Making his first career start in the NFL, former Liberty quarterback Malik Willis led the Tennessee Titans to a 17-10 win over the Houston Texans.
Willis didn’t have to do a lot as running back Derrick Henry dominated the game on the ground. He rushed for 219 yards and two touchdowns to carry the Titans to the win in the absence of starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill.
Willis only attempted 10 passes, completing six of them for 55 yards with one interception. He carried the ball five times for 12 yards in the game and was knocked out at the one yard line on a third and goal run before Henry carried the ball in for a touchdown on 4th down.
Willis got the nod as Tannehill has been dealing with an illness and ankle injury suffered in last week’s game against the Indianapolis Colts. It marked the third game Willis has played in this season, as he saw playing time in Week 2 against the Buffalo Bills and got three snaps in last week’s game against the Colts.
In Monday Night Football during Week 2, Willis made his NFL debut.With 3:49 left in the third quarter, Willis entered the game and became the first rookie quarterback to play in the 2022 regular season. Like the rest of the night for the Titans, it was a less than spectacular debut for the rookie. Willis completed just one of four passes for 6 yards while rushing for 16 yards on 4 carries while losing one fumble.
A third round pick in April’s draft, Willis had a solid preseason with the Titans where he beat out Logan Woodside to earn the backup quarterback spot on the roster behind Tannehill. During the preseason, Willis completed 28 of 51 passes for 317 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception while rushing 14 times for 159 yards and a touchdown.
Willis is the first Liberty quarterback to even make it onto an active NFL roster as a quarterback and became the first to make a start in the NFL.
