Levis hopes Titans can 'prove a lot of people wrong'

Tennessee Titans quarterback Will Levis has a point to prove and is eager to silence his team's naysayers this season.

"We know we've got a tough schedule, and all we want to do is play within ourselves, learn from each other, love each other, and prove a lot of people wrong," Levis told CBS Sports' Bryan DeArdo. "We know that there's a lot of doubters out there that don't think that we're gonna be worth anything this year."

Levis became the unquestioned starter after the team's Week 7 win over the Atlanta Falcons last season. The Kentucky product joined Fran Tarkenton and Marcus Mariota as the only quarterbacks to throw four touchdowns in their first career start.

The former second-round pick led Tennessee to an improbable win against the Miami Dolphins after his team went down 27-13 with 4:34 left in the contest. Levis connected with DeAndre Hopkins to narrow the deficit and helped set up the go-ahead score on the following drive.

The 25-year-old is embracing his gunslinger label and understands the comparisons to Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre.

"I think a lot of people, when they hear gunslinger, they think about recklessness." Levis said. "I definitely feel like I was a little too reckless in my college career and tried to make some throws that I would want to take back. I changed that mentality a bit in my play last year. Just realizing at the level that I was playing at where I had to be that much more careful with the ball."

Levis finished his first pro season passing for 1,808 yards, eight touchdowns, and four interceptions, and he completed 58.4% of his throws.

The Titans have made several changes to their roster ahead of Levis' second year. Lloyd Cushenberry and JC Latham were brought in to help improve the offensive line. Tennessee acquired both Calvin Ridley and Tyler Boyd to assemble a potent passing attack alongside Hopkins. Tony Pollard is set to be the primary ball carrier after Derrick Henry's exit in free agency.

Levis is confident the additions and his own development will push the Titans far this season.

"We want to make a playoff run. That's the biggest goal for us," Levis said. "Obviously, every team's goal is going to win a Super Bowl, but we're going to take it one game at a time."