On Saturday, the Tennessee Titans will host the San Francisco 49ers as both teams kick off their three-game preseason slate. The 49ers play their first game since an overtime Super Bowl loss, while the Titans enter a new era under head coach Brian Callahan.
Here’s everything you need to know about this Week 1 preseason matchup between the 49ers and Titans, including how to watch, how to listen, the start time, and more.
San Francisco 49ers at Tennessee Titans
- Start time: Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, 7 p.m. ET
- Channel: Local
- Live stream options: NFL+
- Radio stations: San Francisco 49ers Radio Network, Titans Radio Network
- Starting QBs: TBD, Will Levis
- Betting lines:
- Spread: TEN -4
- Total: 39.5
- Moneyline: TEN -205, SF +170
Today’s next NFL game sees the San Francisco 49ers heading to Nissan Stadium to take on the Tennessee Titans.
San Francisco got so close yet again. Since becoming head coach in 2017, Kyle Shanahan has led the 49ers to four NFC Conference Championship Games and two Super Bowls. And yet, they have not gotten to hoist the Lombardi Trophy, a feeling San Francisco has yearned for since 1994.
They plan to run it back again as Brock Purdy leads the offense out for his third season. Outside of a rough three-game stretch from Week 6-8, when San Francisco was missing a fair amount of players due to injury, and a poor performance against the red-hot Ravens in Week 16, Purdy showed us exactly what he could do the year before: take what the defense gave him and not make stupid mistakes.
The defense still has notable names, as DE Nick Bosa and LBs Dre Greenlaw and Fred Warner are still with the team. However, the 2024 offseason saw the loss of Javon Kinlaw and Arik Armstead on the interior defensive line.
San Francisco brought in Jordan Elliot to add to the rotation, but the 49ers will need someone to step up beside Javon Hargrave. They also anxiously await the return of safety Talanoa Hufanga.
Meanwhile, the Titans had a complete makeover this offseason. Shortly after the 2023 regular season, Tennessee and former head coach Mike Vrabel agreed to part ways, as it was clear the franchise was headed towards a rebuild. The Titans hired Brian Callahan to take over, and thus, the changes began.
Veteran Ryan Tannehill is no longer with the team, as the offense is now in Will Levis’ hands. The second-year QB took over in Week 8 of the 2023 season and didn’t do too badly, completing 58.4% of his passes with eight TDs to four INTs. Now, with an entire NFL season and another offseason to prepare, will he be the answer under center Tennessee is looking for?
While Derrick Henry provided some relief to the quarterback the past six seasons, the First-team All-Pro RB signed with the Ravens in free agency. The Titans didn’t leave Levis hanging as they signed former Cowboys RB Tony Pollard to a three-year, $21.75 million contract.
Pollard wasn’t the only new playmaker acquired. The Titans also signed WR Calvin Ridley to a four-year, $92 million contract and WR Tyler Boyd to a one-year, $2.4 million contract. Rounded out with Deandre Hopkins, Treylon Burks, TE Chigoziem Okonkwo, and Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, the Titans have quite a few options for Willis to toss the rock to. Tennessee lacked quality pass catchers in years past, but that won’t be an excuse in 2024.
Titans vs. 49ers Betting Preview
The San Francisco 49ers will enter the preseason with a good idea of several of their starting options, so we could see them taking the preseason lightly. Last season, they were beaten pretty comfortably in two of their three games, as they tended to test out their depth more so than their opponents.
The Titans are in a very different situation, with uncertainty over a number of their offensive roles. Most importantly, they have Will Levis as their starter, but Mason Rudolph will be desperate to prove he deserves that role. It feels like Tennessee has more to play with more starters, but are those starters considerably better than the 49ers’ depth?
For more betting analysis, make sure to check out PFN’s Week 1 preseason picks and predictions.
Fantasy Players To Watch
Titans QB Will Levis
Under former head coach Mike Vrabel, the Titans did not play starters in the preseason. New head coach Bill Callahan comes from Cincinnati, where they never played starters in the preseason either. It’s entirely possible we don’t see anyone of relevance take the field.
Given that Will Levis is only in his second season and his first as the unquestioned starter, it seems more likely than not that he sees some action. Levis’ progress as a passer is paramount to the fantasy values of every Titan.
For a team that wasn’t particularly good last year, the Titans sure have a bunch of fantasy-relevant options. Levis appearing to have taken a huge step forward would be a strong indicator all Titans are being undervalued in fantasy drafts.
49ers: WR Ricky Pearsall
The 2024 49ers are going to look very much like the 2023 49ers. Christian McCaffrey, Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel Sr., and George Kittle will see just about all of the touches in this offense.
With one of Aiyuk or Samuel almost certainly gone after this season, the 49ers drafted their WR2 of the future, Ricky Pearsall. While Pearsall is unlikely to make much of an impact this season, there’s a very high chance Aiyuk and Samuel won’t both play every game this year. Pay attention to how Pearsall does in preseason action, as he would be the primary beneficiary if one of the 49ers’ top two WRs had to miss time.
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