Tennessee Titans vs 49ers Match Player Stats

The Tennessee Titans vs 49ers Match Player Stats from the 2026 preseason opener tell a story of two teams moving in opposite directions. San Francisco’s offensive rhythm looked midseason-ready, while Tennessee’s disjointed execution left too many drives empty despite a late surge. If you only glanced at the final 27-20 scoreline, you missed the statistical chasm that defined the first three quarters.

This breakdown strips away the noise to focus entirely on the numbers that mattered inside Levi’s Stadium on Saturday, August 22. We’re not here to speculate about roster cuts or fantasy sleepers. We’re here to dissect completion charts, yards after contact, red-zone efficiency, and every metric that explains why the 49ers controlled the game long before the Titans made it interesting. No fluff, no narratives—just the raw Tennessee Titans vs 49ers Match Player Stats that will shape the coaching tape for both staffs.

Match Overview Table

Core Match Statistics Overview

The raw totals expose a one-sided efficiency contest. San Francisco averaged nearly a yard and a half more per snap and stayed on schedule with a 54 percent third-down conversion rate. The Titans, meanwhile, shot themselves in the foot repeatedly, gifting the 49ers extra possessions while failing to sustain drives of their own.

Rushing Attack Disparity

• The 49ers outrushed Tennessee by 42 yards, but the critical gap showed up in yards before contact. San Francisco running backs averaged 2.8 yards before contact per carry compared to just 1.4 for the Titans, highlighting a decisive win at the line of scrimmage.
• Tennessee’s longest run went for 14 yards. The 49ers broke off gains of 22, 18, and 17 yards on the ground, turning manageable second-down situations into high-percentage third-and-short calls.

Turnover Battle

• The Titans coughed up three turnovers, including two interceptions and a fumble inside their own territory. Those giveaways directly led to 10 San Francisco points, a margin that effectively decided the contest before the fourth quarter.
• San Francisco protected the football with only one lost fumble, and that occurred on a special-teams return. The offense itself played a clean game, taking exactly zero unnecessary risks against Tennessee’s zone-heavy looks.

Period-by-Period Analysis

First Quarter

• San Francisco marched 70 yards on the opening possession, with Brock Purdy completing all five of his attempts for 62 yards and a 12-yard touchdown strike to Brandon Aiyuk on a corner route.
• Tennessee’s first drive stalled immediately. Will Levis was sacked on third down by Yetur Gross-Matos, and a poor punt gave the 49ers the ball at midfield. Four plays later, Jake Moody drilled a 47-yard field goal.
• The Titans’ defense tightened with a three-and-out on the next series, but the offense could not cross the 40-yard line. The quarter ended with San Francisco controlling field position and the tempo.

Second Quarter

• Tennessee found life early in the second when Levis connected with Treylon Burks on a 31-yard deep post. Tyjae Spears capped the drive with a 4-yard touchdown run off left tackle.
• The 49ers responded methodically. Christian McCaffrey, playing only two series, turned a short throw into a 26-yard gain, then busted a 17-yard run. The drive stalled at the 3-yard line, and Moody knocked through a 21-yard chip shot.
• A critical Titans mistake came with 1:22 left. Levis forced a curl route into tight coverage, and cornerback Deommodore Lenoir undercut it for an interception at the San Francisco 44. The 49ers couldn’t convert before halftime, but the turnover erased Tennessee’s chance to steal momentum.

Third Quarter

• The 49ers received the second-half kickoff and put together an 11-play, 75-yard drive that consumed 6:38. Purdy found George Kittle on a seam route for 22 yards on third-and-9, then hit Aiyuk again from 8 yards out on a slant for the touchdown.
• Tennessee’s next two possessions ended with a three-and-out and a Levis fumble. Defensive tackle Javon Hargrave blew through the A-gap untouched, stripping the quarterback as he wound up. San Francisco recovered at the Tennessee 19.
• Despite the short field, the Titans defense bowed up. A Jeffery Simmons sack pushed the 49ers back, and Moody missed a 52-yard field goal wide right, keeping the deficit at 20-7.

Fourth Quarter

• Backup quarterback Malik Willis entered for Tennessee and immediately injected life. He scrambled for 23 yards on a broken play, then hit tight end Chigoziem Okonkwo for a 15-yard touchdown on a rollout.
• After a quick three-and-out by the 49ers’ second-string defense, Willis engineered a 10-play drive finished by a 2-yard Julius Chestnut plunge. The two-point try failed, making it 20-20 with 4:11 remaining.
• San Francisco’s response was ruthless. Third-string quarterback Josh Dobbs led a 7-play, 68-yard drive, capped by a 19-yard touchdown pass to rookie receiver Jalen McMillan with 0:48 left. A desperation Levis interception on the final play sealed the 27-20 final.

Tennessee Titans Player Statistics

Will Levis – Quarterback

Levis struggled mightily against a disciplined pass rush that never let him settle. Both interceptions came on throws where he predetermined his read, and his average time to throw of 2.91 seconds was far too slow against San Francisco’s front. When the pocket stayed clean, his arm talent flashed—most notably on the 31-yarder to Burks—but the consistency simply wasn’t there.

Tyjae Spears – Running Back

Spears ran hard between the tackles but found almost no daylight until the fourth quarter. His touchdown was a testament to second-effort leg drive. In the passing game, he served as a safe check-down outlet, but the 49ers tackled well in space and limited his yards after catch to a measly 9 total.

Treylon Burks – Wide Receiver

Burks was the lone bright spot in the Titans’ first-half passing attack. He won on a deep post, a back-shoulder fade, and a crossing route against zone. However, two of his four incompletions were contested-catch situations where he couldn’t hold on through contact, a trend that has dogged him since his rookie year.

Jeffery Simmons – Defensive Tackle

Simmons was virtually unblockable in third-quarter passing situations. His sack of Purdy on a stunt inside saved a touchdown, and his two run stops behind the line of scrimmage accounted for minus-four yards. The 49ers’ interior linemen had no answer when Simmons fired off the ball with a two-way go.

San Francisco 49ers Player Statistics

Brock Purdy – Quarterback

Purdy operated with surgical precision. He completed his first nine passes and spread the ball to six different receivers. His touchdown throws showcased his full toolkit: a touch pass to Aiyuk on the corner route and a laser on the slant in tight window. He faced pressure on only 18 percent of dropbacks, but when he did, his 3-for-3 completions for 44 yards demonstrated unshakeable poise.

Christian McCaffrey – Running Back

McCaffrey played only the first two series, yet he still managed 90 total yards. His 26-yard catch-and-run on a simple swing pass turned a second-and-10 into a red-zone opportunity. On the ground, he forced four missed tackles, per Pro Football Focus tracking, and looked every bit the dual-threat weapon that defenses fear.

Brandon Aiyuk – Wide Receiver

Aiyuk was Purdy’s go-to target in critical moments. He caught both of his red-zone targets for touchdowns, showing elite body control on the back-shoulder throw and crisp footwork to stay in bounds on the slant. His 78 yards led all pass-catchers, and he converted three third downs with route-running nuance that Tennessee’s defensive backs couldn’t mirror.

Javon Hargrave – Defensive Tackle

Hargrave’s penetration wrecked Tennessee’s interior blocking schemes. His forced fumble on Levis was a masterclass in recognizing the snap count, and his 1.5 sacks came on quick wins that didn’t give the quarterback a chance to step up. When Hargrave wasn’t in the backfield, he was eating double teams that freed up edge rushers.

Statistical Leaders Summary Table

Analytical Breakdowns

Why the 49ers Won

Quarterback Efficiency Disparity
The gap between Purdy and Levis was as wide as the numbers suggest. Purdy’s 77.3 percent completion rate and 9.7 yards per attempt crushed Levis’s 55.2 percent and 6.3 YPA. San Francisco’s quarterback consistently worked ahead of the chains, while Tennessee’s quarterback fell behind them and then had to force throws into coverage.

When a quarterback commits zero turnover-worthy plays against a defense that generated three, the team wins almost every time. Purdy’s decision-making was the single biggest differentiator.

Situational Football Dominance
San Francisco converted 7 of 13 third downs, and four of those conversions required eight or more yards. The Titans, by contrast, went 3-for-12 and failed on all five third-and-long situations. That discrepancy kept the 49ers offense on the field for 12 more plays and tilted field position irreversibly in the first half.

• Third-and-7+ conversions: 49ers 4-for-6, Titans 0-for-5.
• Red-zone touchdown efficiency: 49ers 2-for-3, Titans 1-for-2.

Kyle Shanahan’s play sequencing on third down, particularly the use of Kittle as an intermediate seam option against single-high looks, kept drives alive and eventually wore out Tennessee’s front.

Pressure Rate Without Blitzing
The 49ers generated a 37.5 percent pressure rate while blitzing on only 14 percent of dropbacks. Hargrave and Nick Bosa won their one-on-one matchups repeatedly, allowing the back seven to drop into coverage and clutter throwing windows. Levis saw zone coverage on 68 percent of his dropbacks and completed just 11 of 24 passes against it for 5.1 yards per attempt.

Winning with a four-man rush is the holy grail of modern defense, and the 49ers’ front delivered exactly that. Tennessee’s protection breakdowns didn’t come from exotic looks; they came from losing isolated blocks against superior talent.

Why the Titans Lost

Fatal Turnovers in Plus Territory
Tennessee moved the ball into San Francisco territory on four separate drives and came away with just seven points. Two interceptions and a fumble in 49ers territory wiped out scoring chances and gave the home team a short field twice. The Titans’ average starting field position after those turnovers was their own 13-yard line on defense, leading to 10 easy points for San Francisco.

• Drives entering SF territory: 4.
• Points off those drives: 7.
• Turnovers in SF territory: 3.

In a game decided by seven points, that level of wastefulness is indefensible. The offense showed flashes of rhythm, but the inability to protect the football in scoring range erased every good thing they did.

Third Down Offensive Ineptitude
The Titans couldn’t sustain possession because they couldn’t convert manageable third downs. They faced an average distance to go of 6.8 yards on third down, and Levis completed only 4 of 11 passes in those spots for 31 yards. The predictable pattern—run on first down, incomplete deep shot on second, obvious passing situation on third—made life easy for San Francisco’s zone-coverage rules.

When the game tightened in the fourth quarter, Malik Willis’s mobility created some third-down magic, but by then the Titans were fighting uphill against a defense that had already dictated the terms for 45 minutes.

Pass Protection Collapse
Four sacks don’t tell the full story. Levis was pressured on 15 of his 33 dropbacks, and the interior offensive line—missing its starting right guard—crumbled against Hargrave’s quickness. The resulting hurried throws led directly to both interceptions. Offensive tackles held up reasonably well on the edge, but the interior leakage forced Levis to bail into edge pressure or throw off his back foot.

Historical Context & Advanced Insights

Recent Matchup History

San Francisco has now won two straight against Tennessee, both with Purdy at quarterback. The common thread across both games: the 49ers’ ability to generate points off turnovers and dominate time of possession. In the 2025 regular-season meeting, the Titans turned the ball over twice and lost the possession battle by nearly nine minutes—a carbon copy of what unfolded on Saturday night.

Yards Per Play and Offensive Efficiency
The 49ers averaged a robust 6.1 yards per play, a figure that reflects an offense consistently creating positive gains on early downs. Tennessee’s 4.6 yards per play included a late spike from the Willis-led hurry-up drives. Through three quarters, the Titans were at 3.9 yards per play—a number that simply cannot win football games.

If you isolate first-down efficiency, the contrast sharpens further. San Francisco gained four or more yards on 61 percent of its first-down snaps. Tennessee did so on only 38 percent. That early-down failure put the offense in third-and-long quicksand, and the pass protection wasn’t built to survive in those situations.

Advanced Metric: Points Per Drive
A deeper lens comes from points per drive. The 49ers scored on five of 11 possessions (45.4 percent) with an average of 2.45 points per drive. The Titans scored on three of 10 possessions (30 percent) with an average of 2.0 points per drive, buoyed by the two late touchdowns. Remove the final two garbage-time-style scores, and the Titans’ points per drive plummeted to 0.88 through three quarters.

That number—0.88 points per possession—is a red flag for any coaching staff. It signals an offense incapable of sustaining drives, converting third downs, or finishing in the red zone. The late surge with Willis was encouraging, but it came against a prevent-style defense and backup personnel. The starting unit’s failures cannot be obscured by a frantic rally.

Game Implications & Key Lessons

What This Means for the 49ers

• Purdy’s command of the system looks sharper than ever. His 17 completions went to six different targets, a distribution pattern that makes the offense nearly impossible to key on. This depth of involvement suggests the passing game will hum regardless of which skill player draws extra attention.
• The defensive line’s ability to generate pressure without blitzing is a massive asset heading into the regular season. If Hargrave and Bosa stay healthy, San Francisco can play coverage-first defense and still harass quarterbacks. That formula wins in January.
• The only concern is the run defense against physical fronts. Tennessee’s backs averaged 4.4 yards per carry late, and some gap-discipline issues cropped up on outside zone. It’s a small sample, but it’s worth monitoring.

What This Means for the Titans

• Quarterback play remains the team’s biggest question mark. Levis’s preseason performance did nothing to settle the debate about whether he can process NFL coverages quickly enough. The two interceptions and the fumble were all decision-based mistakes, not physical limitations.
• The offensive line interior needs an immediate upgrade or schematic help. With Hargrave single-handedly collapsing the pocket, Tennessee’s guards and center were consistently put on skates. That won’t change against top-tier defensive tackles unless the blocking scheme incorporates more quick-game principles.
• The defense’s resilience in the red zone is a plus. Forcing a field goal after a turnover inside the 20 and getting a stop on fourth down showed short-area grit that can carry over. Simmons and Harold Landry flashed, and the secondary tackled well in space.

Key Lessons

• Even when total yardage is close, games are decided by turnover margin. The Titans only lost the yardage battle by 92 yards, but the minus-2 turnover differential created a 10-point swing.
• Quarterback efficiency on early downs sets the floor for offensive success. Purdy’s first-down completions kept the 49ers ahead of the chains, while Levis’s erratic first-down passing dug holes.
• Winning with a four-man rush is a cheat code. San Francisco’s 37.5 percent pressure rate without blitzing allowed coverage to blanket Tennessee’s wideouts, leading to tight windows and hurried throws.
• Red-zone performance cannot be separated from quarterback decision-making. Both of Levis’s turnovers came inside the 35-yard line, undermining any scoring opportunity.
• Late preseason momentum can be deceptive. The Titans’ 13 fourth-quarter points need to be weighed against the context of backup defenders and softer coverages. The real story was written in the first three quarters.
• When a running back can generate yards before contact, the entire offense opens up. The 2.8 vs. 1.4 yards-before-contact gap between the two backfields explained nearly every offensive imbalance.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who won the Tennessee Titans vs 49ers match?

The San Francisco 49ers defeated the Tennessee Titans 27-20 in a preseason contest at Levi’s Stadium on August 22, 2026.

What were Brock Purdy’s stats in the game?

Brock Purdy completed 17 of 22 passes for 214 yards, two touchdowns, and zero interceptions, posting a 138.2 passer rating. He played into the third quarter and orchestrated scoring drives of 70 and 75 yards.

How did Will Levis perform in the Tennessee Titans vs 49ers match?

Will Levis completed 16 of 29 passes for 184 yards, no touchdowns, and two interceptions. He was sacked four times and lost a fumble, finishing with a passer rating of 52.1.

Who finished the game with the most points?

Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk scored two receiving touchdowns for the 49ers, leading all players with 12 points. Titans running back Tyjae Spears and tight end Chigoziem Okonkwo each scored one touchdown.

What were the key turning points in the match?

Three giveaways by the Titans in San Francisco territory shifted the game decisively. Levis’s second-quarter interception erased a potential scoring drive, his third-quarter fumble led to a short-field touchdown, and the final interception sealed the result. The 49ers converted those turnovers into 10 points.

Did any Titans players post noteworthy Tennessee Titans vs 49ers Match Player Stats?

Treylon Burks caught four passes for 71 yards and looked explosive in one-on-one situations. Jeffery Simmons recorded a sack, two tackles for loss, and two quarterback hits, dominating his interior matchups despite the loss.

In the end, the Tennessee Titans vs 49ers Match Player Stats crystallize an elemental truth about the sport: efficiency and clean football trounce isolated flashes of talent. San Francisco protected the ball, owned the line of scrimmage on both sides, and squeezed every drop of value from their first-team possessions. Tennessee, despite a late statistical facelift, spent three quarters sabotaging its own drives with protection breakdowns and catastrophic giveaways. The box score shows a one-score game, but the underlying numbers reveal a chasm in process. For the 49ers, this was a validation of scheme and signal-caller maturity. For the Titans, it was a stark reminder that quarterback decision-making and interior pass protection remain urgent weaknesses with the regular season approaching fast.