"This is a dream come true." No nerves from Will Levis during impressive NFL debut

Chants of “Levis” were raining down from the Nissan Stadium crowd when rookie quarterback Will Levis walked off the field following his four-touchdown, zero-interception performance on Sunday afternoon. It was the 24-year-old’s NFL debut, a long-awaited one for the second-round 2023 NFL Draft pick, and one that seems — in retrospect — to have taken far too long to make happen.

“It’s incredible,” Levis told CBS sideline reporter Amanda Guerra afterward. “Shoutout to the fans for coming out and supporting. Just shoutout to this team for embracing me and getting me through these past couple of weeks. I’m just excited to be a part of this team and do whatever I can to help them win.”

Levis looked every bit like the projected first-round pick he was expected to be before slipping just far enough in April’s NFL Draft to put a chip on his shoulder. The former Kentucky Wildcat finished his first professional game with 238 passing yards, four touchdowns, and zero interceptions in a 28-23 win over the Atlanta Falcons. Six different Tennessee receivers caught a pass.

The Titans, now 3-4, came into Sunday having allowed the fourth-most sacks per game in the league this season, but Levis was only taken down twice against Atlanta. He posted a quarterback rating of 130.5 and became just the third-ever player to record four touchdowns in their NFL debut. Additionally, Tennessee’s 28 points were the team’s most in a single game since 2021.

“This is a dream come true for sure,” Levis told reporters. “But I mean — what time is it right now? Yeah I got 12 minutes to celebrate before we’re on to Pittsburgh as (Mike) Vrabel says. But I’ve been dreaming of this moment as a kid my entire life, even just to touch the field in an NFL game.”

What a moment for the Levis family 💙 pic.twitter.com/0w0oIp4Cjf

— Titans (Oilers Version) (@Titans) October 29, 2023

It had been a long time coming for Levis to finally make his debut. He spent the first seven weeks of the Titans season backing up starter Ryan Tannehill and second-stringer Malik Willis. Tannehill recently went down with an ankle injury while Willis just wasn’t cutting it on the field. Eventually, head coach Mike Vrabel was left with no other option: time to turn to Levis. The rookie signal-caller was informed early in the week that he would take the reins of the offense on Sunday.

Not a bad third option to have, huh?

“I was up and down all of the last couple of weeks,” Levis told reporters after the win about any nerves leading up to his debut. “I think there were certain days where I was kind of feeling the butterflies a little bit. But really just having confidence in keeping that neutral head space on everything and I didn’t really have any of those feelings today.”

It helps when Levis is throwing to an All-Pro wide receiver, too. Even though DeAndre Hopkins is a few years removed from his last Pro Bowl appearance, he’s clearly established promising chemistry with Levis. The pair connected on three of Levis’ four touchdowns on the day. The first was a 47-yard score in the opening quarter, the second a 16-yarder in the second quarter, and the last a 61-yard bomb in the third.

In total, Hopkins caught four passes from Levis (on six targets) for 128 yards and the three aforementioned touchdowns. Hopkins came into the week with zero touchdown receptions throughout the Titans’ first six games of the season. A revitalized Hopkins is only going to help Tennessee as the season progresses.

“We’ve been saying we need to get (Hopkins) in the end zone,” Levis said. “I said why not three times, you know? He’s been awesome. Just so happy to be a part of this team.”

“He’s a very talented quarterback. Confident.” Hopkins said of Levis. “Plays the game like he’s been here before.”

Hopefully, Levis spends more than 12 minutes celebrating his debut win, but the upcoming week faces a quick turnaround before the next opponent. The Titans will head to Pittsburgh on Thursday to take on the Steelers. There should be no shortage of confidence for Levis going into his second start.