In his first career NFL start, Will Levis dazzled.
No one knew what to expect from the rookie quarterback, and he ended up surprising everyone — including his family — with a four-touchdown performance to help the Tennessee Titans beat the Atlanta Falcons 28-23. (He even opened the door to an awesome DeAndre Hopkins quote.)
But even though Levis shined, his backup and second-year Titans quarterback Malik Willis still received occasional snaps in a competition. With Tennessee playing at home, this led to a lot of strange booing of Willis by his team’s own fans. In his postgame press conference, Levis made sure to highlight this discrepancy, crediting Willis for helping him and the offense prepare. What’s more, he asked Titans fans to “treat him [Willis] correctly” next time.
Phew. Now that’s a great teammate:
Asked Will Levis about being the spark the #Titans needed. He wound up addressing the boos for Malik Willis. pic.twitter.com/0hNjMKWMTx
— Paul Kuharsky (@PaulKuharskyNFL) October 29, 2023
Levis was under no obligation to stump for Willis. But even after the best performance of his young pro football career, he stood up for his teammate and friend. That is him showing off some remarkable character and leadership.
This was how Twitter reacted
Leadership https://t.co/7vUIRShOLx
— Trill Withers (@TylerIAm) October 29, 2023
This man is a leader https://t.co/a2g0mlersy
— Justin Graver (@titansfilmroom) October 29, 2023
Tannehill pack the bags https://t.co/HJKxnMbIp9
— d. (@_312DARIUS) October 29, 2023
Hats off to the kid 💪🏽 Balled & stood up for his brother post-game… that’s a complete performance.
Wasn’t big on him in the draft to be honest, will definitely be paying attention now.
Respect! https://t.co/Oq8ElULHB2
— Coach Trey Stewart (@TreyStewartNIL) October 29, 2023
Regardless of where he went to college this was a classy move by Levis. Hope the guy succeeds , hate me all you want. https://t.co/IXT3hQJDL0
— Adam (@SportsWiseGuy73) October 29, 2023
Great answer. I get the frustration by the fans but booing your guy when he hasn’t even done anything yet is never cool https://t.co/USDaJKjcqY
— Toji Fushiguro (@Prothro92) October 29, 2023
This right here is as impressive as the highlight reel passes.
The knock on him coming out was questions about maturity and self-awareness. This sounds like he has that figured out, and is a really good sign. See what he does going forward. https://t.co/B7kVCO6Tjj
— Andrew Donaldson (@four4thefire) October 29, 2023
Bro is going to win over Titans fans VERY fast. https://t.co/k3GVhDg5fk
— boltzgalaxy (@boltzgalaxy) October 29, 2023
Love this. Even in competition, and both Levis and Willis were competing for snaps, be the type of person to uplift others. https://t.co/LoSpW1VvU7
— Robert Winsler (@ProfWinsler) October 29, 2023
