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Backup QB Mason Rudolph led the Titans to their first win by not doing much

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Backup QB Mason Rudolph led the Titans to their first win by not doing much

MIAMI – Mason Rudolph knows what he did.

“I didn't do much, that's for sure,” he said after leading the Tennessee Titans to a 31-12 victory over the Miami Dolphins on Monday, replacing starting quarterback Will Levis. It was Brian Callahan's first win as Titans coach and the team's first of the 2024 season.

Levis left the game with a shoulder injury in the first quarter and did not return. So along trotted out Rudolph, the seven-year pro whom the Titans added in March as a veteran arm behind Levis on the depth chart.

Rudolph's performance did nothing to light the competitive fire in Callahan's eyes. In his postgame press conference, Callahan reiterated that Levis will be the team's starting quarterback when healthy. Callahan said the decision to keep Rudolph in the game was more about not putting Levis in unnecessary danger than about what Rudolph did.

But Rudolph did what was necessary for the Titans (1-3) to finally take a spot in the win column. He completed nine of his 17 pass attempts for just 85 yards, setting a career low for passing yards in a cleanup appearance. Only two quarterbacks have won appearances this season with as many attempts as Rudolph and a passer rating as low (67.0). One of them was Chicago Bears rookie Caleb Williams, who made his NFL debut against these very Titans.

ESTES | The Titans won a game! (Without Will Levis)

Still, under Rudolph's watch, the Titans' offense was more than enough to win. In fact, it ended a 38-game streak of not being able to score 30 or more points in a game. The Titans did this less with a Callahan-style air-it-out pass brigade and more with a classic Titans ball control philosophy.

“I knew what style of play we had to play to win this game,” Callahan said. “I knew they were going to have some problems offensively. I knew we would be able to run the ball effectively, lean on it and make it a physical game and make sure we had possession of the ball for as long as possible as part of the original plan of this one Things wouldn't have looked much different in the game (if Levis was healthy).

Rudolph isn't a big guy. He says he didn't give much of a motivational speech before his first ride. He basically told his teammates, “Let’s move the ball and celebrate in the end zone.”

That's what finally happened. But Rudolph's first six drives went field goal, field goal, punt, punt, field goal, punt. His first drive, which ended after 4:58 minutes, was the Titans' longest of the day in terms of possession. Rudolph led 11 drives and only one of them spanned more than 30 yards.

But he didn't turn the ball over, he wasn't pressured often and he didn't give the Dolphins' defense a chance to provide offense. After three weeks in which the Titans confidently claimed they won games when they could avoid self-inflicted mistakes, they showed the proof.

Rudolph was the quarterback of an offense in which no one caught more than two passes, no one had more than 31 receiving yards, no one gained more than 4 yards per carry and only two plays gained more than 20 yards all night. And the Titans won. Pretty decided.

“Especially in the second half when it’s a two-touchdown game, it’s about protecting the ball,” Rudolph said. “(The coaches said), 'Listen, we're not going to put you in a lot of dropback situations.' There's no reason to do that when you have a two-point lead and are running the ball.

INJURY CONVERSATION: Will Levis Injury Update: The Tennessee Titans QB left the Dolphins game with a shoulder injury

Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at [email protected]. Follow Nick on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @nicksuss.

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