Malik Willis, run game lead way as Tennessee Titans smother Minnesota Vikings 24-16

MINNEAPOLIS — Malik Willis had a whole game to lead the Tennessee Titans offense and he came away with a win, even if he didn't have a dominant passing day.

Tennessee took down the Minnesota Vikings 24-16 on Saturday in its second game of the preseason. Willis was 10-for-17 passing for 85 yards with a touchdown and an interception, and also added 91 yards on 11 carries counting kneel-downs. His touchdown pass was a 1-yard quick out thrown to Julius Chestnut, who also rushed for a 5-yard touchdown and broke free for a 55-yard gain in the second half.

Rookie running back Tyjae Spears scored the Titans' first touchdown on a 33-yard scamper that featured a highlight hurdle just past the line of scrimmage to burst into the open field for an untouched score. In total, the Titans rushed for 281 yards.

From there, the Titans' formula took effect. The strong running game let the defense set up and control the game. The defense logged three sacks, six quarterback hurries and seven pass breakups. The Vikings drove into the red zone twice but the defense held them to field goals both times.

Here are the main takeaways from the Titans' win.

Turnover issues continue

Willis threw an ugly interception in the second quarter, misreading the drop of a Vikings linebacker and throwing the ball right to him over the middle of the field. He narrowly avoided another turnover in the quarter when the ball was stripped from his hands from behind, but he recovered and instead of falling on the ball or throwing it away, he rolled to his right and was sacked for a big loss.

This follows the first preseason game where Willis was strip-sacked twice and threw an interception in that game as well. Willis has looked improved from last season in just about every way, but his struggles with ball security are big issues that need to be solved if the Titans want to be able to count on him as a backup in 2023.

Receiver (and injury) talk

The Titans got good news this week when it turned out that receiver Treylon Burks didn't suffer any structural damage to his knee when he went down in practice Wednesday. But the receiver injuries continued Saturday. Second-year target Kyle Philips left in the first quarter with a knee injury during on a punt return, and his replacement, rookie Kearis Jackson, left with a knee injury in the third quarter.

Even before Burks and Philips' injuries, the Titans' receiver room isn't particularly deep. Losing multiple explosive targets in a couple of days is the last thing this team can afford.

Another standout game off the edge

Caleb Murphy has been one of the revelations for the Titans in their two preseason games. The undrafted rookie had three tackles with a sack and a quarterback hurry in the preseason opener against Chicago and followed that up with another four tackles, two sacks and two hurries.

Murphy was the best pass rusher in Division II last season and Titans defensive coordinator Shane Bowen has said he's been impressed with Murphy's ability to acclimate to the speed of pro football after playing smaller-college football. But he isn't just a pass rusher. He also did an excellent job of setting the edge in the run game, and on one occasion he set the edge well enough to create a tackle at the line of scrimmage for defensive back Eric Garror.

The young DBs can hit

Garror shined as a physical defensive back for the second week in a row, as did safety Mike Brown. The group of young and undrafted defensive backs who tackled and performed well grew Saturday. Anthony Kendall made two stout open field tackles, one on special teams. Tyreque Jones had a pass breakup and was among the team's leading tacklers, as was cornerback Armani Marsh. Steven Jones Jr., had a pass breakup of his own.

It's a good problem to have, but the Titans are going to have to face down a tough decision when it comes to trimming the roster because of how well the bottom-of-the-roster defensive backs are playing.

A little bit of fun

Willis was the Titans' only truly active quarterback Saturday. Rookie Will Levis was dressed out but sidelined with a lower body injury sustained Thursday. Veteran Ryan Tannehill did not play, as is almost always the case in the preseason. So when the Titans needed someone to come in to replace Willis for two plays toward the end of the third quarter, they turned to third-year receiver Mason Kinsey to take some snaps.

Kinsey took two snaps at quarterback, handing the ball off twice. He wasn't asked to throw the ball, but for a player competing to make a roster spot, having some extra versatility and the trust of the coaches can't be a bad thing.

Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at nsuss@gannett.com. Follow Nick on Twitter @nicksuss.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Malik Willis, run game impress as Tennessee Titans defeat Vikings