SANTA CLARA, Calif. ― Let's pretend for a second that the score mattered.
The Tennessee Titans won their preseason opener on Aug. 13, beating the San Francisco 49ers 19-13 at Levi's Stadium. The Titans' starters played 21 snaps on offense and 24 snaps on defense across three series apiece, with those six series ending in a 7-7 tie. The 49ers, however, didn't play front-line starters.
Two days after the Titans took a spiritual loss from a joint practice against the 49ers, the first-team offense rebounded with a decisive, impressive 11-play, 95-yard touchdown drive to start the game. QB Cam Ward and companyconverted three third downs, with running backs Tony Pollard and Tyjae Spears combining for 54 yards and a touchdown.
After that, cracks started
to show. Ward ended his day with an erratic 5-for-12 mark, thriving on rhythm passes but struggling when he needed to extend plays. This manifested on the second drive, when Ward committed an intentional grounding penalty after scrambling nearly 20 yards backwards, then again on the third series when Ward misfired over the middle twice and likely should've been intercepted on one.
Over on defense, first-team cornerbacks Alontae Taylor and Cor'Dale Flott struggled to contain the San Francisco B- and C-squad of receivers. Flott in particular was pushed around and out-physical-ed by rookie De'Zhaun Stribling, a carry-over trend from the joint practice.
Here's more of what matters from the Titans' preseason opener.
What to make of Titans' secondary concerns?
49ers quarterbacks Brock Purdy and Mac Jones had a field day playing pitch-and-catch in joint practice, then sat out the preseason game. In came third-stringer Kurtis Rourke, who promptly went 12-for-14 with 101 yards. Against, again, the Titans' starting DBs.
Keeping everything in front of you is a virtue, and with the exception of one 32-yard deep shot, that's what the secondary did. Still, there weren't a whole lot of clear opportunities to break passes up. The 49ers were open all night, and made contested catches when they weren't.
The Will Levis saga continues
The second half of this game belonged to Will Levis, playing his first game action since 2024. It looked like 2024 too. He's got a big arm, he's a willing thrower and runner and he's a competitor. All that's still true. But he wasn't particularly accurate, he was overwhelmed by pressure and the offense didn't operate well with him leading the way. Levis finished his day 3-for-8 with 42 yards and ran four times for 22 yards.
It's not fair to judge a quarterback from one half behind a patchwork offensive line, but this mostly matches with how Levis has looked through the first month of training camp. Any artifice of competition between Levis and Mitchell Trubisky for the backup QB job seems to be evaporating.
Faith in Fernando Carmona Jr., grows
The Titans not only gave rookie Fernando Carmona Jr., the start at right guard, they also kept him in at right guard when the second-team offense came into the game. The coaches are giving Carmona a full and honest look. And in a world where the run game looked good throughout the first half, it seems like the audition's going well.
So what did the Titans really achieve this week?
Let's look at the trip to San Francisco as a whole. Offensively, it's been a good week operating base-down plays and concepts. The offense is staying ahead of schedule, and that's a good place to be early in camp. On defense, it's a little harder to find a positive but the strength of this team is still in the front seven, even if depth was strained this week.
The secondary stuff is a concern, and the offense needs to shore things up in pass protection while Ward needs to re-hone his knack for making plays from out of structure.
What's next?
The Titans return to practice in Nashville this week, welcoming the Seattle Seahawks for a joint session on Aug. 21 and a preseason game at Nissan Stadium on Aug. 23.
Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at nsuss@gannett.com. Follow Nick on X @nicksuss. Subscribe to the Talkin’ Titans newsletter for updates sent directly to your inbox.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: What happened in Titans preseason game vs 49ers, what actually mattered
