Tennessee Titans fans were booing Mike Vrabel, not Malik Willis (and other Sunday takeaways) | Estes

Looking back at a Sunday victory that was surprisingly encouraging and intriguing for a Tennessee Titans team that had supposedly quit on itself already:

1. Opinions are varied about this, so I'll go on record with mine: I don't believe Titans fans were booing quarterback Malik Willis on Sunday as much as they were booing Mike Vrabel's oddinsistence on rotating his quarterbacks.

After Sunday's 28-23 victory over the Atlanta Falcons, multiple Titans players – from Will Levis to DeAndre Hopkins to Derrick Henry – were vocal with criticism of fans at Nissan Stadium for what they perceived as boos aimed specifically at Willis.

It was understandable for them to take offense. No, Willis didn't deserve personalized boos. And, actually, it's admirable to hear players stick up for a teammate in such a way.

But in this instance, I think that misinterpreted the source of fans' anger.

It never made much sense last week when Vrabel kept insisting the Titans would rotate young quarterbacks against the Falcons. It made even less sense after Willis fumbled a shotgun snap on his first play and Levis proceeded to start playing really well.

So yeah, when Vrabel sends Willis back out there in the second quarter, you knew what was coming before you could hear it.

"If it was directed at me, great, I'll take it," Vrabel told reporters Monday. "… I'm more than OK with the plan that we had. I'm disappointed that we snapped the ball high and outside to the quarterback and that we didn't recover it. Still, I'm going to be OK with that plan."

Titans fans, evidently, were not OK with that plan.

2. After Levis' impressive, four-touchdown debut, the quarterback conversation is shifting into a debate about whether Ryan Tannehill will retain the starting job when he returns from an ankle injury.

The Titans will have some time to figure that out. I wouldn't expect Tannehill back on this short game week (and haven't all along). Levis will likely have Thursday night's road game at the Pittsburgh Steelers to validate what he showed against the Falcons.

Worth noting: Vrabel has indicated for a while that Tannehill would be the starter if healthy. However, in speaking to reporters Monday, Vrabel gave more of a wait-and-see response: "We'll get Ryan healthy and see where we're at then."

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3. Levis' QB rating of 130.5 on Sunday was higher than Tannehill's in any game since the Titans' win over the Houston Texans to end the 2021 regular season. In that game, Tannehill threw four touchdowns. Since then, he's not had more than two TD passes in any game. This season, he had two TD passes in the first six games combined.

4. The Falcons on Sunday started only one of their 14 possessions with better field position than their 25-yard line, and that was the first one after Willis' fumbled snap. The average starting point for Atlanta's final 13 possessions was its 16-yard line.

That's a big credit to Titans punter Ryan Stonehouse, and it's a big reason why Tennessee won.

5. Call Sunday's game a breakout performance for Hopkins if you want, but it wasn't that new. He's been a consistent bright spot all season for what has often been a dreary and sluggish Titans offense. Hopkins is on pace for 1,224 receiving yards, which would rank as the sixth-best season total in franchise history. A.J. Brown didn't surpass 1,075 receiving yards in any of his three Titans seasons.

6. Along those lines, Henry is also trending to easily pass 1,000 rushing yards this season, too. (His 2023 pace would put him at about 1,277 yards). The only season of the past five in which Henry didn't reach the 1,000-yard mark was when he broke his foot in 2021 and missed half the season. Even then, he still had 937 in eight games.

7. After being benched, Andre Dillard still ended up playing an important role for the Titans. He entered the game late in the second quarter as the left tackle when Chris Hubbard exited with fears of a concussion. With Hubbard out, Nicholas Petit-Frere moved from left tackle back to his 2022 spot at right tackle.

The tackle situation is of special concern with the Titans about to face Steelers pass-rushing standout T.J. Watt. His 8.5 sacks this season are tied for third-best in the NFL.

"Whoever is over there is going to have to have some help. I know that," said Vrabel of Watt.

8. It's fair game to start questioning the Titans' plans for receiver Kyle Philips, who was replaced Sunday as the punt returner after fumbling in the previous game. Philips, who has four catches this season and none longer than 10 yards, was also only out there for 26% of the offensive snaps Sunday, fifth-best among the team's receivers.

If he's not returning punts and he's that far down the list for contributions on offense, what's keeping Philips on the active roster? The Titans could be faced with an interesting decision if and when Kearis Jackson is available to return from injured reserve.

9. A bit surprising to see edge rusher Rashad Weaver as a healthy scratch for the Titans on Sunday. Weaver has been productive at times in his NFL career, but his playing time has diminished substantially since 2022. Thus far this season, Weaver only has three solo tackles and no sacks.

10. For all the scrutiny that cornerback Kristian Fulton has had this season, he's been very good as a tackler in space. Fulton had eight tackles and a pass defended on Sunday against Atlanta. He was also out there for 100% of the defensive snaps. So much for that talk of his being benched for Tre Avery.

Elijah Molden also played all 68 defensive snaps Sunday as the replacement at safety for Kevin Byard. However, safety Terrell Edmunds — who was part of the return for Byard — played 17 defensive snaps (25%) on Sunday, often entering as an extra defensive back on third-and-long. Not much acclimation there. The Titans clearly added Edmunds to contribute. Molden, however, looks like the clear starter if he's healthy.

Reach Tennessean sports columnist Gentry Estes at gestes@tennessean.com and on the X platform (formerly known as Twitter) @Gentry_Estes.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee Titans fans were booing Mike Vrabel more than Malik Willis