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Tennessee Titans score vs. Atlanta Falcons: Live NFL updates for Will Levis debut

nick suss and nick gray, nashville tennessean
·11 min read

The Tennessee Titans will try to score their first win in a month when they host the Atlanta Falcons this weekend.

The Titans (2-4) host the Falcons (4-3) at Nissan Stadium in Nashville on Sunday (noon, CBS). Following back-to-back losses and an open week, the Titans aim to get back in the win column but will have to do so after trading one of their franchise cornerstones and with a backup quarterback.

Quarterback Ryan Tannehill is out with an ankle injury, opening the door for rookie Will Levis and second-year Malik Willis to play. Titans coach Mike Vrabel has maintained through the week that Levis and Willis will both play in the event that Tannehill can't, and Levis will get the start.

The other big adjustment for the Titans is moving on to life after safety Kevin Byard. The Titans traded Byard to the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday, ending the two-time All Pro's seven-plus-year tenure with the team. Sunday will be the first time the Titans play a game without Byard on the field since the end of the 2015 season.

Sunday will also be the first time the Titans wear their Houston Oilers throwback uniforms this season. It's alumni weekend in Nashville, and more than 100 former Titans and Oilers will be on hand as the franchise wears the uniforms they wore from 1981-98 for the first time since becoming the Tennessee Titans.

Follow below for live updates as the Titans host the Falcons.

Tennessee Titans vs. Atlanta Falcons live score updates

FINAL SCORE: Titans 28, Falcons 23

Fourth quarter

1:33 left: Van Jefferson, the former Ravenwood High School star, drops a fourth down pass. Game over.

2:31 left: Levis sits down and takes a sack on third down to keep the clock rolling. Falcons can take the lead, but has no timeouts and 87 yards to go.

Falcons back within a score

3:46 left: Heinicke to Scotty Miller for an 9-yard touchdown pass. PAT good.

Titans 28, Falcons 23

5:38 left: Heinicke to Jefferson on fourth down moves the sticks.

Will Levis throws 4th touchdown pass of the game

6:59 left: Levis throws a dime to Nick Westbrook-Ikhine for a 33-yard touchdown. Absolute dart. Levis has four TD passes today.

PAT good. What a day for the rookie QB.

Titans 28, Falcons 16.

9:40 left: Tyjae Spears blasts through the left side for 23 yards. Titans driving.

10:27 left: Levis is fine and is back out with the Titans offense. He makes a nice 3rd and 4 throw to Okonkwo to move the chains.

12:05 left: Third down DPI penalty is picked up, and it was on an incomplete deep pass to Van Jefferson that would have been a big gain for the Falcons via the flag.

12:29 left: Levis is hit on third down and throws incomplete. He goes straight to the injury tent. Titans will punt.

Bijan Robinson TD run cuts Titans lead to one score

14:22 left: Bijan Robinson runs around the left edge on 3rd and 1 and scores from 13 yards out. PAT good.

Titans 21, Falcons 16

Third quarter

33 seconds left: Hodge is the Falcons playmaker of note today, breaking away from a handful of Titans defenders and rumbling for 53 yards. Falcons deep into Titans territory.

Will Levis' third TD pass to DeAndre Hopkins is the longest yet

1:46 left: Will Levis play-action deep shot to a wide open DeAndre Hopkins for a 61-yard touchdown. This offense looks much better today. Levis just surpassed Ryan Tannehill's touchdown pass total, by the way. He is 15-of-23 from 188 yards and three touchdowns.

Titans 21, Falcons 9

2:59 left: Derrick Henry begins the next Titans drive with a burst for 14 yards. He has 67 yards on 12 carries today.

3:06 left: Once again, Heinicke is flushed on third down and the Titans hold the Falcons to a field goal try.

Koo's 39-yard field goal is good. Titans 14, Falcons 9

3:57 left: Taylor Heinicke is dealing, with KhaDarel Hodge getting a third and long catch at the line to gain. Heinicke then finds Drake London for 21 yards. Falcons inside the Titans' 25.

No doubt that Desmond Ridder has been benched by Arthur Smith and the Falcons.

7:32 left: Titans go for it on 4th and 3 from inside Atlanta territory, and Treylon Burks is ruled short of the line to gain on a rub route in which Hopkins was called for pass interference anyway.

Sure looked like Burks made the first down line marker, but that would only allow the penalty to be enforced. After review, that is exactly what happens. OPI is enforced, and the Titans will punt.

12:06 left: Younghoe Koo's 49-yard field goal is just good. Heinicke was better than Ridder on that first drive but was flushed out on third down and forced to throw the ball away to settle for the FG.

CBS reported that Ridder was checked for a concussion but cleared.

Titans 14, Falcons 6

Taylor Heinicke replaces Desmond Ridder at QB

15:00 left: Falcons will receive the second half kickoff, and Taylor Heinicke is in at quarterback for Atlanta. Ridder was 8-of-12 for 71 yards and struggled to string plays together while being sacked five times in the first half.

Second quarter

HALFTIME: Titans 14, Falcons 3

28 seconds left: Titans get good field position, but a penalty and a Levis overthrow forces a punt away before halftime.

1:44 left: Chris Hubbard is down, and he'll walk off. Petit-Frere moves to right tackle, and Andre Dillard is at left tackle.

A third down screen pass is snuffed out. Titans will punt.

1:55 left: Chig Okonkwo is wide open, but he drops a Levis pass in his hands. That would have been a big gain into Falcons territory. Big mistake.

4:08 left: Jack Gibbens and company sacks Ridder. Titans have had four first-half sacks of Ridder. Atlanta has 95 total yards.

Will Levis throws second TD pass to DeAndre Hopkins of first half

5:32 left: And after a Willis keeper, Levis returns to the game and throws a touchdown pass to a sprinting DeAndre Hopkins over the middle.

The Titans offense is awake. Titans 14, Falcons 3

6:05 left: Titans get a third down conversion via a Chig Okonkwo carry, and Malik Willis comes into the game to some boos from the Nissan Stadium crowd.

Desmond Ridder, turnover machine

8:17 left: After a couple Falcons first downs, the Titans starting defensive line rotates back into the game. Jeffery Simmons swats the ball out of Desmond Ridder's hands on the next play, and Azeez Al-Shaair recovers in Falcons territory.

Ridder fumbled three times last week against Tampa Bay.

10:21 left: Levis throws another nice deep ball to Burks, but he can't stay inbounds on third down. Tennessee is going to need Burks to make these plays.

10:45 left: The Titans defensive line is controlling the Falcons offense right now. Falcons three-and-out and will punt.

12:18 left: After a Falcons punt, the Titans move the ball a little bit but are stymied by a Bud Dupree sack. Ryan Stonehouse pins Atlanta deep.

First quarter

Will Levis throws long TD to DeAndre Hopkins

2:28 left: Will Levis and DeAndre Hopkins have their first touchdowns as Tennessee Titans. Levis finds Hopkins on a play-action pass for a 47-yard touchdown on a 1-on-1 deep shot. Nice throw by Levis and good adjustment by Hopkins in navigating A.J. Terrell's coverage.

Titans 7, Falcons 3

4:30 left: Jeffery Simmons sack. Falcons will punt.

5:52 left: Levis again throws short on third down, but he's not forcing anything so far and looks comfortable in the pocket. Titans will punt. No Malik Willis on that drive.

6:25 left: Nice throw for Levis on a deep shot to Treylon Burks (off of his back foot), but Richie Grant deflects the ball away at the last second. Burks will need to make a better play on that ball.

Titans convert fake punt

7:09 left: Titans go three-and-out, as Levis throws a yard short of the market. BUT there's a fake punt, and Amani Hooker pushes the pile for a first down.

9:51 left: Harold Landry sacks Desmond Ridder on third down, and Younghoe Koo's 31-yard field goal is good.

Falcons 3, Titans 0

Will Levis starts, but Malik Willis fumbles away a high snap

13:21 left: Will Levis sneaks for a first down, and here comes Malik Willis.

Willis fumbles a high shotgun snap and the Falcons recover. Not good, and the inconsistency behind/under center was the concern if the Titans do actually rotate Levis and Willis.

15:00 left: Titans will receive the opening kickoff. Here comes Will Levis.

Will Levis will start for the Titans at quarterback

Will Levis will start for the Titans at quarterback today. He was announced with the offensive starters during pregame introductions.

First look at the Oilers throwback uniforms

THROWBACK UNIFORMS: Why the Titans are wearing Houston Oilers uniforms against the Falcons

Titans inactives

Ryan Tannehill, as announced Friday, is inactive. Roger McCreary and Rashad Weaver are also inactive for the Titans today vs. Atlanta.

The full inactives:

  • QB Ryan Tannehill

  • CB Roger McCreary

  • TE Josh Whyle

  • WR Colton Dowell

  • DE/OLB Rashad Weaver

  • OLB Caleb Murphy

  • OL Jaelyn Duncan

INACTIVES: Tennessee Titans inactive players: See who isn't playing vs. Atlanta Falcons

What channel is the Titans-Falcons game on today?

Tennessee Titans vs. Atlanta Falcons will air live on CBS, with streaming options available on Fubo, which offers a free trial to potential subscribers.

Beth Mowins will handle play-by-play duties for CBS, with James Lofton and Jay Feely as the color commentators and Amanda Guerra as the sideline reporter.

More: Watch Titans vs. Falcons live on Fubo (free trial)

Titans vs. Falcons series history

Series record: The Titans lead the all-time series 8-7.

Last time: The Titans beat the Falcons 24-10 on Sept. 29, 2019

Last Falcons win: 10-7 on Oct. 25, 2015

Last Titans win: 24-10 on Sept. 29, 2019

Titans vs. Falcons start time

  • Date: Sunday, Oct. 29

  • Time: Noon CT

  • Location: Nissan Stadium (Nashville)

The Titans and Falcons will kick off at noon CT at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee.

Titans vs. Falcons betting odds

Odds courtesy of BetMGM as of Friday, Oct. 27.

  • Spread: Falcons (-2.5)

  • Over/under: 36.5

  • Moneyline: Titans +110 | Falcons -140

Titans 2023 schedule

All times CT

  • Sept. 10: at New Orleans (L, 16-15)

  • Sept. 17: L.A. Chargers (W, 27-24 OT)

  • Sept. 24: at Cleveland (L, 27-3)

  • Oct. 1: Cincinnati (W, 27-3)

  • Oct. 8: at Indianapolis (L, 23-16)

  • Oct. 15: Baltimore (L 24-16)

  • Oct. 29: Atlanta, noon, CBS

  • Nov. 2: at Pittsburgh, 7:15 p.m., Amazon Prime (how to subscribe)

  • Nov. 12: at Tampa Bay, noon, CBS

  • Nov. 19: at Jacksonville, noon, CBS

  • Nov. 26: Carolina, noon, Fox

  • Dec. 3: Indianapolis, noon, CBS

  • Dec. 11: at Miami, 7:15 p.m., ESPN

  • Dec. 17: Houston, noon, CBS

  • Dec. 24: Seattle, noon, CBS

  • Dec. 31: at Houston, noon, Fox

  • TBD: Jacksonville, TBD, TBD

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Falcons 2023 schedule

all times CT

  • Sept. 10: Carolina (W, 24-10)

  • Sept. 17: Green Bay (W, 25-24)

  • Sept. 24: at Detroit (L, 20-6)

  • Oct. 1: at Jacksonville (L, 23-7)

  • Oct. 8: Houston (W, 21-19)

  • Oct. 15: Washington (L, 24-16)

  • Oct. 22: at Tampa Bay (W, 16-13)

  • Oct. 29: at Tennessee, noon, CBS

  • Nov. 5: Minnesota, noon, FOX

  • Nov. 12: at Arizona, 3:05 p.m., CBS

  • Nov. 26: New Orleans, noon, FOX

  • Dec. 3: at N.Y. Jets, noon, FOX

  • Dec. 10: Tampa Bay, noon, CBS

  • TBD: at Carolina, TBD

  • Dec. 24: Indianapolis, noon, FOX

  • Dec. 31: at Chicago, noon, CBS

  • TBD: at New Orleans, TBD, TBD

Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at nsuss@gannett.com. Follow Nick on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @nickusss.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee Titans score vs Falcons: Live NFL Week 8 updates for Will Levis debut