2024-10-01 14:30:03
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Just win, baby.
It might not have been pretty, but the first win of the season sure felt like a beauty for the Tennessee Titans – a 31-12 victory over the Miami Dolphins.
It was also the 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.”
The Titans are now 1-3 heading into the bye weekend.
Titans quarterback Will Levis started the contest, but he didn’t finish it.
Back-up quarterback Mason Rudolph replaced Levis after he suffered a shoulder injury in the first quarter while diving head-first on a third down run.
Rudolph guided the Titans the rest of the way, and the team did enough on offense to win it.
“It always feels great to win,” said Rudolph, who completed 9-of-17 passes for 85 yards in the contest. “It feels great to win to get Cally his first, a big one. It’s always good to celebrate in the locker room, and for a coach’s first win, that’s big time. … I thought we ran the ball really well – I didn’t do a whole lot.”
Callahan said after the game Levis will undergo tests. He said if Levis is healthy, he’ll be the team’s quarterback moving forward.
Kicker Nick Folk provided all the offense in the first half, with three field goals. Folk added his fourth and fifth field goals of the night in the second half to give him give five field goals for the night, matching a career high.
Tennessee’s defense was suffocating throughout, getting one stop after another. The Dolphins managed just 13 first downs and 184 yards of offense in the contest as the Titans swarmed to the football.
Offensively, the Titans ran the ball for 142 yards, with Tony Pollard leading the way with 88 yards and a touchdown.
Pollard’s late touchdown gave the Titans 30 points in a game for the first time in a long time.
“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.”
The two teams played a scoreless first quarter, with each team committing a turnover.
It was perhaps a sign of things to come on a pretty sloppy night of football.
In the end, the Titans proved to be more resilient, and better.
Levis was intercepted on Tennessee’s opening drive by Dolphins linebacker Emmanuel Ogbah.
On Miami’s possession, however, edge rusher Arden Key jumped on a lateral, which gave the Titans the ball back.
The Titans took a 3-0 lead early in the second quarter on a 53-yard field goal by Folk, a drive that was finished by Rudolph.
The Titans came up with a big defensive stop on Miami’s next possession, and cornerback Jarvis Brownlee Jr., linebacker Kenneth Murray and safety Quandre Diggs all contributed to a stop of Tyreek Hill on a fourth-and-one run.
The stop led to another long field goal by Folk, this one from 52 yards, and the Titans took a 6-0 lead at the 8:20 mark of the second quarter.
The Dolphins cut the lead to 6-3 on a 44-yard field goal by kicker Jason Sanders with 4:13 left in the second quarter.
The Titans stretched the lead before halftime with some great execution in the final seconds of the half. After getting the ball at their own 44-yard line with 16 seconds and no time outs, Rudolph completed a 26-yard pass to receiver Tyler Boyd, and Rudolph and the offense ran down the field in time to spike it with one second left.
That’s when Folk came on to kick his third field goal of the night, this one from 47 yards, and the Titans led 9-3 at the half.
The Dolphins cut the lead to 9-6 on a 56-yard field goal by Sanders with 9:02 left in the third quarter.
The Titans finally busted through for a touchdown midway through the third quarter.
Following a 41-yard run by Pollard, running back Tyjae Spears lined up in the Wildcat, took the direct snap, and then he scooted in for a seven-yard touchdown run to give the Titans a 16-6 lead with six minutes left in the third quarter.
Folk added another long field goal, this time from 51 yards, to give the Titans a 19-6 lead with 36 seconds left in the third quarter.
Folk then made his fifth field goal of the night, from 29 yards, to make it 22-6 with 10:45 left.
A one-yard touchdown run by Dolphins quarterback Tyler Huntley made it 22-12 with 3:36 left, before the Titans scored on a safety in the closing minutes to make it 24-12.
A late touchdown run by Pollard made it 31-12 with 24 seconds left.
The Titans celebrated in the locker room after the game.
“Lit,” is how linebacker Ernest Jones described the scene. “We were excited. It’s hard to win in the National Football League, so getting a win is pretty exciting.”
The Titans have a bye this coming weekend. The team will return to action on October 13 at Nissan Stadium against the Indianapolis Colts.
