TENNESSEE, USA — UPDATE: The Tennessee Titans defeat the Carolina Panthers 10-17.
Bryce Young and Will Levis never faced off during college in the Southeastern Conference.
Now the rookie quarterbacks finally will meet Sunday in the NFL when Young and his Carolina Panthers (1-9) visit Levis and the Titans (3-7) in Music City.
“I've definitely watched him from afar and been really impressed with his whole process, and he’s a heck of a quarterback,” Levis said of Young. “Was really fun watching him, comparing myself to the other quarterbacks in the draft class. (He) did some great things on Saturdays. He’s been doing some great things on Sundays.”
The No. 1 overall pick in April has taken a beating that cost him one start, and he has nearly as many interceptions (eight) as touchdown passes (nine).
First-year coach Frank Reich knows whether the 5-foot-10 Young could handle a pounding at this level was a big question coming into the draft.
“He physically is one tough dude," Reich said. "Never wants to come out, can take hits. I think that’s a credit to his physical toughness and his tenacity. Yeah, that’s been week in and week out. He doesn’t flinch.”
The Titans traded up to No. 33 to select Levis out of Kentucky, and this will be the fifth start for the fourth quarterback drafted overall after a sprained ankle sidelined veteran Ryan Tannehill.
Three of Levis' first four starts came on the road. He is 73 of 124 for 857 yards passing with six touchdowns and only two interceptions despite being sacked 12 times. Levis doubled the number of TD passes Tannehill managed in his first six starts in his NFL debut.
In that span, the 6-foot-4 Levis has shown off his strong arm with four TD passes of 30 yards or more matching Tua Tagovailoa for Miami for most in the NFL since Week 8. That includes a 43-yarder to DeAndre Hopkins in the 34-14 loss in Jacksonville last week.
Both rookie quarterbacks are 1-3 over the past four games, down to the same three-game skid coming into Sunday.
The Carolina rookie is 83 of 137 for 716 yards with three TD passes and four interceptions while being sacked 20 times. Young has been sacked 36 times already, including seven alone in last week's 33-10 loss to Dallas.
“I have to be better, regardless of what’s going on or I have to be able to control and manage stuff, still try to find positives,” Young said. “We all take that mindset as a unit. Obviously, we want to make sure that there’s going to be great units. There’s going to be great players in the NFL.”
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