(Editor’s note: This is excerpted from Mike Sando’s Pick Six of Nov. 25, 2024.)
4. Titans coach Brian Callahan loved how quarterback Will Levis played Sunday. It was a performance for the ages, in a way.
Will Levis took eight sacks and threw a pick six for the Tennessee Titans against the Houston Texans.
According to Pro Football Reference, which has unofficial sack data since 1960 (sacks became official in 1982), this was the 36th time since then that an NFL quarterback checked both those dubious boxes — at least eight sacks, at least one pick six — in the same game.
Here’s the deal: Levis was already on the list, despite Sunday marking only his 17th career start. He took eight sacks and threw a pick six in a 30-14 defeat to Green Bay in Week 3.
The difference Sunday was that Levis’ Titans won the game. Levis played a positive role in the outcome as well, completing 18 of 24 passes for 278 yards and two touchdowns. But the Titans’ 32-27 victory over the Texans was an outlier among outliers. Starting quarterbacks are now 3-33 (.083) since 1960 when taking eight sacks and having an interception returned for a touchdown.
Levis is the only quarterback to appear twice on the list. His penchant for taking sacks was already on my radar entering Week 12. I’d been looking for any statistical category for Levis that correlated with Tennessee winning. The answer was clear: Levis’ sack EPA was the key. His ratio of sack EPA in victories versus defeats was the most lopsided through any quarterback’s first 16 starts since 2007, per TruMedia.
That changed Sunday when the Titans lost 10.8 EPA on his sacks but still won the game.
The table below stacks Levis’ starts from best to worst sack EPA. The correlation with winning is stark.
| Yr-Wk | Opponent | Result | Levis Sack EPA |
|---|---|---|---|
|
2024-4
|
 Miami Dolphins |
W, 31-12
|
+0.0
|
|
2024-6
|
 Indianapolis Colts |
L, 20-17
|
+0.0
|
|
2023-12
|
 Carolina Panthers |
W, 17-10
|
-1.1
|
|
2023-8
|
 Atlanta Falcons |
W, 28-23
|
-1.7
|
|
2023-13
|
Indianapolis Colts |
L, 31-28
|
-1.8
|
|
2023-14
|
Miami Dolphins |
W, 28-27
|
-2.0
|
|
2023-11
|
 Jacksonville Jaguars |
L, 34-14
|
-5.1
|
|
2023-9
|
 Pittsburgh Steelers |
L, 20-16
|
-5.5
|
|
2023-10
|
 Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
L, 20-6
|
-6.0
|
|
2024-10
|
 Los Angeles Chargers |
L, 27-17
|
-6.0
|
|
2023-17
|
 Houston Texans |
L, 26-3
|
-7.5
|
|
2024-1
|
 Chicago Bears |
L, 24-17
|
-7.7
|
|
2024-11
|
 Minnesota Vikings |
L, 23-13
|
-7.9
|
|
2024-2
|
 New York Jets |
L, 24-17
|
-8.7
|
|
2023-15
|
Houston Texans |
L, 19-16
|
-8.8
|
|
2024-12
|
Houston Texans |
W, 32-27
|
-10.8
|
|
2024-3
|
 Green Bay Packers |
L, 30-14
|
-16.2
|
Why so many sacks?
“I don’t think he’s naturally instinctive,” an offensive coach who studied quarterbacks in the 2023 draft said. “Bad things happen as a result.”
Callahan, who raised some eyebrows by using the word “dumb” to characterize a Levis fumble against the Jets in his Week 2 postgame news conference, sounded much different Sunday.
“I thought he played for the most part fantastic, particularly in the first half,” Callahan said. “You throw interceptions sometimes. To see him come back and fight was great. But I really was happy with the way he played. He put some great balls down the field. He did some really nice things and he protected the ball well outside the interception. That is what quarterbacking looks like.”
(Photos: Tim Warner / Getty Images)
