MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – The Titans beat the Dolphins 31-12 on Monday night at Hard Rock Stadium.
Here's a look at six things that stood out from the contest:
Folk Music
Nick Folk was money. The Titans kept sending Folk out to kick field goals, and the veteran kicker kept making them. Folk made kicks from 53, 52, 47, 51 and 29 yards. The five field goals matched a career-high for Folk, and the three 50-yard kicks in a game was a career-high. Folk, who is 39, became the oldest kicker to make three 50-yard field goals in the same game. "I felt good," Folk said. "I wanted to do whatever I could to help the team win."
QB Change
Starting quarterback Will Levis was replaced by Mason Rudolph in the first quarter, and Rudolph finished the contest. Levis suffered a shoulder injury, and after he warmed up on the sideline, the Titans opted to stick with Rudolph. Coach Brian Callahan said after the game Levis tried to come back, but the shoulder was still bothering him. Callahan said the team didn't want to expose him to a further risk with the bye week coming up. Callahan left no doubt about who the team's starting QB will be moving forward. "100 percent – if Will is healthy, he's our quarterback," Callahan said. "He is our starter when he is healthy, and we'll be ready to roll with him."
Callahan First Win
It was first win of the Brian Callahan era. Titans controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk presented Callahan with a game ball in the celebratory locker room after the contest. "I don't know if I can put it into words for you," Callahan said of the feeling. "It feels great, most importantly because our guys deserve it. These guys work hard, and they practice hard, and they do everything right. They deserve to win. It's good to see some smiles, and some energy. I thought we played a really good game tonight."
Defense, Defense, Defense
The Titans played lights out on defense on Monday night. The Dolphins managed just 13 first downs and 184 yards of offense. The Titans defense held the Dolphins to just 2-of-12 on third down (16.7 percent) and 1-of-3 on fourth down (33.3 percent). Jarvis Brownlee, Kenneth Murray and Quandre Diggs all contributed to the defense stopping Tyreek Hill short on one fourth down run, and Ernest Jones made another key fourth down stop. Arden Key recovered a fumble behind the line of scrimmage, and Diggs intercepted a two-point conversion try. Murray led the team with nine tackles, and Harold Landry and Sebastian Joseph-Day each recorded a sack. I kept noticing T'Vondre Sweat, who was beastly in the middle. "Happy with our performance," Jones said. "Still some things we can clean up, but overall, happy with how we played."
30 Points!
Tony Pollard's four-yard touchdown run with 24 second left in the game didn't just put an exclamation point on the win – it also broke a long streak. Until Monday night, the Titans had not scored 30 points in a game since their 2nd-most-recent game against the Dolphins, a 34-3 win in Week 17 of 2021. Tennessee's streak of 38 games without scoring 30 points was the longest active streak in the NFL. "Coach said it had been like 1,000 days," Pollard said with a smile. "It's great, especially going into a bye week. It's huge for us to take that momentum and carry us into next week." (It had actually been 1,002 days, but who's counting?)
Far From Perfect
Not everything is bad when the Titans lose, and not everything is great when the team wins. On Monday night, the Titans were far from perfect. The team committed eight penalties for 69 yards, including some of the 15-yard variety (Arden Key roughing, L'Jarius Sneed taunting). The Titans weren't very effective throwing the football most of the night, and the team looked confused on special teams on the late kick by the Dolphins. The Titans were just 2-of-12 themselves on third down on offense. Heading into the bye week, this 1-3 team needs to find ways to get better if this season is going to be interesting through December.
