Titans Beat 49ers 17-13 in Preseason Opener at Nissan Stadium

NASHVILLE – In the team’s first dress rehearsal for the 2024 season, the Titans provided several reasons to be optimistic.

In the same game, the Titans also showed they have plenty of room for improvement.

Welcome to the preseason, which the Titans started with a 17-13 win over the 49ers on Saturday night, in the debut of new head coach Brian Callahan.

“I thought our 1s went out and played pretty good offensively, scoring on our two possessions, which was jumpstarted by our return game,” Callahan said. “Defensively we had a slow start on the first drive, but we bounced back and dug in a little bit after that.

“I thought for the most part we played clean, and I thought we played an efficient brand of football offensively. So that was a good start for us.”

As Callahan stated, it was a suspect start for the Titans defense, which allowed the 49ers to drive the field on their opening possession to take a 7-0 lead on a four-yard touchdown run by Jordan Mason.

But the Titans answered back in a hurry, scoring two touchdowns with quarterback Will Levis at the helm to take a 14-7 lead early in the second quarter.

After Levis scored on a one-yard touchdown run, running back Tyjae Spears scampered in on a four-yard touchdown.

Levis and the first-team offense played two series, and Levis completed 4-of-5 passes for 35 yards in his game action after being relieved by quarterback Mason Rudolph early in the second quarter. Levis posted a passer rating of 85.3.

The Titans led 14-7 at the half, and Levis was pleased with the performance, and the win.

“With our group out there,” Levis said, “I felt we did a good job of everyone being on their stuff. We just have to keep getting better at it.”

Rudolph played into the third quarter before being relieved by Malik Willis. Rudolph completed 10-of-17 passes for 126 yards and a passer rating of 82.0 in the contest, and he directed a drive that stalled near the 49ers goal line in the second quarter.

Willis directed a seven-play, 49-yard drive that was capped off with a 34-yard field goal by kicker Brayden Narveson to make it 17-7 with 12:09 left in the contest. Willis finished the contest 5-of-7 for 38 yards, with a passer rating of 84.2.

The 49ers cut the lead to 17-13 with 8:26 left on a six-yard touchdown run by quarterback Joshua Dobbs.

Tennessee’s first team defense was without Jeffery Simmons, Harold Landry, L’Jarius Sneed, Chidobe Awuzie and Quandre Diggs, among others, on Saturday night.

The defense, playing against 49ers quarterback Brandon Allen in the first half, settled down after a tough start and made plays with first- and second-teamers on the field in the game’s first 30 minutes, before the 49ers managed to score again in the fourth quarter.

Titans defensive lineman Keondre Coburn sacked Dobbs for a 15-yard loss on fourth down in the final minutes, and linebacker Chance Campbell intercepted Dobbs on the final play of the game to preserve the win.

The Titans return to action next Saturday at Nissan Stadium in preseason game No.2 vs the Seahawks.

“We have to get used to winning,” Levis said. “Winning is fun, and there’s a certain responsibility that comes with it. So, hopefully we can do our best in all these games and get a feel for that winning atmosphere, and keep rolling.”