hopkins on this out-breaking route here, on this corner route.
06:57 But Zavian Howard, who's a good cornerback for the Dolphins, says,
07:01 "Nah, you've been killing us all game, man. I'm not giving you that."
07:04 And he goes there.
07:05 So,
07:06 Levis, like he's done all year,
07:09 he could force a pass to DeAndre Hopkins in between multiple defenders
07:15 and try to make a play, but instead,
07:17 he makes the right decision, the smart decision, steps up in the pocket,
07:21 and just dumps it off to Spears.
07:23 And look, another quick big chunk.
07:26 That's 9-10 yards on first down.
07:28 Quick big chunk.
07:29 On a drive where you're trying to come back, you're down 14 points under 4 minutes.
07:34 This is huge.
07:35 This is just smart, smart decision-making.
07:38 And again, everything but the huge arm.
07:41 This is decision-making, instincts, craft, intelligence,
07:44 knowing where your wide receivers are lined up, making all the adjustments.
07:48 I mean, this is professional-level quarterback play from Will Levis.
07:52 Now, we haven't seen the big arm yet in this final game sequence,
07:58 but you get to see it here.
08:00 And you got to give credit to Tim Kelly as well.
08:03 So the Miami Dolphins have been playing a ton of cover 6.
08:07 What is cover 6?
08:08 Well, cover 6, you're going to have a deep quarter by the outside cornerback.
08:13 You're going to have a deep quarter of the field from this safety.
08:16 And then on the other side of the field,
08:17 this whole entire deep half over here
08:21 is for this safety.
08:23 So imagine the field is split up into three parts,
08:25 one quarter, one quarter, and then one half, okay?
08:28 That's what the Dolphins like to play.
08:30 And like the Titans and like a lot of teams around the NFL do,
08:33 what they'll do is they'll play a match quarters
08:35 where whatever these wide receivers on this side, on the quarter side,
08:40 do whatever they do, they crisscross, they go here, they go there.
08:43 Basically, after these wide receivers declare their routes,
08:47 these two Dolphins defenders are going to turn it into man coverage.
08:50 They're going to match up with whoever their responsibility is.
08:54 And a lot of teams do this, including the Titans around the NFL.
08:58 And Tim Kelly has a perfect play call to attack this coverage.
09:02 What they're going to do is
09:03 they are going to run a scissors concept
09:06 where you're going to get an outside deep post from Chris Moore,
09:09 and then you're going to get a corner route from Nick Westbrook-Akene.
09:13 And what they do is they target this area of the field
09:18 in between a bunch of Dolphins defenders.
09:20 And again, a great call by Tim Kelly,
09:22 but the throw by Will Levis may be the most impressive play of the day.
09:26 So a lot of pressure in his face, off his back foot,
09:31 and he's letting go of this ball right now
09:33 while Nick Westbrook-Akene is right here next to David Long.
09:37 And David Long is not fast enough to get here
09:40 because this outside quarter goes with the post.
09:43 This safety is trying to match.
09:45 He's too late because he's too deep.
09:47 Again, a great play call by Tim Kelly to attack the Dolphins' cover 6 coverage,
09:52 but a great throw by Will Levis to anticipate
09:54 and lob this out in between, again, three defenders.
09:58 Look at this triangle of defenders here
10:00 that Will Levis is throwing this ball in between.
10:02 One, two, three.
10:04 And he gets it in between all of them.
10:06 And this, again, out of bounds, quick play.
10:10 Beautiful throw.
10:12 Beautiful play call.
10:13 And credit to the offensive line.
10:14 Skronsky and Brewer handle the twist up front.
10:17 Jalen Duncan gets help but handles Chubb.
10:19 What a throw.
10:21 What a throw by Will Levis there.
10:23 Excellent.
10:24 And then this is the touchdown to DeAndre Hopkins.
10:28 And what the Dolphins are doing is the Dolphins are running man coverage here
10:31 in the red zone.
10:33 They're going to have man on Hopkins, man here.
10:35 Now, these guys are going to switch responsibilities,
10:37 which happens all the time as Hopkins and NWI cross,
10:41 but it's still man coverage.
10:43 Man here, man here, man here.
10:46 This guy and this guy are zone defenders,
10:49 and Levis is going to have to deal with just about all of them
10:52 by the end of the play here.
10:54 But we see DeAndre Hopkins and NWI run a little rub route at the bottom.
10:59 NWI is going to come to the outside.
11:00 Hopkins is going to come to the inside.
11:02 The Dolphins cornerbacks really do a good job of negotiating it.
11:05 At the end of the day, they pass it off pretty well
11:08 and four goes with Hopkins.
11:09 There's no one there.
11:10 The Titans are looking to hopefully get Spears into the flat
11:13 or get Chris Moore on the deep.
11:16 Maybe you can fit Chig in.
11:18 This would be better against zone coverage, but with it being man,
11:21 the Dolphins pretty much have it covered up.
11:23 I mean, Chris Moore is double covered.
11:25 45 is right there.
11:26 That's not scoring, and Chig has a defender with him.
11:29 So Levis is forced to maybe do something else,
11:32 and while that's happening, there's pressure on him.
11:34 Chubbs at his feet. 91's coming.
11:36 There's a lane. Step up.
11:39 And right now, you see because of Levis running out here,
11:43 the Miami Dolphins defender is forced to commit.
11:45 Their zone defender underneath zone has to commit to Will Levis,
11:50 and that opens up a hole right here, which DeAndre Hopkins--
11:54 hello--he's ready to go there, but Hopkins has a guy on him still,
11:59 even though that's happening.
12:00 So Will Levis has dealt with the zone defender,
12:02 but we still haven't dealt with the man that's on DeAndre Hopkins.
12:05 Either way, Hopkins breaks free and gets the touchdown pass,
12:08 a great basically no-look throw from Will Levis,
12:11 but you're going to be able to see here--look at this--no look.
12:15 Whoop.
12:18 You're going to be able to see what DeAndre Hopkins does to get free,
12:22 and he does a little shake on the defender at the top of the screen.
12:26 Look, he's sitting down, which he's supposed to,
12:29 but then he's going to move his shoulders outside
12:32 before cutting back inside, and just the subtle fake,
12:35 along with Will Levis running, pulls the corner back away--boom.
12:40 And now it's wide open.
12:42 Now it's wide open.
12:44 Bang.
12:46 Touchdown tightened.
12:47 But what's even more important than the touchdown maybe
12:49 is the two-point conversion, and this is an easy, simple throw from Will Levis.
12:53 We're going to have the same concept on the outside.
12:56 Hopkins is going to cut inside, and then you're going to have NWI cut outside,
13:00 but on the previous play, they were trying to get Hopkins open under the middle,
13:04 but now the real goal is to get NWI open in the flat out here.
13:08 And having a guy like DeAndre Hopkins, who had torched the Dolphins all night long,
13:12 you could see the attention that the veteran commands here
13:15 because both the Dolphins' cornerbacks are worried about Hopkins.
13:18 They don't switch off the matchup, and it allows NWI to come free.
13:22 He's wide open, and Levis just makes a good throw while rolling out on the move.
13:27 Huge two-point conversion that set the Titans up to win,
13:29 but what I want to point out here is watch Tajay Spears with the cut block.
13:34 This is a huge defensive end, and this is what, 5'9"?
13:38 Tajay Spears right here, these are winning plays from a guy who's considered an explosive running back.
13:45 Boom! That's a winning play.
13:48 If that guy's right in Levis' face, he may throw it high, he may not get it off at all.
13:52 That is a huge block by Tajay Spears.
13:56 All right, here is maybe the second most impressive throw of this sequence
14:01 because again, a lot of this isn't Will Levis showing off his incredible arm strength
14:05 and his velocity and all that stuff.
14:07 This is Will Levis just playing smart, professional, heady quarterback.
14:11 But here, the Titans--remember our very first play.
14:15 The Dolphins were in a too-high look, and they ended up in a version of cover three.
14:23 Well, we're going to see the opportunity for the Titans to attack something just like that again here.
14:27 So you're going to see two vertical clear routes on this side of the field for the Titans through here,
14:34 and then you're going to have DeAndre Hopkins actually come on a deep in-breaking route.
14:38 The offensive line gives the Titans a long enough time to make this work,
14:43 and they keep in--to make sure that they have time for this long route,
14:48 they keep in Tajay Spears, who's over here helping Jalen Duncan,
14:51 and they keep in Chika Konkwa, who's over here helping Dylan Radens.
14:54 They know this is a deep concept, and they need time to do it,
14:58 so they keep seven in at first to do it before they let those guys out.
15:01 But again, it gives DeAndre Hopkins--the vertical clear routes here--
15:07 give DeAndre Hopkins the ability to come through uncontested over the middle.
15:12 And this is the first play of the second drive,
15:15 so this is a huge pickup with time running down.
15:18 I mean, there's like two and a half minutes left, something like that here,
15:21 and this is a huge pickup to get all the way down to the other side of the field.
15:25 I mean, this is a great throw, another great call,
15:30 a great design by Tim Kelly with the long route.
15:33 Dylan Radens, brunt skill, double team.
15:36 Brewer, Duncan, Skowronski dealing with the twist.
15:40 Levis has a ton of time, surveys the field, and finds a wide open Hopkins.
15:45 I mean, it's beautiful. It's beautiful. Simple, easy, but great quarterback play.
15:51 Absolutely great.
15:52 Now, this one,
15:53 it's just an easy screen.
15:57 Nothing too big, but on time,
16:01 and look at NWI.
16:03 Look at the block to push the cornerback pass.
16:06 And then Radens gets out here. Brewer gets out here as well, so great job there,
16:10 but this is simple, smart quarterback play.
16:13 Just be accurate, just be on time, just keep the offense going.
16:17 I mean,
16:18 I don't know what else to tell you.
16:21 We've been impressed by the arm strength and the velocity throughout all the starts,
16:25 but the other stuff is starting to develop,
16:27 and Levis is starting to grow and learn and understand what's best in what situation.
16:33 So, seeing it happen here, just in real time, is incredible,
16:37 and right after that, we get the handoff to Derek Henry.
16:40 Great block by Traylen Burks there to give Henry a seal.
16:43 He dives in. The Titans tie up the game.
16:46 Get the extra point to take the lead.
16:49 Get the stop on defense.
16:51 Look how hype Will Levis is after the win.
16:55 I mean, again, we know about the arm, but the size,
17:00 the intelligence, the craftiness, the grittiness, the toughness,
17:05 that's what we saw on display in Miami
17:07 to go along with the elite release quickness and the elite arm strength.
17:11 What an incredible, incredible miracle from Will Levis,
17:15 who is the first quarterback to throw for 300 yards on Monday Night Football,
17:21 and out of 767 teams in the Titans situation in the past few years,
17:27 Titans are the only one to come out with a win in regulation.
17:32 Incredible stuff. The miracle in Miami.
17:34 [BLANK_AUDIO]